Help - Have vegan relatives coming to Ireland at christmas, where can i buy vegan

NorthDub

alternatives to dairy products, I have seen the soy milk and rice milk in dunnes and tesco but is there anywhere I can buy vegan margarine/spread and the egg substitute. Also does anyone have any nice simple recipes for cakes or biscuits

as you can tell I have no experience of catering for vegans, thanks

-lala-

NorthDub wrote: »

alternatives to dairy products, I have seen the soy milk and rice milk in dunnes and tesco but is there anywhere I can buy vegan margarine/spread and the egg substitute. Also does anyone have any nice simple recipes for cakes or biscuits

as you can tell I have no experience of catering for vegans, thanks

What are you substituting these things in? Personally, as a vegan, I don't go for substitutes that much, but maybe that's just me. However, if making a cake or a pudding or something similar, apple sauce is an excellent substitute for egg. Make it a good bit sweeter than you normally would and use 1.5tbsps per egg. This is how I normally make christmas puddings. Presumably you can do the same for cake, although I've never tried. Most apple tart/ fruit crumble recipes are vegan anyway.

Some vegan biscuits include McVities' fruit shortcake and Jacobs' oat crumbles.

Other than that, (presumably) most vegans eat lots of fruit and veg, grains (i.e. rice, millet), etc.

You can buy margarine in any supermarket or similar! (I only use it for cooking, I imagine it would not taste very nice on bread but I've never tried.)

kmick

Are margarines not made from vegetable oil?

sweet-rasmus

Tesco and Dunnes have Pure spread easily available which will suit your relatives.
http://www.puredairyfree.co.uk/choosepure.php

Most health food stores will have egg substitutes like 'No Egg'. Just ask

As -lala- said, you can buy plenty of biscuits that are vegan. Bourbon Creams are usually (just don't purchase if it contains skimmed milk powder) and Original Hobnobs. Some rich tea or digestives are ok, tesco own brand are usually ok and just check for the skimmed milk powder or butterfat etc.

kmick: most margarines have buttermilk or skimmed milk powder. Like Flora.

NorthDub

thanks for all those tips and suggestions:)

I had been looking at the maragarines and thought they would be ok but saw some of them have buttermilk in them

flikflak

I buy the dairy free marg from M+S they have 2 versions of it (one a lower fat version) and its a reasonable price and tastes ok too.

I use egg replacer in the powdered form which I found in the health food shop

Mentalmiss

Dairy free does not mean Vegan.
A lot of these products have been formulated to suit people who are lactose intolerant and not for vegans.
I have emailed Pure to ask them about their product and I will post the answer here.
You can buy margarines that are specifically for vegans in the health food store. These stores are the best place for you to shop for your guests.

Mentalmiss

Thank you for your e-mail.

There is no trace of animal in any of our Pure products. They are all suitable for vegans.

If you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail or by telephone on 0800 028 4499.

Yours sincerely

Finbarr Bruen

Pure Customer Information.

sweet-rasmus

Yeah, Pure have the Vegan Society approved symbol on the packet

NorthDub

thank you all so much, we know we wont be able to have exactly everything for our vegan guests but would just like to have a few things and plus i want to make some sort of cake or apple pie for them as a dessert for christmas

sweet-rasmus

sounds lovely, glad we could help. do come back if any more questions come to mind

flikflak

Mentalmiss wrote: »

Dairy free does not mean Vegan.
A lot of these products have been formulated to suit people who are lactose intolerant and not for vegans.
I have emailed Pure to ask them about their product and I will post the answer here.
You can buy margarines that are specifically for vegans in the health food store. These stores are the best place for you to shop for your guests.

The M+S one has suitable for vegans on it and is a darn sight cheaper than the HF shop

Absurdum

try this site for recipes, I love it

http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-recipes/