Chocolate and Beyond

Chocolate and Beyond - Make Me Best Vegan Blogger 2014, Please!

Well folks - if you have been enjoying Chocolate and Beyond and my recipes, it's time to show me the love. How? By casting your vote in this year's VegFest Awards 2014, where my little ol' blog has been, wait for it, NOMINATED! Yes. For the Best Vegan Blogger award.

Voting opened on the 1st July, and closes on September 15th, giving you all plenty of time to start voting  and, if you didn't mind, sharing my post to try and tally up a few more votes.

Come on people - you know me and my recipes deserve it :-) Vote for me here, please: http://www.vegfest.co.uk/vote

Related articles

Recipes: Vegan Coconut Creme Easter Eggs

Cabbaging Out at Bristol VegFest May 24th-26th & CARAVAN PALACE TICKETS GIVEAWAY!

Review: Win Vegan Easter Eggs & Chocolate from Ethical Superstore!

What's there to complain about in life when the postie delivers a box of vegan choccie and Easter eggs, all for you? This week has been a tough one as I fell sick last Sunday and am still not right. But on Friday, I was cheered up immensely after I opened a package to discover that Ethical Superstore sent me this scrummy little selection of chocolate goodies. And being that I had to cancel my weekend going-out plans, what else to do but eat my way through this yummy assortment?

FREE Rebecca Kane Raw Food Recipes & 'Shine Inside and Out' Book Giveaway!

Does the idea of 'raw food' conjure images of cows chewing the cud, or rabbits nibbling on lettuce? I have to admit, I too was guilty of harbouring misconceptions about raw food until a couple of years ago. I thought it meant just smoothies (which I do love, but not all the time) and boring salads. I didn't realise the world of raw food could be so creative and flavourful until I experienced raw tacos at a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, a couple of years ago.

Now, I'm certainly no raw foodie (as you can tell from the recipes on my blog, I LOVE cooking), but whenever I give a raw recipe a try these days, I am always pleasantly surprised. And even more so when it is very simple to create. I don't have equipment like a dehydrator (so anything involving one puts me off), not even a spiralizer, which is exactly why Rebecca Kane's Shine Inside and Out book is brilliant. There's nothing complicated in it at all, so how fab Rebecca has offered to give a copy away to one of my readers?!

2000 'LIKES' Appreciation RAWR Chocolate Giveaway!

Oooooh, RAWR vegan chocolate, new and improved. What's not to love? And how about winning the above selection of this yummy stuff as a thank you for helping my Facebook page get to 2000 likes? It's like all your Christmasses have come at once!

I am delighted to report that I had the pleasure of sampling all these wonderful bars of RAWR choc over the last few weeks, including their new Gold bar, and like the first time I tried it, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I really love this chocolate, and now it's even better, since RAWR have recently made all their recipes smoother by using finer granulated coconut sugar (the flavour is still the same, just the texture is less crunchy).

Cabbaging Out at Bristol VegFest May 24th-26th & CARAVAN PALACE TICKETS GIVEAWAY!

I'm REALLY looking forward to the end of May bank holiday weekend this year. After all the fun at Brighton VegFest in March, there is now Bristol VegFest 2013 to get excited about. The festival is pretty much the veggie event of the year, and it's also virtually sold-out. The organisers think the horsemeat scandal has given rise to a massive increase in interest into all things vegan - which is good news for animals, and for all the amazing vegan businesses that will be there.

As well as exceptional, big-time artists and performers like the Happy Mondays (YES! Madchester comes to Bristol! I first saw the Mondays at a free gig in Manchester's Platt Fields Park, when I was 17!), Caravan Palace, Peter Hook, Macca B, and many more - there are going to be over 120 stalls at Bristol Vegfest 2013 representing all things vegan and animal-friendly.

Win a Just Pure Minerals Vegan Lipstick of Your Choice (Plus 20% Discount on Orders)!

I cannot be MORE excited about vegan mineral cosmetics brand Just Pure Minerals and the fact that I am able to give my readers the opportunity to win one of their amazing products, a fabulous Luscious Vegan Lipstick in the shade of their choice (out of 22 amazing colours). SQUEAL!

Since discovering this 100% vegan brand and woman-owned company sometime last year, virtutally every single make-up product I have ever bought since has come from JPM. Yes, I love the stuff that much!

And whenever I make a new order, I camp by my letter-box waiting for my delivery. I don't know - from the process of choosing and ordering (the site just seems so personal to use, and the actual service even more so), through to the excitement of receiving and wearing the products - as well as the great value prices - I adore everything about Just Pure Minerals.

Win an Aubrey Organics Pamper Package, including Relaxing Massage Oil, Valued at £42!!

Geranium is my favourite essential oil so when I sniffed at the new Aubrey Organics Relaxing Massage Oil, it was an olfactory delight. Geranium is the key scent in the oil, along with sweet orange essential oils too. And the base of the oil is sunflower seed and grape seed.

The Relaxing Massage Oil is a new addition to Aubrey Organics Natural Spa Sea Wonders range. Of course, this is a vegan product (or I wouldn't be reviewing it), certified as USDA Organic, and it is also BUAV approved. As well as the gentle but not overpowering scent, I liked that in using the oil, it wasn't too greasy. I didn't feel like I'd had a chip pan emptied over me, and it absorbed well.

Win A Copy of 'Vegan Food Gifts' by Joni Marie Newman!

This Christmas just gone, I had been in receipt of the wonderful new book 'Vegan Food Gifts' by the even more wonderful Joni Marie Newman, who is author of the famous veggie burger bible, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. This meant that many of my loved ones got given hand-made jars of all things nice and vegan from me this year, thanks to some of the ideas in the book.

I was very excited about the arrival of Vegan Food Gifts. It was full of intriguing and creative ways to make unique gifts that are so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. I was most interested in making up jars from the 'Just Add Water' section - I did the Fudgy Brownie Mix, the Spicy Taco Mix, and a couple of others. My recipients seemed to be very pleased with their gifts!

Vegan Living: Interview with Joni Marie Newman, Vegan Chef & Author of 'Vegan Food Gifts'

This month and the first of 2013, I have a fab giveaway on offer which is vegan author Joni Marie Newman's new book, 'Vegan Food Gifts'. 

If you take a peek at her website too, you'll see the many other wonderful books she has written. In this interview, I thought my readers would be fascinated to hear more about how Joni got published, why and how she went vegan, and how much she loves vegan junk food! Joni is definitely an inspiration.

What is your 'becoming vegan' story? (How long have you been vegan, did you go vegan slowly or overnight, what triggered you going vegan, etc?)

I had been a half-assed off and on vegetarian since high school (I am now 37 years old) and was always fascinated by vegetarians, animal rights activists, and vegans.  When I was in the tenth grade my friend, Kayt, and I did a very graphic presentation in our English class about animal testing and vivisection.  Complete with a 'zine handout and "Meat is Murder" as the soundtrack in the background. 

Giveaway: Win One of 8 Subscriptions to Vegetarian Times Magazine, Courtesy of Zinio!

I have just been given the chance to review a digital copy of Vegetarian Times (US version), with my subscription provided courtesy of Zinio USA, a digital magazine subscription service. And even better, Zinio have offered me 8 subscriptions of Vegetarian Times to giveaway to lucky readers of Chocolate and Beyond!

I currently have the December issue of Vegetarian Times, and it is packed with - as far as I can tell - mostly vegan recipes. This is good news :) Especially, I like the fact that I notice some well-known vegan names on the editorial and staff of the magazine, including Ann Gentry as executive chef - the person who came up with the wonderful cashew cheese I always rave about, and who owns the Real Food Daily restaurant.