Thankfully, NAMA has offered a solution to this problem. You’ve heard about batch cooking, but what about batch juicing?

Plant Based News (PBN) recently tried out NAMA’s new accessories for our J2 juicer. We found that the new accessories make it easier to batch juice, which helped us to enjoy juice as part of our daily routine. 

What is batch juicing?

Batch juicing refers to making juice from scratch at home in advance. While many people make just one juice at a time, batch juicing allows you to make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge. 

While you might be concerned that cooking juice in batches may sacrifice its quality, we found that this was not a problem if we stored it in the right way (using NAMA’s specially designed bottles – more on them later). By batch juicing, we were able to drink one juice a day, with only three days of juicing. 

The new NAMA accessories

Large Hopper

The first accessory we tried out was the Large Hopper, which fits with NAMA’s J2 Juicer. This is perfect for families, as its 105-ounce capacity means it fits 35 more ounces of fruits and vegetables than the standard hopper. To make things even easier, you can just fill it up and walk away – returning to 36 ounces of juice. 

Large Pitcher Set 

NAMA has also released the Large Pitcher Set. This includes a 100-ounce pitcher, custom fit strainer, spatula, tight sealing lit, and a larger pulp catcher. As well as being large, it’s also light and compact, and is specially made to complement the J2 Juicer. According to NAMA, there is no other pitcher and strainer on the market that allows you to juice, strain, and store all in one. 

Storage and To-Go Bottles

The third new accessory is its glass bottles. These allow you to store your batches of juice in the fridge and keep the juice’s quality. There are two size options: a set of four 17-ounce bottles, or a 25-ounce bottle. They have been specially designed for storing juice, and their sleek and simple design didn’t take up too much of our fridge space. 

Citrus Made Easy 

The fourth and final new accessory is the Citrus Attachment. It’s specially made for citrus fruits, and can be attached to the J2 juicer. All you need to do is cut your fruit in half and let the rotating reamer and juicer take over. 

“I already used my NAMA J2 Cold Press Juicer multiple times a week, and these new accessories have allowed me to more easily make batches and start every day with a juice,” says PBN founder Klaus Mitchell. “The bottles fit perfectly in my fridge, and everything is compact enough to be stored easily in the cupboard. 

Why NAMA?

Getting fruits and vegetables into your diet is vital for health, and the NAMA juicer allows you to do this with ease. For some people, eating these foods can be a chore, but juicing enables you to pack in many of them in one go. 

You can buy juices in shops, but these tend to be expensive (and also may have added ingredients). By investing in a high quality juicer, you can easily get into a routine of juicing, without the high costs. There are many juicers on the market, but many are clunky, hard to clean, and time consuming. 

We at PBN have been using our NAMA juicer for years, and have found that they stand out from the rest. It’s easy to use, powerful, and doesn’t clutter up our kitchen like previous juicers we’ve used. It’s also easy to clean (gone are the days of picking out bits of pulp from the bottom of the machine..). 

One of our favorite things about the J2 is its efficiency. It yields up to 60 percent more juice from leafy greens than some of its competitors, as well as around 30 percent more from other produce. The J2 Cold Press Juicer already saved us time, effort, and money for juicing, and these four new accessories have made our lives even easier.  

Buy the NAMA Juicer collection here. Use code NAMAPBN10 for a 10 percent discount. 

If you purchase something through a link on our site, Plant Based News may earn a commission, which helps us to provide our free services to millions of people each week.

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The post What Is Batch Juicing? How The Nama Juicer Takes The Hassle Out Of Healthy Living appeared first on Plant Based News.

There were strong performers across the board this year. From Greggs and Waitrose to Co-op and Lidl, supermarkets and coffee shops are putting more effort into their vegan Christmas food. Soy-based turkey and cranberry sauce were as prominent as ever. Roasted veg was never far away. But there were also some surprises lurking beneath the oatmeal bread.

A vegan Christmas

This Christmas, all the major UK supermarkets and coffee shops have unveiled vegan ranges fit for the festivities. Awareness of the ethical, environmental, and health implications of eating animal products has never been higher. With more and more people now choosing plant-based food, the vegan Christmas sandwich offerings are getting better each year.

Shoppers’ appetites are certainly growing for plant-based alternatives to the cruelty of “traditional” Christmas foods such as turkey. From chestnut and butternut squash to pesto and falafel, we sampled an array of festive and not-so-festive flavors. Here are all the vegan Christmas sandwiches we recommend biting into as you rock around the Christmas tree.

The best vegan Christmas sandwiches 2023

Vegan turkey-based sandwiches

Morrisons

Plant Revolution No-Turkey and Stuffing (£2.85)

One of many No-Turkey and Stuffing sandwiches on show this year, this is a solid Christmas sandwich from Morrisons – but not one to set the pulse racing. The cranberry sauce is tasty enough but doesn’t do enough to compensate for the lackluster soy strips. And it’s missing the extra crunch that a handful of fresh spinach would have provided. Morrisons scooped top spot in PBN’s roundup in 2022. Not so much this year.

A festive feast… but not one that will live long in the memory – 2.5 / 5

Greggs

Vegan Turkey-Free Festive Baguette (£3.70)

Returning for 2023, Greggs’ Vegan Festive Baguette is everything you would expect from the popular baker. Hearty and hot, you can almost hear jingle bells as you bite into these gravy-soaked soy-based sage and onion “turkey” goujons. Thankfully, the bread is strong enough not to sog. It’s a bready endurance challenge, for sure, but the herby goujons don’t get dull. Not the most aesthetically pleasing but a filling and flavorsome Christmas sandwich.

Tasty goujons in a crispy baguette. What’s not to like? – 4 / 5

Boots

Plant Made No Turkey Feast (£3.15)

Simple but effective, Boots has done well with its No Turkey Feast. The sandwich combines meat-free turkey strips with carrot and braised red cabbage but the star of the show is the cranberry chutney, which really brings the sandwich to life. By the end, the build-up of salt starts to overpower the sweetness of the cranberry. But it’s a good sandwich nonetheless.

A solid vegan Christmas sandwich – 3.5 / 5

Costa

Vegan Turkey and Trimmings Toastie (£4.25)

Following last year’s “P’gs & Blankets Panini,” Costa turned its attention to another meaty tradition in 2023, with its “Vegan Turkey and Trimmings Toastie.” With a lot of competition in the no-turkey category, this turned out to be one of the less enjoyable entries. The soy-based turkey got a little lost in the bland gravy, while the “trimmings” (stuffing) didn’t bring much to the party either. It’s not bad… and it’s better than eating an animal. But it didn’t live up to the hefty price tag.

Something hot for a cold winter’s lunch – 2.5 / 5

Co-op

GRO Ho Ho No Turkey Feast (£3.25)

Another No Turkey Feast? You betcha. But this is a strong entry and a good contender for most creative use of soy-based chunks. There’s a lot going on here: roast carrot and parsnip, cranberry chutney, sage, onion and oat stuffing… and the flavors co-exist harmoniously. The spinach provides a satisfying bite and the wheat and oatmeal bread is chunky enough to hold everything together. Good job.

Colorful and crunchy, Co-op’s is one of the best supermarket sandwiches this year – 4.5 / 5

Veg as centerpiece

Pollen + Grace

Festive Stuffing + Winter Veg Wrap (£4.25)

Pollen + Grace is a food-to-go specialist stocked by many major supermarkets. Available from Sainsbury’s and WHSmith, this festive wrap shows what can be achieved with veg as the centerpiece. The flavors are a festive treat: mushroom, onion and sage stuffing, butternut squash, cranberry sauce. Even the red cabbage slaw is a worthwhile addition. The only drawback is that the wrap itself is unexciting and since it is cut in two the final bites are very bread heavy. But, on the whole, this is a wrap that lives up to the premium price point.

A strong Christmas wrap: 4 / 5

M&S

Ho Ho Pest-Ho and Veg (£3.65)

How to rank this wildcard entry from M&S? It’s a great sandwich: pesto and roasted veg is a safe combination. But is it festive enough? For those who have had enough stuffing to last until the New Year, this is a good choice. But if you’re still decking the halls, you might be left feeling a little short changed.

A Santa pun does not a Christmas sandwich make: 3 / 5

Tesco

Plant Chef Root Vegetable & Chestnut Wrap (£2.75)

Roasted veg and chestnut sounds like a winning formula for a Christmas wrap. And it almost works for Tesco. The braised red cabbage, cranberry sauce, sage and onion stuffing all impress, while the beetroot and chia tortilla wrap gives it a Christmassy look. Yet, despite the abundance of ingredients, the whole experience feels very flat. The chestnut, which promises so much, isn’t strong enough.

Chestnut is a great choice but the flavors lack a punch – 3 / 5

Waitrose

PlantLiving Vegan Bubble & Squeak (£3.50)

Waitrose stood out from the crowd with this veg-focused sandwich. Savoy cabbage and parsnip, roasted butternut squash and spiced pickled red cabbage on sliced malted bread. The sauces – vegan mayo, mustard, and chili relish – work well together and don’t overpower everything else. A strong example of what you can achieve with just vegetables.

Good taste, good texture, good effort – 4 / 5

Lidl

Falafel and Cranberry Wrap (£2.29)

A festive twist on a vegan classic? Or a vegan stereotype pretending to be festive? Let’s go with the more generous interpretation. The falafel and cranberry sauce are tasty, and the whole thing has a great texture. The beetroot and chia seed wrap looks Christmassy in the box and a little extra innovation comes in the form of spiced hummus and butternut squash. Falafel may be a cliché – but it’s a delicious one.

It’s tasty, it’s colorful… but is it festive enough? – 3.5 / 5

More like this:

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• Jane Horrocks Stars In Ad Depicting Cruelty Of ‘Christmas Turkeys’
• Greggs Unveils Vegan Christmas Menu For 2023

The post The Best Vegan Christmas Sandwiches To Buy In 2023 appeared first on Plant Based News.

Agrivilla I Pini is located in the hills of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. The landscape unfolds like a meticulously painted oil canvas – rolling Tuscan hills cradle the villa, fruit trees sway gently to the whispers of a cool Autumn breeze, and the distant silhouette of San Gimignano adds a quaint charm to the stunning scenery. The ambiance is a gentle caress of tranquility, where each element is harmoniously connected with nature.

Stepping into the reception area of this vegan hotel was like being enveloped in a warm, comforting embrace. The rooms, a delightful blend of minimalism and farm chic, echo the serenity of a bygone era. The remnants of the old convent infuse a spiritual calmness into modern aesthetics.

The ethics of veganism and minimalism aren’t just philosophies here; they’re a lived experience. The subtle disconnect from the digital realm, courtesy of the sparse Wi-Fi and mobile signal, steered us into a much-needed digital detox. It was a pause that allowed the mind to breathe, just be. The hyper-connectivity of the modern world often leaves little room for such soulful breaks, making this retreat a nourishing respite.

Why Agrivilla I Pini?

The culinary voyage at Agrivilla is nothing short of a gastronomic sonnet. Under the capable hands of Chef Lahiri (a man I had previously met working for Ed Winters, also known as Earthling Ed, at his popular London restaurant Unity Diner), every meal unfolds as a delightful narrative of flavors.

The use of local produce, much of which is tenderly nurtured in the farm itself, is a testament to the sustainable ethos of Agrivilla. The dishes were a fusion of classic Italian herbs with a touch of Asian flair, like miso used to make a sumptuous aubergine. 

The heart of Agrivilla beats in harmony with the kind people who tend to its guests. The staff, with their genuine smiles and attentive nature, add a layer of warmth to the experience. Their care transcends routine hospitality, making one feel as if they have been welcomed into a home rather than just a stay.

Nestled in nature, Agrivilla’s proximity to Florence bridges serene countryside and rich cultural exploration. The visual banquet of Tuscany’s picturesque landscape, especially the quaint sight of San Gimignano’s towers, is a gentle reminder of the timeless beauty that Italy harbors.

No narrative of Agrivilla would be complete without a mention of Lampo, the resident cat whose playful antics and affectionate companionship added a sweet note to the serene melody of Agrivilla. His daily visits were a tender brush of nature’s simplicity.

The importance of sustainability

The sustainable narrative of the Tuscany vegan hotel is eloquently penned in the ancient olive groves and the pesticide-free vineyard. The agrarian roots run deep, nurturing not just the soil but the soul of every visitor. Ethical and sustainable practices are preached and lived here, creating a nurturing cocoon of responsible luxury.

The heart and soul of Agrivilla are its visionaries, Benjamin and Francesca. Their journey from the bustling sphere of conventional hospitality to crafting this sanctuary of ‘slow life’ is inspiring. Their love for veganism, animals, and nature is the lifeblood of Agrivilla. The rustic charm of Italy, cherished by Francesca, who grew up witnessing the traditional practices of her village, and Benjamin’s conscious shift from the conventional to the ethically sustainable have synergistically shaped Agrivilla’s ethos.

“We ran it as a bed and breakfast,” explains Francesca. “So we fixed it up a little bit. And then at a certain point we realized what is being served to people is not really what is in line with us now. So, we kind of wanted to give the house back its origin.” 

Agrivilla I Pini’s legacy

The legacy of Agrivilla, as shared by Francesca, extends back to her grandparents, who once nurtured the Tuscany land and hosted pilgrims. Their initiative since 2008 has been about reviving this legacy, infusing it with a fresh breath of compassionate living and ethical hospitality. Benjamin’s recount of their hospitality journey underscores a deep-rooted desire to provide a holistic experience where guests could relish the simplicity and authenticity of life away from the modern hustle.

The couple share a desire to offer humble invitations to guests and local school children to explore the roots of their food, to understand the journey from soil to table, which manifests a desire to foster awareness and responsible living. It’s a gentle nudge towards conscious choices, embodying the core spirit of Agrivilla. Their endeavor reflects a yearning not just to provide a retreat, but a journey back to nature and simplicity, making Agrivilla not just a retreat but a pathway towards conscious and sustainable living.

In the embrace of Agrivilla, the world fades into a sweet silence, leaving behind the noise, the rush, and the clutter. It’s a realm where the heart finds its rhythm, the mind its peace, and the soul its haven.

Book your stay at vegan hotel Agrivilla I Pini here.

This article was written with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Learn more about how we use ethical and responsible artificial intelligence at Plant Based News.

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The post Agrivilla I Pini Review: A Stunning Vegan Hotel In Tuscany, Italy appeared first on Plant Based News.

Patterson’s vision was to create a space where individuals could escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and instead focus on relaxation, rejuvenation, and self-discovery. The retreats are the embodiment of this vision, offering a unique blend of activities designed to nourish both the body and the mind. Sunsetbay Wellness Retreats, nestled in the quaint seaside town of Tywyn on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales, is a testament to the transformative journey of its founder.

I had the pleasure of attending one of the retreats in June [press invite disclaimer], and it was an experience that exceeded my expectations. The journey from London was a scenic 4.5-hour train ride, a welcome change from the often congested UK roads. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by our hosts Maggie and her partner Graham and introduced to the beautifully converted chapel that served as our retreat location.

The retreat was thoughtfully curated to provide a holistic experience. The yoga sessions, led by senior yoga teacher Frankie Walker, were inclusive and accommodating for both beginners and experienced participants. The sound bath and deep tissue massage were incredible experiences that left me feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

One of the highlights of the retreat was the food. Catered by the talented Catherine Humphrys of Wildings Vegan Kitchen, all meals were gluten-free and vegan. The importance of a plant-based diet in promoting health and wellness cannot be overstated. Numerous studies have shown that a healthy plant-based diet can help prevent and even reverse many of the leading causes of death, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. The delicious and nutritious meals at the retreat were a testament to the power of plant-based eating.

The retreat also offered a variety of outdoor activities. We meditated by the sea, took mountain walks, enjoyed paddleboarding sessions, and even had an hour of wild swimming in a local lake. Each activity was designed to connect us with nature and promote mindfulness.

In the evenings, we were treated to Welsh folk songs and stories by Gwilym Morus-Baird, adding a touch of local culture to the retreat. This was a magical experience that brought us closer to the rich heritage of Wales.

The retreat concluded on a Sunday afternoon, leaving us feeling invigorated and refreshed. The experience was not just a break from our daily routines, but a journey of self-discovery and rejuvenation.

The retreat was priced at £800 for a sole room and £1440 for a double room at the chapel, with prices starting at £725 for rooms at the beach house. The price included accommodation, all activities, meals, a complimentary massage, reflexology or reiki treatment, and evening entertainment.

Sunsetbay Retreats offers a unique blend of relaxation, outdoor activities, and self-care practices. It is a testament to Maggie’s personal journey and her desire to help others integrate self-care into their lives. Whether you’re seeking a peaceful getaway or a chance to reconnect with yourself, this retreat is a wonderful option. It is a testament to the transformative power of self-care, the beauty of the Welsh countryside, and the health benefits of a plant-based diet. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

To get £50 off the retreat, use PBNOFFER at checkout. Find out more about Sunsetbay Wellness Retreats here and book your stay today.

—

Disclaimer: PBN co-founder Robbie Lockie received a press invite from Sunsetbay Wellness Retreats and stayed there free of charge. Lockie paid for their own treatments. PBN commits to only promoting brands and organizations we personally love and support.

The post Revitalize Your Spirit: Discover the Magic of Sunsetbay Wellness Retreats appeared first on Plant Based News.

Getting enough protein in a plant-based diet is not hard. Meat substitutes, especially seitan and tempeh, are very effective, but so too are plenty of vegetables, grains, and legumes. However, for gym-going people on a mission to build lean muscle and better stamina, sometimes a vegan protein powder is the preferred option. And that’s what we’re going to test.

Judging the UK’s best vegan protein powders

Deciding on a rubric for judging vegan protein powders is tricky, as what works for one person might not give the oomph needed to another. With that in mind, we are going to test and rate 10 readily available brands of protein powder against the following:

Taste (we are not looking for artificial sweetener aftertastes here)

Mixability (gritty drinks are not it in 2023)

Flavor choice (not everyone wants vanilla or chocolate only)

Macros (how much protein do you get per serving, compared to fat, carbs, and calories?)

Price (can we find a balance of great macros without reaching unaffordable levels?)

For consistency, each sample will be mixed with water only and tested after a one-hour gym session. During the workouts, no more than one liter of water will be consumed and the protein shakes will be drunk within one hour of leaving the gym (for optimum performance).

On with the reviews.

Honest review of vegan-friendly protein powders in the UK

WelleCo 

Founded by former supermodel Elle Macpherson, WelleCo offers a range of supplements, including organic vegan protein powder.

Claiming to be clean, lean, and developed to support strong muscle growth, the vegan protein powder contains pre and probiotics and all nine essential amino acids, making it more than just a post-gym shake. 

Taste: We tried the chocolate and can’t lie: this was not a good-tasting shake. We had super high hopes, but as the world has told us for decades, beauty is pain. And drinking this was pain. The flavor was not only subtle but also straight-up peculiar. However, we wonder if this might be an acquired taste that eventually we could learn to endure. Macpherson recommends adding fruit, other WelleCo supplements, and almond milk to the vanilla protein, but that’s not a fair representation of a product’s basic taste.

Mixability: A little gritty, which we assume contributed to the not-so-great taste. We tried again with super cold water, and mixing in a blender, but the texture always remained. 

Flavor choice: We’re sorry to say that chocolate, vanilla, and unflavored are the only options. Honestly, something along a coffee theme might have worked a little better with the texture of the product, so perhaps that’s something for Elle to think about. 

Macros: Each serving provides 123 calories, 16 grams of protein, 2.2 grams of fat, and 7.4 grams of carbohydrates. For a protein powder, this is on the lower end of the protein delivery spectrum as most brands seem to aim for 20 or more grams per serving. The carbs could also be an issue for anyone on a strict ‘cut’ but they do provide good energy.

Price: The regular price is £29 for 300g, which gives you nine shakes. £3.20 is a little steep for a prepare-at-home drink, in our opinion.

Overall: Sadly, this is one product that just doesn’t hit the right taste note or protein levels for us. It’s worth saying that we didn’t want to give up on the WelleCo products, so we tried baking with them and this was a bit more successful. Alongside other ingredients, the chocolate flavor popped a little more and added valuable extra nutrition to some energy balls.

Try Elle Macpherson’s protein powder here.

Bioglan 

Bioglan is an Australian company that focuses on producing supplements and powders that put “superfoods” at their core. More unusually, its protein powders are specifically designed to be added to other foods and drinks, to top up the protein levels, while also adding extra benefits.

The Super Protein line that we tried can be added to almost anything. It claims to help with hormonal balance and sustained energy levels.

Taste: Undetectable. Once added to a drink or recipe, the taste is not noticeable at all. When mixed with water, the flavor is inoffensive and neutral.

Mixability: The Bioglan dissolved well in both water and the smoothie that we added it to, after a workout. We followed the instructions, adding just 10g to our drink and it integrated well.

Flavor choice: Not applicable here, but there is also a “Beauty Protein” option which features vegan collagen and is also neutral in taste. 

Macros: This is where things get interesting. A 10-gram serving delivers 37 calories, 7.5 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of fat, and 0.4 grams of carbohydrates. If a standard protein powder portion were used, that would bring the clean protein delivery up to 21.5 grams. with still negligible fat and carb levels. There are no daily serving limits printed on the packet, so we assume you can sprinkle at will.

Price: A 100-gram pouch costs £13.49 and offers 10 servings. £1.35 a serving seems fairly priced, given the versatility of the product.

Overall: An interesting concept and one that we can see working for people who are new to protein supplementing. Just add to existing foods and drinks and you’re done, with none of the dirty shaker debacles that regular vegan protein powders induce. We have to admit that we did have more energy in the afternoon as well.

Find out more about Bioglan here.

Shreddy

And now for something completely different and fun. Shreddy is a technicolor assault on the senses that you might already recognize as a fitness app brand. 

Founded by “fitfluencer” Grace Beverly, Shreddy evolved to include a range of protein powders, pre-workouts, and daily vitamin supplements, alongside the unapologetically fun, yet performance-driven app. And everything is vegan-friendly too.

Taste: Excellent. Sweet, but not sickly and with no artificial tang afterwards, we enjoyed the chocolate cookie dough flavor immensely. In fact, it felt like a cheat day drinking it after a workout. Using only pea protein, the powder avoids the sometimes noticeable taste of soy isolate too.

Mixability: We can’t fault the mixability here. No need for a blender, we managed to get a perfectly smooth and combined drink with a few shakes of a mixer bottle. We were also pleasantly surprised at the consistency of the finished drink, which was neither too watery nor too thick, but felt appropriate for the flavor. 

Flavor choice: Great. Shreddy looks to create fun recipes but also offers a classic profile for those with a more sensitive palate. Chocolate cookie dough and salted caramel ice cream are the more outlandish options, with classic French vanilla added into the mix for good measure.

Macros: A standard 30-gram serving delivers 121 calories, 22 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of fat, and seven grams of carbohydrates. This is a great breakdown for our goals, as we prioritize lower fat and sugars with high protein yield. Carbs are needed for energy and seven grams for 22 of protein feels like a very good trade-off.

Price: A 510-gram bag contains 17 servings and costs £20. This makes each protein shake cost around £1.17 which is exceptionally good value. 

Overall: This is a vegan protein powder we will buy again. The macros are great, the value for money is impossible to ignore and we got a good energy boost from using it too. Tasting great feels like the ultimate cherry on top at this point and we are seriously considering trying the pre-workout now. 

Shreddy gets extra bonus points for being sustainably minded. In addition to going scoopless in its pouches, the packets themselves are fully plant-based and home compostable. We love to see it.

Try Shreddy yourself here.

Hush & Hush

Easily one of the fanciest-looking protein powders we have ever seen, Hush & Hush’s PlantYourDay claims to not only give you a protein hit, but also nourish the gut and support healthy skin. That’s a big claim, but the ingredients do lend themselves to some sorcery.

Featuring a blend of organic pea and pumpkin protein, alongside pro and prebiotics, and “clean clinical vitamins,” the powder can be mixed as a simple protein shake or a full meal replacement, when boosted with plant milk, fruits, and veggies. 

Taste: The initial smell had us excited. It reminded us of proper hot chocolate and promised a big, deep chocolatey hit. The taste, while not disappointing exactly, was a little less decadent and more healthy in vibe and was very palatable. No sickly aftertaste here and a cheeky feeling that you’ve just nourished your body appropriately.

Mixability: No complaints at all. A swift and smooth mix that didn’t surprise us with any dry powdery chunks mid-glug.

Flavor choice: It’s a bold move to only offer one flavor (chocolate vanilla) but it works, so why complicate the process? However, for anyone who isn’t a choccy fan, this could get old every day. A fruitier option would probably be well received. 

Macros: One 33.5-gram serving delivers 110 calories, 17 grams of protein, two grams of fat, and five grams of carbohydrates. It’s not the biggest protein hitter but given that it is designed to be an optimal health product, not just a muscle builder, it’s not too bad.

Price: The pricing here is scary. One jar contains seven servings and costs, wait for it, £48.30. That makes each shake cost around £7. It’s a formidable price bracket, especially if you intend to drink a protein shake each day, but if you subscribe for regular deliveries, you do get 20 percent off. 

Overall: A good idea and a nice flavor but we are not able to recommend something so expensive. It would be cheaper to add other superfood additives to a regular vegan protein powder, while probably gleaning similar results. Even the gorgeous packaging doesn’t warrant the cost for us here.

Make up your own mind about PlantYourDay here.

Arbonne

Arbonne is an all-rounder when it comes to offering products designed to improve health and wellbeing. As such, it came as little surprise that they have a range of protein powders. It was, however, a pleasant shock that they are vegan-certified and that Arbonne itself is B-Corp. Who knew?

We tried the FeelFit protein, which boasts less than one gram of sugar per serving but more than 20 vitamins and minerals essential for health.

Taste: We sampled the strawberry vegan protein powder and found it very pleasant. It didn’t have that unfortunate artificial strawberry tang that leaves you reaching for a glass of water and nor did it feel like a watered-down milkshake. Just a refreshing, balanced flavor that was very inoffensive.

Mixability: You have to either mix and drink quickly or master a swirl and sip technique to prevent any “settling” of powder at the bottom here. That being said, once mixed, the drink was smooth and no grittiness was detected. It mixed perfectly well in a simple hand shaker too.

Flavor choice: Just as we assumed the safe route had been chosen, with strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla options, in swoops coffee to mix things up. And what a welcome addition it is, as it makes a post-morning workout shake feel somehow more appropriate. 

Macros: A serving is two scoops or 31 grams. This will give you 127 calories, 20 grams of protein, four grams of fat, and three grams of carbohydrate. Though the fat instantly looks a little higher than some, it is a gentle reminder that our bodies need fat to survive and thrive. 

Price: It’s another yikes moment, or is it? At first glance, £74 per bag seems like a hefty outlay but each pouch contains 30 servings. This makes each shake come in at just under £2.50. Plus, if you join Arbonne as a “preferred client,” the price drops to £59.20.

Overall: The convenience of having a month’s supply in one bag is hard to beat, as is the addition of a coffee option. We’re fans, but it doesn’t quite excite us. Maybe some limited flavors that hit a more adventurous note could cure that.

Try Arbonne for yourself here.

Foodspring

A fitness food company based in Germany, Foodspring doesn’t just sell protein powders. A quick look around the website brings a whole new world of protein-infused goodies to the table, though not many are vegan as whey protein seems to be a favorite here.

Nonetheless, there is a vegan protein powder range and we tried it. The cookie dough flavor to be exact, and we have some thoughts.

Taste: We couldn’t put our finger on what the taste reminded us of for so long that when we finally did, we couldn’t be annoyed, just amused. It’s Play-Doh! Unfortunately, the artificial notes were just too strong for this to be an easy sip, which is a shame as the packaging is lovely and sustainable. 

Mixability: Again, a little disappointing. Still quite powdery even after a hefty shake. We popped it in the blender and this seemed to solve the problem, but there isn’t always time (or inclination) to dirty an appliance. 

Flavor choice: Chocolate, vanilla, and cookie dough feel like a familiar trio but a comforting one. Perhaps the vanilla is a little more neutral (other customer reviews appear to imply this). Or maybe it would be a good base for some fruit and other additions that would mask a less palatable taste.

Macros: The macros are pretty good. Each 30-gram serving delivers 116 calories, 21 grams of protein, 2.9 grams of fat, and 0.6 grams of carbohydrates. This would make it very suitable for anyone trying to marry plant-based and keto dietary approaches. 

Price: For £29.99, you get a 750-gram container, which gives 25 shakes. They, therefore, cost £1.20 a piece, which is very reasonable. 

Overall: We have to admit that the cost and recyclable packaging go a long way to overcoming our taste issues and make us willing to try other options. If the vanilla can be appropriately pepped up with some spinach, berries, and a little agave, we could definitely recommend Foodspring.

See what you make of Foodspring here.

Ultimate Performance

A no-nonsense fitness brand, Ultimate Performance is uniquely positioned to create protein powders, as it provides personal training as well. This is a company that knows what the body needs to fuel itself and how to unlock more potential, so we were excited to try a no-frills product.

And perfunctory it is. As you’ll see, the macros are great, but flavor choice? Not so much. 

Taste: We tried the salted caramel protein and it was fine. Not nasty, not exciting, and easily drinkable. In fact, we got in the spirit of Ultimate Performance and chugged it, then went out for a bike ride. 

Mixability: Great. As you’d expect, this powder mixed quickly and easily in a hand shaker, needing no other finessing to produce a smooth drink.

Flavor choice: What choice? It’s salted caramel or nothing, guys. We’re glad it wasn’t just good old chocolate though.

Macros: Here’s where Ultimate Performance shines. Each 32-gram serving gives you 118 calories, 24 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of fat, and 2.1 grams of carbohydrates. It’s unlikely that these stats wouldn’t fit with anybody’s nutrition goals. 

Price: For £32.99 you get a one kilo bag, containing 31 servings. That brings each shake in at around £1.06. Frankly, that’s a staggeringly affordable price for a daily protein supplement.

Overall: Honestly, the flavor could have been awful and we would still come back to this protein, just for the macros and sheer good value. The fact that it is genuinely pleasant (weirdly, the flavor has grown on us over a few days too) is an added bonus. If the company ever makes a mint choc chip flavor, it will be unbeatable. We will die on this hill.

Try Ultimate Performance here.

jrny

jrny has set out to do something different. As such, it has created a female-specific protein shake that it says tastes superior, even when mixed only with water and replaces the need for a daily multivitamin pill. That’s a big claim.

The company also says that a daily shake will improve energy levels within seven days and support women as they embark on their “jrny.” But can it do all this and taste good too?

Taste: We wanted to hate the raspberry ripple and we don’t know why. It sounded as though it would be sickly, but in reality, it was a delight. So fresh and natural tasting, it was a huge shock and leaves us in no doubt that the other flavors are just as pleasing. 

Mixability: Nothing to complain about, though the pouches can be bothersome to open. We inhaled as much as we drank the first time around. However, the prepared shakes feel smooth and well combined.

Flavor choice: Raspberry ripple is the most outlandish on offer, but Madagascan vanilla, and chocolate will no doubt be favorites for many. 

Macros: Given the deliciousness, we had low expectations for protein yield. How wrong we were. A 30-gram serving delivers 122 calories, 21 grams of protein, 1.3 grams of fat, and 6.6 grams of carbohydrate. 

Price: Each pouch costs £29.95 and contains 30 servings. This brings the individual serving price to just under £1. Plus, if you subscribe, the cost drops to £26.96. We were honestly floored by the value here.

Overall: jrny is a great name for this company as we went for a ride. At first, we expected the trendy name to give way to a sub-par or aesthetically driven product, but in reality, it was one of the best protein powders we have ever tried (and we’ve tried a lot!). Ethical, sustainable, and geared entirely towards plant-based women, we cannot say enough positive things about this brand and its vegan protein powder.

Try jrny for yourself here.

Hux

While not a vegan protein powder in the traditional sense, Hux has developed a superfood blend designed for daily use, which also happens to be high in protein. The product itself is intriguing, promising a wealth of health benefits, including better immunity and hormone regulation, so we wanted to give it a try. 

Containing 17 organic superfoods, B12, and organic pea protein, it’s a bold move to limit the flavor choices but as you’ll see, it paid off (mostly).

Taste: Earthy. That’s the only word we can accurately use for this protein drink, but that’s not meant to be a negative. The first sip takes your senses by surprise but they quickly adapt and once the smugness that you’re drinking something healthy kicks in, you’re away and enjoying it. We tried the vanilla option but can imagine there is little to differentiate between this and the original, as the vanilla is very subtle. 

Mixability: A little granular but that feels like acceptable territory somehow. Perhaps the overarching health focus makes us expect a less polished texture? It reminded us a little of wheatgrass powder when added to water and it’s just as green!

Flavor choice: Very limited with just two. Vanilla is a safe bet but the devils inside us want to see how we would fare with the original too. Are we hardcore healthy enough though?

Macros: Each 25-gram serving delivers 81 calories, 13 grams of protein, 0.7 grams of fat, and 5.2 grams of carbohydrate. Again, not the biggest protein hitter of the bunch but with 500 percent of the daily recommended dose of vitamin D and 625 percent of vitamin C requirements, there seems to be some valuable compromise at play.

Price: Let’s be honest: you know this one is not going to be cheap. Everything about it looks and sounds expensive and it is. Each container weighs 500 grams and comes in at £58, making individual drinks £2.90. That’s not the worst, but considering the smaller protein dose, you might think twice. If you commit to a three-month subscription, the price comes down by 30 percent.

Overall: We wanted to hate this vegan protein powder just because it looked too fancy for us, but it’s great. A truly beneficial drink that offers more than just some protein and artificial flavor, it tastes and does good. And if we win the lottery, we might consider a subscription. 

Check out Hux here.

MYVEGAN

Offering a wide range of vegan protein powders and supplements, MYVEGAN has become a go-to resource for cost-conscious active vegans. We’ve used their standard vegan protein blend before and found it to be great value for money and effective, but it’s the clear protein that we wanted to try this time around.

Clear drinks are a good option for anyone that finds the thicker element of traditional vegan protein powder hard to get down. However, there’s that fear in the back of your mind that they will taste weird, right?

Taste: We tried the apple and elderflower clear protein and what a revelation! It was like drinking a nice glass of squash instead of chugging a shake and offered great refreshment after the gym.

Mixability: Make sure you give this one a good shake, as we had a couple of lumps. Once these were dealt with, the drink itself was a nice, smooth, and fast-running consistency. Pay attention to the instructions and let the drink settle for a few minutes before drinking too. Trust us.

Flavor choice: Excellent. There’s something for everyone, from tangy lemon and lime to blackcurrant and everything in between. The watermelon sounds extra refreshing.

Macros: The serving size is 16 grams, so half the normal protein portion. Bear this in mind! Each drink provides 51 calories, 10 grams of protein, zero fat, and 2.5 grams of carbohydrates. If you were to have a couple of drinks, you’d soon hit very competitive macro levels.

Price: Two container sizes are available, with either 20 or 40 servings inside. Buy the larger tub for £44.99 and you’ll get the best value, with drinks coming in at £1.12 each. 

Overall: This is going to be a must-have in our cupboard. On hot summer days, when the post-workout thirst hits, this will be a welcome treat and still help us to reach our goals. 

Try MYVEGAN clear vegan protein powder here.

The post An Honest Review: The Best Vegan Protein Powders In The UK appeared first on Plant Based News.

For those of you that fit into the latter category, and perhaps even subscribe to the “chocoholic” label as well, there are a host of delicious dairy-free and vegan Easter sweets for you to try this year. Oh, and you don’t have to plump for traditional egg-shaped goodies anymore either!

UK supermarkets and candy brands alike seem to be on a mission to prove that you lose none of the flavor, fun, or excitement of this holiday when you ditch the animal products. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at our favorite vegan Easter chocolate, eggs, and treats that we hope you’ll love as much as we do.

5 vegan Easter treats to try in the UK in 2023

Cocoba – luxury vegan chocolate Easter egg

For something semi-traditional, this vegan dark chocolate egg from Cocoba is a dream. It looks great, comes wrapped beautifully, and best of all, tastes fantastic.

The chocolate itself is rich, not too bitter, and benefits greatly from the sprinkles that adorn it, as they cut through the, sometimes, cloying nature of too much cocoa. However, if you are a “more is more” kind of person, the vegan salted caramel egg is worth considering.

Price: £12.95

Try a Cocoba treat here

Love Raw Nutty Choc Balls – the year-round (but get some now) treat

We all know what these nutty spheres of tastebud heaven are based on, but some of us are old enough to know that they taste exactly like them. One bite and every Christmas, Easter, and birthday comes flooding back in glorious technicolor, to the point where we need these in the house at all times.

As an alternative to an egg-shaped Easter food (let’s not forget that some vegans may not like to imitate eggs), Love Raw has nailed decadent deliciousness that will work for any holiday. You might be able to guess that we really enjoyed these.

Price: £6.99 

Grab some Love Raw Nutty Choc Balls here

Marks and Spencer Percy Pig Easter Party Time – the chocolate-free option

Let’s be honest and admit that chocolate for every meal does sometimes get tiresome. That’s when a fruity-flavored vegan gummy sweet will really hit the spot (as well as some vegetables, maybe).

Marks and Spencer made its entire Percy Pig range vegan-friendly in May last year by removing the beeswax coating. What they didn’t take away, however, was the regular release of seasonal bags that tap into some holiday fun. In the Easter Party Time packs, you’ll find gummy bunnies alongside Percy. And, as you’d expect, they’re delicious.

Price: £1.85 (or two for £3 through Ocado)

Get your Percy and friends fix here

Aldi’s Dark Chocolate Office Bunnies – the cost-effective supermarket choice

Once you get past the giggling fit that these vegan bunnies are all wearing shirts and ties, you’ll appreciate not only how cheap they are, but also the snacking portions they come in. Everybody knows that once an Easter egg is cracked, there’s a duty to finish it all, but not so here. One bunny, maybe two, and you can pop the box away for later. Or eat it all at once, no judgment here.

The dark chocolate is smooth and the liquid caramel filling packs a salty surprise. A great way to have some holiday chocolate in the cupboard, but without going too crazy.

Price: £2.99

Head to your local Aldi or buy online here

An accidentally vegan Easter classic – Lindt Dark Chocolate Gold Bunny

Iconic in their own right, the Lindt chocolate bunnies have delighted consumers for years, both in the UK and abroad. Vegans are included in the mix too, thanks to the accidentally vegan dark variety that contains no dairy at all.

Wrapped in gold foil and given a tinkling bell collar, these are indistinguishable from the regular milk bunnies and just as whimsical. Definitely something to consider if you’re doing an Easter dairy-free chocolate hunt, as a few of these scattered around your garden will be adorable. 

Price: £4.50

Collect your own warren of Lindt bunnies here.

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This article was originally published on February 20, 2021. It was last updated on March 27, 2023.

The post Vegan Easter 2023: Chocolate Eggs, Treats, And Sweets To Try This Year appeared first on Plant Based News.

It was a tough gig, but we decided to try as many vegan chocolate products as possible to tell you which are worthy of a spot in your kitchen. We are happy to report that we found a host of delicious, dairy-free chocolate treats for every occasion. 

That friend who is so cool it hurts and, by proxy, impossible to buy for? We found the perfect sweet treat. Budget-friendly options that don’t compromise on taste? We’ve got you covered. We even found the best protein chocolate for avid gym goers.

So, without further ado, and with counteractive salty snacks at the ready, let’s dive into a world of non-dairy chocolate that doesn’t have to involve strange reclusive men wearing top hats and dancing around their factories.

Best chocolate for the sugar conscious: Plamil So Free

Plamil Foods’ So Free manages to be creamy, tasty, and sweet (but without any added sugar) across the whole range. 

Moreover, it has created a vast array of flavor profiles that just work. For us, the Cool Mint Dark Choc bar gave us the mint Aero nostalgia we didn’t know we were missing. Delicious.

Try some yourself here.

Best vegan hot chocolate: Islands

Islands Hot Chocolate was not only tasty, but also eco-friendly, ethical, and delivered in recyclable packaging. 

You know that really good hot choc that you get in independent coffee shops? The one where they take the time to dissolve lozenges of high-quality choc into your oat milk? Well, you can get that at home now, thanks to Islands.

Buy it here.

Best for impressing fancy folk: Janice Wong

Some chocolate is an experience, and that’s what we found with Janice Wong’s bean-to-bar vegan chocolate. 

Straying away from the usual tropes, Wong’s chocolates feature more unusual flavors including smoked, gingerflower, and lemongrass. These won’t be for everyone, but anyone with a refined palate and a desire to appreciate truly spectacular packaging will love every single variation. We absolutely loved the chai version.

Treat someone special here.

Best for after the gym: Misfits

Chocolate after the gym? Sounds like an exercise plan almost anybody can stick to, and Misfits makes it even easier with a cookie dough chocolate bar.

Gooey, rich, and peppered with chocolate chips, this is not your average vegan protein bar. On that note, it doesn’t have any of the weird synthetic aftertaste that so many protein products do. It felt like a naughty treat, but delivered 15g of protein for less than 200 calories and kept us full until lunchtime (we’re early morning gym people, don’t hate). 

Stock up on your post-pump fuel here.

Best supermarket vegan chocolate: OMV! by Asda

This was a hands-down win, and we have to tip our caps to the plant-based team at Asda. Consistently impressive with their new vegan releases (who can forget the 97-product Christmas range from last year?), they’ve done it again.

We tried the Salted Caramel Fudge & Honeycomb Choc Slab, Blond Choc & Almond, and Choc Orange & Caramel Crisp. Each was a unique and very pleasing flavor, but it was the addition of the chunky pieces, such as chewy fudge cubes, that really tipped the scales. We will have no qualms at all about making a trip to Asda just for some movie night chocolate any day of the year.

Try the OMV! range yourself here.

Best baked vegan chocolate goodies: Cake or Death

We don’t know where to start with this one because we are still dreaming about the brownies that we tasted. Delivered to your door in a fabulous pink leopard print box, Cake or Death’s vegan brownies were the kind of baked goods you always hope to be able to master at home but know you never will. 

The perfect combination of fudgy but with a chewy edge, every bite was mouth heaven and yet somehow, not so sickly that we couldn’t have eaten the entire box of six. Our selection included sea salt, salted caramel, and Biscoff brownies (we know, drool!). We have officially saved the details of this brilliant bakery so we can send treats to our favorite people throughout the year.

Treat yourself or someone else here.

Best funky flavor range – HiP Chocolate

A long standing favorite due to its fantastic range of flavors, HiP was always going to be included in this round-up. Not least because its bars are traditional stocking filler for some of us, especially those with small humans running about and needing more sugar.

Made using oat milk, HiP chocolate has a natural richness and taste that lends itself well to a variety of fun additions, including pretzel pieces, cookies, and fruit. But don’t overlook the unadulterated versions either, they really showcase how good the bases are and should definitely be on your “grab and enjoy” list.

Find your perfect flavor here.

Best for zero-waste baking: Bottled Baking Co

If you’re trying to cut down on your non-recyclables but love baking, you’ll know the struggle of sugar coming in plastic bags, chocolate chips frequently not having eco-packaging, and more. Bottled Baking Co takes all the hassle out of planning a baking day by delivering a glass bottle with all of your ingredients inside, ready to tip out, combine and cook.

We tried the Double Choc Chip Cookie jar and loved the whole experience. It was fun to do with kids, not too messy (kids cannot wield a wooden spoon with grace), and the cookies were delicious. 10/10 would do again.

Up your baking skills here.

Best for when you just want a huge hunk of vegan chocolate: Tony’s

If you’ve ever noticed that vegan chocolate tends to be a little thinner or stingier than milk-filled bars, you are not alone. In fact, it has become something of a bugbear to us that we have to (usually) pay more to get less. However, Tony’s has us covered.

Instantly recognizable by its bright paper packaging, Tony’s chocolate comes in whopping 180g bars that really hit the spot. There are three flavors currently suitable for vegans, including the incredible Dark Almond Sea Salt that, frankly, has us wondering why we ever missed Toblerones. Ooooh. Maybe this is the sign Tony’s needs to make a Christmas Tony-rone?

Be unapologetic about your chocoholism here.

Best mainstream favorites dupes: Buttermilk

If you’ve been vegan for a while, you’ll remember the dark old days of not being able to find a decent dupe of your favorite regular chocolate bars. Fancy a Crunchie? Forget it. Desperate for a Snickers? Tough luck! But now, Buttermilk has answered all of our prayers.

We’ve loved Buttermilk for a while, and have reached for its Mars, Snickers, and Crunchie dupes on many occasions. In our wildest dreams, it will take on Lion bars next. No pressure, guys, but if anyone can absolutely nail it, you can! Top tip: pop your Peanut Nougat Choccy bar (Snickers) in the fridge before eating. You’re welcome.

Enjoy an old school taste with none of the cruelty here.

Best attempt by a mainstream chocolatier: Cadbury’s Plant Bar

Is the Plant Bar our favorite? No. But it remains a good bar at a decent price point that will be an easy switch for some who need a recognizable brand attached. Unless they have a nut allergy, as almond paste is a key ingredient here.

The taste is very nice. You get that nostalgic creamy Dairy Milk vibe and it’s always good to feel specifically catered for. However, we all liked Bournville and enjoyed its “accidentally vegan” credentials. We think plenty of us are still smarting from the decision to revamp the Bournville recipe to include milk, just before the release of a more expensive vegan bar. Why, Cadbury? Why? We will still celebrate you on World Vegan Chocolate Day though.

You can find the Plant Bar in most large supermarkets, or in bulk here.

Best resealable (haha!) vegan chocolate treat: Pip & Nut

Few things beat a really good peanut butter cup, and who better to make one than Pip & Nut? Purveyors of some of the most delicious nut butters around, adding dark chocolate into the mix was a very good idea. 

We love the notion of being able to dip into a bag of peanut butter cups before resealing and leaving them for another day. It makes us believe we actually have self control. In reality, the entire bag was demolished by three of us in around 10 minutes, with zero regrets. This would be the perfect snack to take to the cinema, just in case options there are limited.

Buy your share (again, haha!) bag here.

Best accidentally vegan chocolate: Ritter Sport Marzipan

The Ritter Sport square packages are iconic in their own right, but add dark chocolate and marzipan into the mix and we have a new accidentally vegan chocolate champion. Sorry, Bournville, it was good while it lasted.

The really nice thing about the Ritter choc is that it’s dark enough to add the right balance to the ultra-sweet marzipan filling, creating a delightful and oddly refined-tasting treat. Bonus points for pleasing kitchen cupboard tessellation are awarded, in addition to being an easy snack for on the go. Seriously a new favorite.

Marvel in the marzipan here and buy from most large supermarkets.

Best for when you just need a little treat: MyVegan 

Most known for its range of vegan supplements and performance enhancers, MyVegan also keeps people on track with small but perfectly tasty chocolate bars and protein brownies.

The baked brownies are small but well conceived in terms of protein dose. They are small enough to fit in a stuffed gym bag or a coat pocket, meaning you’ll never forget to fuel up after a workout again. It’s the small chocolate bars, however, that are the real winners. The absolute right size for giving a sweet hit without going overboard, ruining your appetite, or macros, we were really surprised by how nice the chocolate is, given that it contains just over four grams of protein. Good things do come in small packages.

Top up your protein here.

Best for stopping the show: Chococo

We’re no strangers to exciting foods and clever design, but when the Chococo goodies arrived from Dorset, there was an audible gasp. And it was because of “Ollie the Dark Chocolate Duck.”

First off, Ollie is a good-looking chap. Made from Ecuadorian chocolate, he is a sight to behold. But the addition of (hand-painted!) cocoa butter speckles took things to a whole new level. And, of course, he was delicious. Rich, silky, and luxurious, Chococo did the unthinkable: made vegans not feel bad about eating a duck. This would make a lovely gift for anybody, for birthdays, Christmas, or World Vegan Chocolate Day. Plus, a very honorable mention also goes to the hot chocolate, which comes in a sustainable metal tin and tastes lovely.

Cast your eyes over Ollie here.

Best for kids (of all ages): PLAYin CHOC

Spoiler alert: we saved our favorite until last.

PLAYin CHOC had us totally immersed from the second we opened our delivery box. Vegan, allergy-free, organic, AND sustainable, this is a brand that really thought about how it could cater to as many people as possible. The result is a range of chocolates that look beautiful, taste mind-blowingly good, and will always be in our cupboards from here on out.

The plain chocolates are a taste sensation, thanks in part to the coconut sugar that removes any bitterness. But the ultimate products in the catalog are the ToyChoc Boxes. 

Inside home-compostable little boxes you’ll find lozenges of chocolate and a toy, The latter has to be pushed out of its cardboard support and made, like a kit model. There’s also an information card about the creature (a dinosaur, woodland or endangered animal) that you’ve made. The fact that this chocolate is suitable for vegan, allergy-aware households and zero-waste fans alike makes it our ultimate top choice.

Shop the PLAYin CHOC range here

We hope you found something to tempt your tastebuds on World Vegan Chocolate Day here. If you’ll forgive us, we’re off for a lie-down and a bag of super salty pretzels now.

The post An Honest Review: The Best Vegan Chocolate To Buy In The UK appeared first on Plant Based News.

How important are fruits and vegetables?

Fruits and veggies are a rich source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. These nutrients play crucial roles in maintaining healthy body functions, such as regulating blood pressure, promoting bone health, and supporting a strong immune system.

Fruits and vegetables are also high in antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. In addition, the fiber in fruits and vegetables helps promote healthy digestion.

Multiple studies have found links between high fruit and vegetable consumption and significant health benefits, such as a reduced risk of stroke and heart disease.

Similarly, in a 2021 study, those who ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day were found to have a 10 percent lower risk of death from cancer than those who did not. In addition, they had a 35 percent lower risk of death from respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Most people should be eating more produce

Despite the many benefits of fruits and vegetables, many people still don’t consume enough of them. The UK’s major health body, the NHS, states that “everyone should have at least five portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day.” (One adult portion is an apple, banana, or orange; one large slice of pineapple; two heaped tablespoons of cooked spinach; or seven strawberries, for example).

According to data published by the UK government in 2020, only about 28 percent of adults eat the recommended five portions, meaning the majority of Brits aren’t meeting their optimal intake. Things are even more dire in the US, where roughly one in 10 people are eating enough fruits and vegetables.

One reason for this is that many people find produce less convenient or less tasty than other foods. But there are many ways to make them more appealing.

How to eat more fruits and vegetables

One simple yet effective way is to incorporate some extra plant-based ingredients into dishes you know and love (think: spinach in your pasta sauce or mushrooms in your mac ‘n’ cheese). Fruit pairs great with cereal, yogurt, and smoothies (and dessert!).

Dips and sauces – like hummus, guacamole, and salsa – are also great options. They’re not only made from plant ingredients but are perfect for dipping vegetables into. Similarly, adding peanut, almond, or another nut butter to fruit takes snacking to a whole new level.

Admittedly contradicting our previous point, but for good reason, experimenting with new recipes and cooking methods is a great way to find new fruits and vegetables you like. And, tastes and textures you may not have encountered – or paid much attention to – in the past.

But one of our favorite ways to up fruit and vegetable intake is via juices and smoothies.

The power of juices

Fresh juices are a great way to hydrate and support nutrition intake. They are nutrient-dense, and allow you to consume a large amount of fruits and vegetables – and consequently, their vitamins and minerals – in one serving. Juices can also be a quick and convenient way to consume plant foods, especially if you’re on-the-go or have a busy schedule. You can easily prep your produce and juice it in a matter of minutes.

As above, juicing allows you to experiment with different flavor combinations, opening up your palate to a more varied and enjoyable diet.

But buying juices from supermarkets or health food stores can be expensive. Going DIY usually isn’t much better; home juicers are often clunky, hard to clean, and take up extra time in the kitchen.

But for us, one juicer has stood out among the rest. NAMA’s J2 Cold Press Juicer has come out on top every time – in terms of simple and powerful juicing and blending, as well as reliability and value for money.

Why the Nama J2 Juicer?

When we first encountered NAMA, it became immediately clear that, like us, the team were passionate about personal and public health. In fact, central to their mission is making it “easier and more enjoyable to consume more fruits and vegetables so we can support a community who wants to live and feel healthier.”

It’s this desire that drove the team to develop a first-of-its-kind juicing technology that allows you to load an entire recipe into the juicer at one time and walk away. You can add whole apples, celery sticks, large bunches of kale, or whatever your recipe calls for. Then just turn it on, and walk away.

It’s also more efficient than other appliances. The J2 yields up to 60 percent more juice from leafy greens and 30 percent more from other produce when comparing the same amount of ingredients with traditional high- speed juicers. Basically, getting more bang for your buck.

We felt it was easier to clean than other models, too (no digging fruit and vegetable pulp out of every nook of the machine).

Juice, smoothies, milk, and more

You can use the J2 to make smoothies, soups, sauces, and plant-based milks (almond, cashew, macadamia, and more). If you can’t stand a crowded kitchen, it’s a helpful way to reduce the number of appliances you use.

If you have little ones in your house, the J2 is equipped with safety features so children can help with juicing too. As well as getting them to consume more nutrients, introducing kids to healthy habits at a young age is crucial. And in a perfect world, may prevent some picky-eaters!

This J2 Juicer ships to most countries, including those across Europe, North America, and Oceania.

Those interested can get $55 off a J2 Juicer using discount code PBNReview. If that model isn’t for you, the Vitality 5800 is also a great bet. NAMA offers a 15-year guarantee with every product.

For more information, check out the NAMA website.

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The post Why The Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer Is The Best On The Market appeared first on Plant Based News.

If you have found your way to this article, I can only assume that we have something in common: both of us want to see a better world where humans and all life on earth is thriving.

Having dedicated many years to researching and communicating the science behind an optimal diet for humans, I understand first hand how our health is inextricably tied to the planet’s (as detailed in my upcoming book). 

‘No healthy humans without a healthy planet’

Put simply, there are no healthy humans without a healthy planet. With that said, any time a new study, book, documentary, or other media publication is published, I read or watch with great interest. 

And of course, having interviewed the co-founders of Kiss the Ground, Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, in early 2020, I was particularly excited to watch the Kiss the Ground documentary (and I recommend you watch it too if you haven’t already).

Claims

Before we get into a few major claims made in Kiss the Ground that are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly support regenerative agriculture as a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet. 

A degenerative system that decimates life in our soil, releases immense amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere, pollutes our waterways, and disrupts the biodiversity and biology on our land and in our oceans. 

I was also pleased the documentary shone a light on food waste and composting – these are two things that many of us can introduce into our daily lives with minimal barriers to entry. 

Above all, it’s great to see this conversation growing from what has very much been a fringe movement to now entering the mainstream. 

Talking about the importance of being better stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. It’s within this context, that it becomes so vividly apparent, that in this conversation we are not just talking about planetary health, but at its core, human health.

Falling short

Where I think the documentary falls short is in three critical areas. I’ve listed these below in short, and then we will go through each together looking at the claims made and where the science lies: (These have also been covered in detail with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter (co-author of this article) in episode 104 and 111 on the Plant Proof podcast).

1 – Claims that holistic grazing can reverse climate change. This form of regenerative agriculture is by no means the ‘silver bullet’ that it’s so often portrayed to be – and is certainly not what the world’s leading climate scientists are most excited by.

2 – Creation of a false dichotomy. The documentary carefully positions holistic grazing as the answer to intensive animal agriculture (including the mono-cropping that occurs to feed factory-farmed animals). I’m sure we can all agree that factory farming is a blight on humanity, and there is far too much mono-cropping, but assuming that it’s either this intensive form of animal agriculture or holistic grazing, is not accurate. For a great deal of land, there are other, more evidence-based ways to sequester carbon. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution.

3 – Unclear about how the proposed solutions would affect our diets. Regardless of the above claims being scientifically supported or not (we’ll come to that) if one is to advocate for a shift to holistic grazing this will inevitably result in a dramatic reduction in global meat supply. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets.

Can Holistic Grazing reverse climate change?

There is enough evidence to support regenerative agriculture being a more environmentally friendly form of agriculture to how we are currently farming, but on the other side, I am also weary whenever a solution is proposed as a panacea for tackling climate change – what is arguably one of the most complex problems that the human race is faced with.

There are three main points I want to make about holistic grazing that are important for you to understand.

The first point that I think deserves our attention, before getting into the science on the reversal claim, is the way the producers wanted you to see holistic grazing. It was very much positioned as absolutely crucial to confronting this climate emergency we find ourselves in. The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientist’s lists. 

This positioning starts with the documentary’s focus on the Drawdown Report by Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. This is a review I’m very familiar with having read through it front to back a handful of times. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed Paul’s episode on Rich Roll’s podcast where he speaks at length about Project Drawdown. Essentially, Hawken and his team have created a long list of approximately 100 solutions, which when implemented together, would be capable of drawing down more carbon than we are emitting by 2050. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling.

Presenting the information

Focussing on this review was a clever move by Kiss the Ground – Paul Hawken and the Project Drawdown are incredibly well respected. However, there is a ‘slight’ problem with the way they presented the information from the Drawdown report. What’s glaringly clear from Hawken’s report is that when it comes to our food and greenhouse gas emissions, the two areas we can make the biggest impact are reducing food waste (number one solution)and moving to a plant-rich diet (number three solution). 

In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in the Drawdown Report and their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing – two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock. 

There was also no mention of tropical forest restoration – which has significantly greater potential at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere compared to grazing cows on land – no matter what practice is employed. You can see all of this here for yourself 

Diet change

I’m not suggesting we should only be changing our diet – but given it has greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you would think it would have been given more emphasis than putting cows on pasture. 

The documentary tiptoed around this, failing to make it explicitly clear that the food on our plate has to change, while seemingly wanting us to believe that holistic grazing on its own can reverse climate change. 

It only takes a quick read of the Drawdown Report to realize that this is absolutely unfounded – it’s going to take an enormous amount of solutions to radically transform our energy and food systems to reverse climate change, and holistic grazing, while certainly better than intensive farming, is not the miracle carbon-sequestering practice that those watching are led to believe. There’s nothing ‘Netflix and chill’about that.

Flaky science

The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. Kiss the Ground gave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didn’t hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? 

Sure, it’s easy to see with our own eyes that there is more life on land that is managed in a regenerative way, but in order to really know that it is a climate solution, we would need evidence that carbon levels in the soil are not only increasing but increasing by more than the emissions emitted by the animals involved in the system. I thought it was odd that this was left out. 

Although, when I watched it for the third time, it became obvious that the biology 101 lessons from ‘Ray’ were cleverly used to dance around the fact there is no solid science to back up Savory and Brown’s claims. This is where a report written by Dr. Tara Garnett for the University of Oxford becomes very interesting – a report title Grazed and Confused that I have written about before here. 

After looking at all of the available evidence on holistic grazing, and claims made by the likes of Savory, the report concludes that ‘grass-fed livestock are not a climate solution’. Grazing livestock are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock. Rising animal production and consumption, whatever the farming system and animal type, is causing damaging greenhouse gas release and contributing to changes in land use. Ultimately, if high consuming individuals and countries want to do something positive for the climate, maintaining their current consumption levels but simply switching to grass-fed beef is not a solution. Eating less meat, of all types, is.

And when it comes to the Savory Institute and Savory’s claims Dr Garnett states that they are ‘generally anecdotal, based on surveys and testimonies rather than on-site measurements’. Sounds pretty ambitious to champion this form of animal agriculture as a climate solution without strong empirical evidence?

This isn’t the only literature review that has found a lack of science to support Savory’s claims about holistic grazing with another detailed review of the literature out of Sweden by Maria Nordborg, coming to the same conclusion. Savory’s claims don’t stand up when you put them under the microscope. Or this breakdown of the many myth’s he perpetuates in The International Journal of Biodiversity.

A huge problem

Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. His response: “holistic management does not permit replication”, and “you’ll find the scientific method never discovers anything.”

In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesn’t believe in science. Makes sense why the documentary didn’t go there! This is a huge problem. There seems to be an incredibly fine line between grazing just enough and overgrazing, which speaks to potentially why credible peer-reviewed science has to date, failed to produce results that come close to what Alan Savory claims. 

This is why science is so important. Anecdote and expert opinion or theories are at the bottom of the evidence hierarchy, and it’s not until we see the findings from higher levels of science, reproduced on scale, that we can begin to have confidence in what we are observing. If he is the only one that can achieve the carbon sequestration that he claims, I fail to see how that’s a hopeful solution. And let’s not forget, this is the same man who ordered 40,000 African elephants to slaughter because he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land.

A false dichotomy

A major strategy deployed in the documentary is offering two distinct choices for where consumers should source their food: conventional chemical-filled monocrops, or lush open fields of regenerative agriculture. 

This is a major oversimplification of our complex and varied farming system. Firstly, just so we are clear, the majority of the world’s mono-crops are fed to livestock. So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories. 

The elephant in the room during the documentary is that they completely failed to mention that a significant amount of the land dedicated to animal agriculture across the world (not all but certainly a lot) needs to be restored to forests (the number one driver of deforestation is animal agriculture) to get anywhere close to meeting our climate goals. 

Forests

Why? Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere – forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands. 

In fact, in the Drawdown Report, when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, this becomes the single biggest lever that each of us can pull to lower our individual environmental footprint. So really, the idea of conservation and restoration, needed to be absolutely front and center if Kiss the Ground truly wanted to educate the masses about how agriculture can help tackle climate change.

They also failed to make it clear why ruminants were required. Yes, there’s no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, but there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals or animal manure and others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter.

One can only presume that the slaughtering of the animal is not about soil quality, but about profits. Don’t get me wrong. Farmer’s need to make profits but we need to be transparent here and lay down all solutions on the table to have an open discussion. Until then, it’s going to be hard to truly transform our agricultural system to benefit all life on the planet.

As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. A prime example of this is their claim that there is only 60 years of farming left. That sounds catastrophic. However, this was taken from a United Nations speech, which leading soil scientist’s say is absolutely not supported by science. 

3. What would a global transition from factory-farmed meat to holistic grazing mean for our diets?

Finally, the ‘elephant’ / ‘cow’ in the room (not sure which is more fitting) during Kiss the Ground  is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands? 

There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. They correctly state that Bison would pass through land and not be seen for around a year. To rotate cows like bison, it means leaving land free from roaming animals for at least six-nine months – a figure that Alan Savory states himself in the documentary.

This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows.

Meat consumption

Unfortunately, overtly telling people they need to cut down on their meat consumption for this change in agriculture to work isn’t going to help with the documentary’s popularity. But it’s the reality we face. Factory farms are good at one thing – producing a lot of meat in a short period of time to feed a growing appetite for meat. 

If we pull the pin on that, it means one thing and one thing only. Less meat to go around and significantly higher prices per unit. And this isn’t just my own speculation. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, it’s been calculated that the available grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. 

In other words, a 73 percent reduction in beef available per person in the U.S. For holistic grazing, that figure would be even higher because it requires far more land per cow and thus produces significantly less beef than the traditional more intensive grazing systems. 

As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. Unfortunately, Savory seems to have led himself to believe that his unscientific approach should be expanded across the world – really, tear down more forests to make room for holistic grazing? This sounds like something else that he would likely regret in the near future.

Plant-rich diets

While, there were very subtle hints that people would have only caught if paying very close attention, it was not made overtly clear by the documentary that the proposed solutions means transitioning the world to plant-rich diets. 

There was mention of a ‘regenerative diet’ but what does that mean? Why not let the viewer know what the world’s leading climate scientists have to say about diet? Data from almost 40,000 farms, and 119 countries, clearly shows us that a plant-based diet results in less greenhouse gas emissions, less pollution, less ocean acidification, and uses less water and land – land which we can therefore ‘free up’ and convert to forests to rapidly sequester carbon from our atmosphere. This seems like pretty important information that was left off the table.

Despite the documentary not spelling it out, it’s very clear. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do is eat more plants. Yes, what’s on our plate is even more important than where it’s come from or ‘buying local’. As Hannah Ritchie, Phd (Geosciences) puts it: “Whether you buy it from the farmer next door or from far away, it is not the location that makes the carbon footprint of your dinner large, but the fact that it is beef.”

The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be what major health institutions and progressive Government departments like Health Canada are advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life.

Grassfed

The problem is, the lay viewer who is not across the science, and blinded by the message of ‘hope’, is likely to confuse the role of cows in holistic grazing with instruction that we should continue eating meat at current rates (as long as it’s ‘grass-fed’) and perhaps even double down on our meat consumption. 

As long as it’s ‘grass-fed’. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. A powerful message during a time where the climate emergency is without a doubt causing climate anxiety. But what good is hope if it’s false?

And as we all know, this creates a slippery slope. Consumers falsely see meat as part of the solution, and although they may do their best to seek out regenerative meat (<one percent of the market currently) most will inevitably continue to support factory farming and intensive grazing practices when eating out at restaurants or shopping at major supermarket chains. In many ways, this stands to do more harm than good.

A compelling case

Despite all of this, my fear is that many will be left with a complete misunderstanding of where environmental science truly lies. Why? Because where Kiss the Ground lacks in science, it makes up in celebrity power – with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Jason Mraz, Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bündchen, and Tom Brady all featured. 

The documentary is well-produced and in the eyes of a layperson an extremely compelling case for changing the way we grow food. However, given the notable absence of well qualified environmental scientists discussing evidence to support their ambitious claims, in favor of anecdotal experience from ranchers, just how much of the information in this documentary can we trust and reliably use to shape our food system and inform our food choices? Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped.

A Regenerative Diet

So if Kiss the Ground had taken a more evidence-based approach and included dietary recommendations what would it have looked like?

I would simply build on the work of Michael Pollan, a well-known science writer: “Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Practically speaking this looks like the plate below – perhaps this could be ‘The Regenerative Plate’ that Kiss the Ground adopts in their communication going forwards. 

A plant-rich dietary pattern that places emphasis on regeneration but really could be chopped in a number of ways to suit the individual – Mediterranean, paleo, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc can all be done in a plant-predominant manner. The central tenant is that it’s a diet that places enormous emphasis on calories from plants and de-emphasizes calories from animal products. I’d be willing to donate it to them.

Plant-exclusive diet

Regardless of the label that we choose to adopt, eating this way will nourish the soil, reduce emissions from agriculture, and at the same time reduce the burden of chronic disease in our communities. 

For me, it’s a plant-exclusive diet and for you it might be eating plant-based before dinner – often the perfect place for people to start. 

Either way, shifting the typical diet in such a way is a certain win for humanity and all life on Earth, and thus something that not only should have been made clearer in Kiss the ground, but something that everyone reading should strongly consider.

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