Flicking the Vs: July 2018

I came across a new term that I really like, so I thought I'd share it with you: nearo waste. It's when something's not zero waste, but it's moving in that direction.

I wouldn't classify myself as nearo waste, but it's definitely my direction of travel. When I went vegan nearly 10 years ago (reckon I shoudl have a veganiversary party? There would be a lot of cake and fizzy pop), it was pretty much an overnight thing - I didn't work towards it slowly, just one day I was vegetarian, the next I was vegan. Going zero waste is definitely more of a journey, where I'm having to feel my way towards being free of waste.

Every so often, I try to find something that's not zero waste and find a waste-free alternative. Bit by bit, I'm try to reduce the rubbish that I create. One of the situations where finding a zero waste option can be tricky is lunch on the go. The last time I didn't bring my lunch with me to work, I had to buy a takeaway sandwich. It was wet, and wilted, and came in a cardboard and plastic box. I can't remember what it cost, but it definitely wasn't worth it. Everything about it was glum. It was the antithesis of a good lunch: tasteless, sad, and with a plastic legacy that will live on this earth longer than I will.

So, where can you find a waste-free (and vegan) way to grab lunch on the go? It is possible. For this rigorous investigation, I cruised the options at Westfield Stratford. It's the most shopping mally of shopping malls in London, and there are no shortage of places willing to flog you a sarnie or wrap in a plastic sleeve. But if you want to get yourself a nearo waste meal?

My first recommendation is Rosa's Thai Cafe. The menu by the counter isn't massively useful at showing what's vegan (you can get more clues online), but there is a little note at the bottom of the in-store menu that says something along the lines of 'just ask for vegan options'. So I did. I asked if they'd make me a vegan tom kha. No problem, I was told.

Handy hint if you've never been to Rosa's before - once you've paid, you're given a buzzer that vibrates when the food is ready. (If you've ever ordered food in an Aussie pub, you may well have come across these before!)

My tom kha arrived a few minutes later, in a bowl that must have been the same size as my head. Which was handy, as after a few good spoonfuls, I wanted to put my face down in the soup and chug the whole lot. For a dish that came out of a shopping mall kitchen, it was surprisingly really good - full of the heat and lemongrass you'd hope for from a bowl of Thai noodle soup. The colours were gorgeous, and there was the perfect noodle to veggie to soup ratio. Sure, I'd not say no to more tofu, but I don't think there's ever been a time where I'd say no to more tofu.

My other nearo waste option is an old favourite, Tortilla. There's no specific vegan option on the Tortilla menu, but there is a list of allergens with vegan options clearly marked, so with a bit of savvy ordering, you can make yourself a grand dinner.

If you order a burrito, you'll get a paper/plastic wrapper and some tin foil, but if you pick a Naked Burrito and eat in, you'll get a waste free meal.

I'll let you into my preferred combo: tomato rice, black and pinto beans, peppers and onions, guac, pico de gallo, red onions, and a healthy heap of hot sauce. I red somewhere that chilli releases endorphins, which is why people can't get enough of hot sauce. I don't know if that's why, but every time I have a vegan Naked Burrito from Tortilla, I always walk out with a big smile.

That's my two nearo waste options. They're not strictly zero waste, as you tend to get given a receipt and some napkins, but you can refuse one and recycle the other, so I reckon they're both not bad choices for people looking to cut down on their rubbish. And what's better than vegan, zero waste lunches on the go? Fantastically tasty vegan lunches on the go. Dig in.

burrito

Where to eat vegan and zero waste at Westfield Stratford - yep, it's possible!

I came across a new term that I really like, so I thought I'd share it with you: nearo waste. It's when something's not zero was...

money saving

When it comes to cooking, how much is your time really worth?

How much is your time worth, if you had to put a price on it? I guess anyone who has a job has already done that: whether you work for min...

When you cook, do you cook just for yourself? Do you cook exactly what you want, when you want? Or do you cook for your other half, or you kids? Do you make a compromise of what you like, what they like, and what you have the time and energy to make? I'm guessing there's probably more people reading this that fall into the second camp than the first.

For me, when I cook, it's for me and Mr Flicking the Vs. (We have a deal: I cook, he does the washing up. I think I got the better end of the deal there.) I make meals that we're both keen on, and ones he can take to work and heat up for work the next day. And because I'm making them after a long day on placement, more often than not, it's one pot fodder: curries, soups, stews, maybe a roast if I'm feeling superhuman.

This last week, Mr FtVs has been away, and I've been home alone. My placement is over, and I'm home all day sweating over the books. But there is an upside to the lack of companionship and endless revision: I get to cook whatever I fancy, whenever I fancy.

Here's a glimpse into my culinary psyche: here are the meals I cooked myself when I only had myself to please.

First up, I paid a visit to one of the new vegan sections in Waitrose. Like most students, I don't spend a whole lot of time or money in Waitrose, but as soon as they start bigging up the vegans, I'm in there like a rat up a drain pipe.

When I saw a Clive's Pies vegan tart on yellow-sticker (that's reduced, if you're not a regular reader of money saving sites), I snapped it up.

My past experience of Clive's Pies' stuff hasn't been a bit hit and miss, but the promise of a tomato and olive provencale tart was enough to persuade me give them another go. And I'm really glad I did - it was gorgeous. Clive's calls it a tart, but I reckon it's more like a quiche - a bit squidgy middle in a crisp pastry case. I made some asparagus, courgette and green bean salad to go with it. It was a grand meal, and I'd eat it again in a snap.

The tart wasn't the only thing I took home from the Waitrose vegan section. Did you know Linda McCartney does vegan scampi? I didn't, and now I very much do. I managed to get both portions out of a pack, and did the same thing with them: made some potato salad, made some coleslaw, and fried up a bit of samphire for good measure.

Mr Flicking the Vs doesn't like things that taste of fish, so I never bother cooking vegan fishless fingers, or fillets, or anything along those lines. I'm quite a fan of things that taste of the sea, including these scampi. I reckon VBites Fish-Free Fingers are my favourite thing of that type, but I'd eat Linda's scampi again. (As a side note: Waitrose's vegan section had lots of stuff in it that I'd not seen before, so if you're in the neighbourhood of one, it's worth a visit.)

You can probably tell from this next picture that I really like coleslaw. I had two cabbages in the fridge in need of a good home in my belly, and what with the good weather, I decided to make a metric truckload of it and serve it with everything.

I also treated myself to some vegan nut cheese, and made some oatcakes to go with it (if you need a recipe for vegan oatcakes, here's mine).

Another point of difference between myself and Mr FtVs: what's the best vegan cheese out there. He'll eat anything you put in front of him, but he's a regular buyer of Sainsbury's standard issue vegan cheddar. Me, I'm fussy when I go to buy some cheese. It's got to be nut based or I'm not interested. Good nut cheese is a thing of beauty, and when you find one you like, all it needs is a couple of salady accompaniments - a couple of sharp radishes, a bit of vinegary coleslaw - and it's the best lunch.

You know what else nut cheese is good for? Cracking toasties.

I used up a lot of the cheese making toasties for breakfast, with a couple of veggies that were rolling around the bottom of the crisper. Turns out if you slice up one weedy spring onion and a bendy asparagus spear and chuck it in the middle of a toastie, it makes the breakfast of vegan kings.

I've been eating cheese toasties, vegan and otherwise, for as long as I can remember. They remind me being a kid (though no asparagus and spring onions then, maybe some beans if we were feeling exotic). My next meal, though, is something that reminds me of holidays.

I present to you: the vegan Spanish omelette.

I remember being on a train somewhere in Spain once, and seeing Spanish omelette sandwiches for sale. I also remember thinking that that sounded the best sandwich filling I could wish for. I've had proper vegan Spanish omelette a couple of times in its homeland since - including at one sadly defunct Madrid takeaway, and at a very vegan friendly Spanish grocery chain.

But getting a good vegan Spanish omelette on English soil? That's a bit of a trickier beast. Sure, I've made some myself, but I've never quite nailed it. Luckily, there are people out there to make it for me. I picked some up from the Green Bay (entirely vegan!) supermarket and it was supreme. The omelette part was made of gram flour, though you wouldn't know it. Next time you want to impress your Spanish friends, this is the way to do it. That's if you can bring yourself to share, that is.

All that eating rich, readymade food was fun, but after a while, I just started craving me some simplicity, and what's more simple than soup? A few vegetables, some herbs, a bit of broth, and a couple of slices of bread to mop it all up with: that's one of my favourite meals, whether I'm sharing it or not.