The Love Heart is synonymous with Valentines, and Swizzels Love Hearts sweets are the perfect way to pass on your messages of adoration on Valentine's Day, or any day. We've been sent some to review, along with some other goodies from the Swizzels range...and EVERYTHING they've sent me is vegan!!!


I'm vegetarian and so are several of our children. Swizzels have spent the last couple of years adapting their recipes and this year you have a whole host of sweet treats to choose from. No longer need anyone face disappointment.

I've been sent a Vegan/Vegetarian Hamper, Personalised Love Hearts Tube and some Limited Edition pink Love Hearts - all suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

I've got a very special and somewhat traditional giveaway tonight. Courtesy of Celtic Herbal one of my readers can win Frankincense! Welsh company Celtic Herbal make excellent quality handmade products which last an incredibly long time and are indulgent just as much as they are relaxing.

They've offered a Pine & Frankincense Winter Woodland bundle with a soy candle and a very smart reed diffuser, as a prize in my Christmas Present Giveaways.


I have used Celtic Herbal myself for a while now. I love their products. They are not inexpensive, but they last so long and work so well, that you really get your money's worth. I've used their Exotic Wood & Ylang Ylang Bath Oil for the last 9 months and it's a true treat every time.

Tofuture make a great little tofu press that you can use to press bought tofu. This makes it a firmer consistency which will soak up marinade better and be more suited to stir fries. This will give you a tastier meal, but you can also use the press when making your own tofu from scratch.


The press comes in 3 parts - a deep outer tub, the insert with perforated base to let the whey drip out and the clip on lid. The lid clamps on securely at the sides using rubber bands, which have 3 different positions depending on what you have in your Tofuture press at the time.

Dell'Ugo and Evexia Thrive are two brands hoping to bring delicious fresh pasta to everyone. Dell'Ugo create really delicious 3 minute complete meals that anyone with limited time can enjoy, and Evexia Thrive have a free-from range that makes life a lot more tasty for people on a gluten-free diet. Everything not vegan is made with cheese containing non-animal rennet and suitable for vegetarians.


As much as we'd love to have the time to create our own fresh filled pasta everyday, it's simply not possible and shop bought pasta can be disappointing. Dell'Ugo have been making fresh pasta since 1929, and they've learned a few things along the way.


We were sent two Dell'Ugo Raviolis. Both are a complete meal for 2 in a box and take only 3 minutes to cook.

Pudology want to make vegan food that's just as indulgent and delicious as any dairy based pudding. Their dairy and gluten free desserts are now available in Sainsburys and they've sent us a selection to take a look at.


We've been sent the Deeply Decadent Chocolate Pud, Smooth Chocolate Orange Pud and Simply Sumptuous Millionaire's Pud. All are are free from gluten, dairy, eggs and nuts - and suitable for anyone following a vegan, coeliac or kosher diet.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited down to the Vegetarian Society Cookery School in Altrincham for the launch of the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark. Our day was spent participating on the Vegan Toolkit Workshop - one of several courses on offer at the Cookery School.



I've been Vegetarian for 32 years and I've spent most of that a keen cook for a large family, so I didn't know how much I'd learn on the Vegan Toolkit Workshop. In fact I learned plenty and all in a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere - despite the fact that the 8 of us cooked (and ate) over 20 dishes in only 6 hours!

On Thursday last week, to take our minds off the General Election, the Vegetarian Society invited a small group of bloggers to their Cookery School in Altrincham, Manchester. We were there as part of the launch of the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark to support the highly successful Vegetarian Society Approved trademark.


I was well aware of the Vegetarian Society and it's charity status because I joined when I was a teenager. I also knew where the Cookery School was because I've been past several times. In fact, when we reviewed Ayuda House B&B and drove past, I actually said "I'd love to go to one of their classes". My wish has been granted.

Over half term I popped over to The Body Shop in Bolton to help them celebrate their first birthday and take a look at their Summer products. Formed in 1976 in Brighton, The Body Shop have always attempted to be as ethical as possible, and when I was a teenager were one of very few options for cruelty-free products.


30 years ago The Body Shop was somewhere new and magical, and I loved to shop there. Each birthday and Christmas you'd hope for those familiar bottle shapes. Teenagers today are not so different and I took my 17 year old daughter and her friend with me into Bolton.

Heck are well known mainly for their incredibly special meat sausages, so it was a real surprise to me to discover they have launched a vegetarian range. Knowing how much care and effort Heck take over their meat products, and their reputation for real food with excellent quality ingredients, it was something I was very excited to try, as were my family - veggie and non-veggie.


There are 3 products in the Heck Meat-Free Vegetarian range:

Super Greens - Veggie meatballs made from made from quinoa, spinach, kale and ginger.

Nuts About Cheese - Veggie sausages made from cashews, two cheeses, flax and chia seeds, and a dash of chilli.

Gourmet Goat's Cheese - Veggie burgers made from quinoa, goat's cheese and caramelised onions.

Regular readers may remember I don't really enjoy cooked cheese, so for reasons of fairness the rest of my family insisted they also sampled the products.


Heck Super Greens are the only one of the 3 products that are vegan. 9 balls in a pack with an rrp of £3. They have a quite solid consistency and are quite dense, and drier when raw than I anticipated.

Very similar in texture, shape and size to Falafel, they are mainly chick pea and quinoa, but the taste is very different indeed. These are more herby, not spicy at all, but very strong tasting. It was also evident straightaway that they are a little heavy on the Coriander (always a risky move).

Considering the density they cook very nicely, with a crispy shell and are soft, but not mushy inside.


We nibbled on them the first time to test them, but I think because they are so strongly flavoured, you don't need any more than 1 or 2, and a couple of my family really don't care for Coriander, so they struggled with them.

I've since used the Super Greens Balls in a burger bun and in a wrap with salad, which works much better and makes a nice alternative to a sandwich or burger. Good, but don't overdo them by attempting too many at once or you'll spoil it, and if you aren't a fan of Coriander then approach with caution.


Heck Nuts About Cheese Sausages are a nut and cheese sausage that otherwise has more subtle flavours. Sold in packs of 4 with an rrp of £3. These are the most 'realistic' looking vegetarian sausages I've ever used, and have a thin skin which means frying them results in a lovely glossy golden sausage.

The ends do escape a little during cooking as the cheese melts and the sausage contents heat and expand, but there is no excess fat to escape and they keep their shape nicely. They're great for adding to recipes because they do keep shape better than a lot of other 'real food' veggie sausages, even when chopped.


The Nuts About Cheese Sausages were deemed 'very cheesy', so I avoided. The general consensus is that the cheese taste is rich and delicious, and these sausages were very different to any usual sausage whether vegetarian or not, but different in a good way. When I cooked them again I had no trouble emptying the plate, although my little boys didn't like them for being 'too weird'. Definitely worth a try, especially if you like cheese.


Heck Gourmet Goat's Cheese Burgers were the stunner of the show. Two burgers per pack with an rrp of £3. Not as cheesy as you'd think, I even had half and was very impressed. Mainly quinoa, but with a large proportion of nuts, they have a fresh, nutty taste above any other flavour.

They may fall apart a little during cooking, but give you a crispy, delicious burger with a lovely texture. Fabulous in a bun, but maybe a bit risky on a barbeque, cook them in a pan or on a tray. I cannot imagine any vegetarian being disappointed by these.


These burgers are now my partner's favourite burger ever. He adores them. He isn't vegetarian, but says he'd rather have these than any other burger he's ever tasted. I honestly could have served them up 3 times over and they'd have been eaten. DEFINITELY worth trying.

In all it's a very impressive range of products that doesn't disappoint. You can taste the quality, the ingredients all have a clear role and add to the overall effect, in the case of the balls maybe overdoing the Coriander, but in the burgers hitting perfect spot on. Full of flavour and each unique in it's market, they are a tastier and more decadent product than your everyday burger, banger or ball.