VEGAN CAFE OF THE MONTH - ROOTS & FRUITS LEEDS

Well, what a busy month I've had! I've been out & about so much which has meant eating out A LOT. Not great for the bank account but fab for the blog as I have more choice for vegan cafe of the month.

This months winner is somewhere that my daughter had recommended called Roots & Fruits. It's a vegetarian cafe which also serves vegan food & is situated in the Grand Arcade. She had eaten there in the past & raved about it. The day that I visited I had attended the #VikingArtyParty blogging event & had a lovely day. Afterwards, I met 2 friends near Harvy Nics & we set off to eat.

The Grand Arcade is a Grade 2  listed Victorian shopping arcade with a stunning glass roof that houses various shops & eateries. What I like most about the Grand Arcade is that it is brimming with local start up businesses. The cafe has a really cool vibe & brightly coloured walls. I love quirky independently owned places like this as you know that the food will be made with love.

The cafe was packed inside but we found a table outside, pulled up an extra seat & perused the menu. I ordered the sweet potato & lentil curry with wholegrain rice & baked cauliflower. It came with a side salad & a vegan raita. As I tucked into the curry the flavours burst in my mouth & I devoured the whole lot within minutes. Wow it was so good!

Both of my friends who are non vegan really enjoyed their meals too & said that the soup was lovely. 

I will definitely return to Roots & Fruits when I am in Leeds & am so excited about the amount of fabulous Vegan cafes & restaurants popping up nowadays. Do you have a favourite? Let me know!

A Day In Newcastle - A Leisurely Dog Walk Along The River Tyne

Hi there!

How have you been? I have been SO busy lately & also had an action packed half term with Amelia. We decided to go & visit our Son who lives up in Newcastle & as that part of the country had already had their half term it was lovely & quiet. Amelia & I had already had the grand tour of the area when we visited Leo in the May half term holidays. You can see the Vlog of what we got up to here. This visit was more about just being there, chilling out & spending time together.  

Viking Direct Arty Party - A Christmas Crafting Blogger Event

Last month the lovely folk at Viking Direct sent me an invite to their #VikingArtyParty. With promises of Christmas crafts & calligraphy I was in! When I was a P.A I used to get all the office supplies from them as they sell thousands of products. Being 57 years old & selling in 11 different countries worldwide Viking know their stuff.

Vegan Cafe Of The Month - The Zoo Newland Avenue Hull

If you didn't already know from following me over on YouTube then about 6 months ago I started dabbling with vegetarianism & loved it. A little over 2 months ago I had a health scare that meant I needed to cut out all saturated fats. The obvious solution was to go fully plant based. So as you are reading this I am on my way to becoming veganised( I think I just made that word up) What I mean by that is that my diet is vegan or should I say whole foods plant based but I am still working on all the other parts that make up a fully fledged vegan. Watch this space.

I thought it would be fun to do a monthly slot on my blog dedicated to the best vegan restaurant that I have visited in that month. Todays venue is one that I had tried to visit a few times but always on a Monday when they are closed. As you can imagine, I was super excited to finally visit & get some food in my belly.

Zoo Cafe was everything I was expecting & more besides. Hidden down a little alley just off Newland Ave in Hull you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd taken a wrong turn, but then you spot a blue brick building & an opening with a hip patio garden area with canopy above.

Upon entering Zoo the place was packed but luckily they have a very comfortable upstairs area with slouchy couches & tables made from cable reels. We perused the chalkboard menu & decided on the Zoo burger which is a butter bean burger.

As we waited for our food I took in the interior of the building which was an eclectic mix of boho chic meets urban warehouse. I loved it! My favourite feature was the Juliet balcony overlooking the patio garden which sported some rather fun monkey wallpaper. You might catch a glimpse of it in my pictures but I thought it would be more fun for you to visit Zoo & see it for yourself. The balcony allowed the light to flood in & of course gave great lighting for my food pics.

When our meals arrived I was taken aback by the sheer amount of food on the plate. Every single morsel was so tasty. The butter bean burger was packed tight with veggies & full of flavour, topped with vegan cheese & vegan pesto. Better still, when I picked it up in it's bagel it held together perfectly. The rustic side salad had a lovely lemony dressing, the homemade salsa was tangy & fresh, the cous cous salad had radish, herbs & butterbeans throughout it with a few corn tortilla chips thrown in for good measure. I could hear myself mmming as i devoured it, a true sign of enjoyment. If I went back for the same meal again the only thing I would change is to ask for the burger to be grilled rather than shallow fried, but that is only because of my health problems & that I'm trying to avoid all fats. Truly though for £6.50 this was such an epic bargain of a meal.

So as you can see, I really was taken with this place & wished that I lived closer so that I could be sat typing this blog post on one of their comfy couches with a soy latte, surrounded by plants hanging from the ceiling & cool interior design. But worry not, I will certainly be back very soon & can't wait to see what delights await me on the chalkboard menu next time.

Which vegan cafe or restaurant do you love? Let me know as I am always looking for new cafes to review(or stuff my face in more like, shh)

Am I too anally retentive to be a blogger?

A few years back when I was really into reading blogs, I used to ponder having my own. It took me ages to bite the bullet & sign up to blogger. Why? Well, the blogs I read were well written & looked professional & sleek. I left school(or should I say ran away from school) straight after my first mock exam. My mind went blank, I stared into space for what seemed like forever & felt my heart beating faster & faster until I bolted out of the hall.

January 2017 Favourites

Hello my little blog friends! It seems like forever since i last sat down properly & tapped away on my keyboard. I do love that sound, it's SO ASMR. I was sat contemplating all the things i have been loving lately & thought I'd share them with you in the form of a January Favourites blog post. I personally love these posts so please hit me up with your links in the comments so that i can read yours as well.