Gopal: Vegan Oasis

Hello fellow veggie lovers!
I found an amazing vegan place in the Gothic area and felt I could not keep it secret any longer!  It is called Gopal and their patatas bravas will change your life.  I took 2 meat eaters there and they both have requested to go back because they loved the patatas bravas so much!  Obviously I went back with them (twice this week).  Not only is the food here amazing, the prices make you want to kiss the lady behind the counter.
So everyday they have new food, AND they make all their own veggie burgers.

THESE ARE ALL VEGGIE BURGERS!

Anywho, they also have fantastic desserts, I had the coconut and purple donuts before, both chocolate filled, both amazing.  I am partial to coconut though so I would recommend that for a first timer.

I have yet to try the cakes or cinnamon buns so I cannot tell you about those, however I do know everything I have tried here has been fantastico!  They also sell vegan cheese and sausages and more here!  Really this place is the bee's knees of Spanish vegan food.
Finally, my meal.  For 7.25 euros you get a massive veggie burger, a huge plate of patatas bravas, and a choice of any of the drinks they have; this was what I got (mucha comida!)

I couldn't even finish it all!  This burger was about the size of my face.  As a side note, I hate pickles and didn't know they were on it because I didn't know "encurtidos" meant pickles.  Lesson learned, either ask what things are on the menu, or don't be a pompous idiot and read the English menu.

As a completely unrelated note, I am going to the capital city Lisbon in Portugal on Friday for the weekend! If you know any good vegan friendly places there please let me know!

Stumbling into a Street Fiesta!

So yesterday my friends and I were walking around exploring Barcelona when we stumbled upon this amazing street festival that was dedicated solely to food and drinks.  I found out after that it was the Mercat de Mercats event.  So at first it seemed like it was just all meat and cheese and I was going to be out of luck.  BUT, I have said it before and I will say it again, you need to just ask!
I saw an amazing pasta tent and asked if any of the dishes they had made were without meat or cheese and they gave me a huge plate of amazing pesto pasta.  And it was only 2 euros!  That is really cheap for that heaping pile of pasta!

A little bit oily because it was the bottom of the bowl

Then, you guys won't believe it but I actually got to have a chocolate filled pastry that was vegan!  I did not know this could happen outside of a specialty store.  I asked the man running the stall twice if there were eggs or dairy in them and he swore there was not (and accompanied that with a weird look; I highly doubt he gets these questions a lot).  Boy oh boy was that a delicious treat!  And it was 2.50 euros and I split it with my two friends because it was massive.  I mean seriously, look at the size of those things.

I had the dark chocolate filled one on the left.

 I also ended up buying a fresh mojito, which just completed my meal so well.  I had all this great food, with great friends, and a great view for under 6 euros.  Not a bad Saturday!

Food Reviews of VegFest

Hello all,
I told you I would do more than one post on VegFest UK so here is my review of some of the food items I took home with me.
First let's start with the energy drink I bought from the gals over at Teen Vgn.  They told me it was good and I needed a little pick me up before my Harry Potter Studio Tour.  They were 100% on this; not only was it light and tasty but it is also organic and vegan and full of ingredients I could pronounce!  That is a big win in my book.

Next I have the unbelievable, amazing, scrumptious, best chocolate bar I have EVER had in my entire life!  If I could live off these bars I totally would.  I got to try many of their flavors at VegFest and decided on the "mint hint" bar but seriously every single one was fantastic.  Conscious Chocolate is something you have to try at some point in your life.  Their chocolate is raw, vegan, and organic; where can you go wrong?! (If anyone wants to buy me some of their chocolate for my birthday next week, the 23rd, or Christmas that would be fabulous).

The next snack I bought were these Chimes ginger chews.  Now you should know I adore ginger flavored anything (for the most part).  So when I saw these I had to give it a try, and they did not disappoint.  However, to be honest there was nothing very different between these and other ginger chews I have had.  So just look at the ingredients and make sure you're not eating 50 shades of what is that?!

My final review for today are the inSpiral Kale chips I bought. I tried every flavor they had out, which made my decision on the bag I bought very difficult.  EVERY FLAVOR WAS AMAZING!  I decided on the Raw Baobab and Onion flavor which were so addicting.  Sadly that bag did not last very long because I devoured it all.  I would love some more (hint hint: birthday in one week), but do not have the funds to ship myself copious amounts of kale chips at the moment.  It is a very sad story.

The chips kind of look like what I imagine marijuana looks like.

That's all I have for today's food reviews.  Please remember to try new things, let me know what you like, and food is always a nice birthday gift!

VegFest AKA the Best Vegan Experience of Your Life

Hello all,
it is a miserable rainy day in Barcelona so I have been locked inside for most of the day.  However, this is good because I can finally write about the time of my life at VegFest UK!  Seriously, the food was enough to last me a life time.  I wish it was longer so I could of bought meals from all of the vendors, but that was impossible in two days.  So I am going to talk about VegFest in 2 blog posts just because there is a lot to share.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did experiencing them!

 

The basics: there were speakers, singers, comedians, work out gurus, awards, panels, cooking demonstrations, tons of samples, food, groups to join, products to buy, clothes, cookware, and the list goes on!  Clearly I was in vegan heaven.
Day one, I woke up in Spain at 4:30 am to catch my flight (3:30 am London time).  I got to my hotel a little before 11 in London, dropped off my luggage, and went straight to VegFest where the line was around the block for ages.  A little boy exclaimed "holy moley!" when he saw the line.  But when I got inside I got a free bottle of Zeo which was awesome.  I got to try all three flavors and really thought they were delicious.  You should consider buying a bottle if you see them around.
Next I had to get some grub because I was starving; but it was really hard to choose because everything looked so good!  So I decided on the Southern Fried Chicken sandwich from Vbites with vegan cheese, onions and ketchup, and I got an amazing cupcake but I sadly do not remember the vendor and they were only there on Saturday.

Sea salt caramel with a caramel center!

This sandwich was so good I honestly thought about getting it again on Sunday.

That night for dinner I went to the sushi truck that was parked inside, it looked so cool but the lines were always horrendous during the lunch period.  I got the sweet potato roll from them which was amazing! (The only type of sushi I have ever liked is sweet potato roll so I was ecstatic to see that on the menu).

 The only thing I didn't like was that the sushi was not cut but they had a lot going on in their little truck so I understand.  For dessert, which I had to take back to my hotel because I was too stuffed to eat it at VegFest, was a blueberry vanilla vegan cheese cake.  And it was to die for!  I wish I knew the bakers of that as well so I could have kissed them.  Sadly there were so many different bakeries there it was hard to tell who was who after a while.  There were over 180 stalls there so it was quite hectic.

 

 I also got to try a seed from the cacao plant, where chocolate comes from.  Let me tell you this is nothing like any chocolate I have ever experienced.  For one thing the white stuff on the outside is slimy and the bean is very bitter.  While it was not what I was expecting, it was really cool to say I've tried it because not many people in the world can say that!

For Sunday I had a felafel for lunch from a place I cannot remember the name and could not find their information on the catering list.  It was really good though, nice and warm.  Then I also had that massive chocolate cookie icing sandwich which actually took me all day to eat because it was so large and the icing was very sweet.  

And I did not get anything for dinner because I was so stuffed and had to go to my Harry Potter Studio Tour, which was actually the best thing ever.  However, I was kicking myself when I finally got back to my hotel that night, around 11 pm and had to be up at 6 for my flight, because I was hungry and did not have anything but the snacks I bought.

All in all VegFest UK was a success and an experience I will remember forever.  I really hope one day I can go back because it was that amazing!

Copy Cat Fudge

'Ello lovies,
I hope everything is good in your neck of the woods.  Unfortunately, staying with a host family that is expected to supply all my meals, I have not been able to whip up any of my own vegan concoctions.  And I do not really have that many new things to report because I am served pretty much minor variations of the same dishes every day: veggie burger, salad, rice and veggies with a tomato sauce, pasta and veggies with a tomato sauces, broccoli and cucumber soup.  All of which are served with tofu (I guess since I don't eat meat with every meal she thinks I need tofu with every meal).
Anyways, I did not post all my vegan creations before I left the USA because of how busy I was.  So today I have the AMAZING, raw,  chocolate, vegan fudge without any added sugar!  And I can honestly say it was one of the best desserts I've ever made and I love baking.  I made it four or five times before I left for Spain because everyone in my family wanted some.

 But I cannot tell a lie, I used the recipe from Oh She Glows, I did not invent this. 
The walnuts are really key in this fudge.  If you have a nut allergy I would try adding something crunchy you can eat.  What are those things in Crunch bars?  Are they nut-less?  That would probably be good.  Maybe you could try Rice Crispies?  I don't know any good nut substitutes but I do know you need to try this fudge.
It looks like there is salt on it but it is actually the ice crystals reflecting the camera flash.
That is one thing about this fudge that was not really mentioned on the Oh She Glows post; it needs to be kept cold or it will melt and make a mess.
Although now that I think about it, this would be a really good vegan ice cream topping if you did not freeze it.
My mouth is watering at the possibilities.
I really wanted to try it with some caramel and sea salt but never got the chance to experiment that far because I had to leave for vegan-fudge-less Spain :(

On a happier note, I am going to VegFest London this weekend!!! I really wanted to go and no one in my program was interested.  But then I thought, what is the best way to make new vegan friends?  Go to a huge vegan event!  So, with the assistance of my father, I booked my flight and hotel and then I won free tickets to the event from TeenVgn!  This was the icing on what is sure to be an amazing vegan cake.
They also sent me these cute news letters they made.  I strongly encourage everyone to check out their site (teen or not) because they have a really cool thing going on there!
If anyone else is going to VegFest London let me know so we can meet up!
Love ya!

Spanish Lifestyle

Hello vegans, animal/earth lovers, do gooders, just people in general,
I hope your weekend was lovely.  I spent the majority of Saturday on the beach in Barcelona which was lovely except for the throngs of people climbing all over each other.  I am convinced I was a mermaid in a past life and thus feel a very strong connection to the sea; one of the many reasons I wanted to go to Barcelona.  Sadly, classes are getting in my way of decent beach time.  I guess that is the struggle of being a privileged American who gets to study abroad for a semester; poor me.
So, I decided to use this post to talk about the lifestyle of the Spaniards, or what I've seen so far.  One thing I saw that I loved, at first, was that on the streets there are so many trashcans and most are labeled with what they are for; plastic bottles, compost-able, paper, etc.  When I first saw that I thought it was so ingenious, line them all next to each other so people put things in the correct bins and save the earth!  However, more often that not, I've seen people just shove things in the first can they see, not the appropriate one.  THIS DRIVES ME INSANE!  Why would you put a plastic bottle in the paper bin when 3 feet to your left is the plastic container?!  It is so frustrating because there are all these great ways around to save the planet from liter and yet is normal to throw trash in the street.
As a self-proclaimed woman trying to save the world, I just want to run up to these people and make them dig their trash out and put it in the right bins.

 

 One thing I really love though is the extensive measures taken to save electricity.  In many public restrooms the lights are on timers, so either you flick it on when you're in there or it goes on by a sensor.  Although more often than not it goes out while you are still in the restroom, it is better to have to put it back on than wasting electricity.  And my host mom is really into turning lights off when not in use; and the internet.  (Which is actually frustrating sometimes because she turns off the wifi at night but then I cannot communicate with anyone from home.)  But saving the earth is more important than sending ugly face snap chats with my sister (even though we would argue to our dad that the snap chats are more important than paying attention to the road when he needs help finding signs).  Sometimes being the only male in the house can be really hard on my dad, he's always over-ruled.

My final Spanish lifestyle comment is on the topic of beverages.  The water here is safe to drink, it has been proven multiple times, and yet almost everyone just buys water bottles repeatedly instead of filling up bottles at water fountains.  It is considered strange to drink tap water, and it is not even available at restaurants.  This just creates more waste so I really do not understand the thought process.  One thing I do like though is that restaurants recycle all glass bottles for reuse (you can see them put the empty ones back into the crates they came in).

Maybe I am just experiencing culture shock, but there are so many good ways to conserve here that are not being implemented to their full potential.  This must be how the Spanish feel about Americans leaving their lights on when no one is home.

I saw this on the internet and just thought it was funny!

The Elusive Green Vegetables

One thing I have learned in Spain is that green vegetables are hard to come by; unless you get a salad and usually the only green on that is iceberg lettuce, not very beneficial for your health.
There is a LOT of potatoes here, especially if you're vegan.  Sometimes the only tapas you can get is patas bravas which are "spicy" potatoes that have mayo dumped on if you don't think to ask for it on the side first.  (I put spicy in quotes because the only person I know that would find that spicy is my dog Mojo who steals food and then spits it out, drool covered, because he never likes it unless its bread).  Seriously, spicy is non-existent in Spain which pains me.  If you read any of my previous posts you would know how much I love roasted red pepper flakes and garlic.
Anywho, last night I was pleasantly surprised when my host mom gave me soup for dinner made from zucchini, and broccoli I believe.  I've found that I seriously need to work on my food vocabulary because I do not know the name of many foods which makes it even harder for me to communicate my dietary needs.

It was really good, especially with the croutons (I'm a sucker for carbs).

Then today, I went back to my favorite little vegan shop Santoni.  The owners now recognize me I've been so many times already.  They are such sweet people and very patient with my broken Spanish.  I was so happy today when I went because the place was absolutely packed!  Now not everything there is vegan but it was nice seeing so many people willing to try new things in meat driven Barcelona.

 

I got a bocadillo, which means sandwich, with vegan chorizo and avocado on really good multi-grain bread.  However, I shoved that in as fast as it would go because I was rushing to a class that ended up being cancelled.  Alas, no picture of that.  But I did photograph the side of pasta I got that had a pesto with tofu on it which was utterly delicious!  Even the fork they gave me is made from bamboo and is thus bio degradable.  How awesome is this place?!

And this last photo is from a few days ago that I wanted to blog but did not have a computer.  There is an self-serve frozen yogurt place across the street from the historical campus of my university.  I was told by other students of my program that Tutti Frutti is an American company, but I could care less because they have a frozen soy-yogurt that I got and piled with kiwis, strawberries, and dark chocolate shavings.  It was absolutely delicious and not expensive at all which makes me even happier!

As a completely unrelated note, I plan on going to the beach tomorrow and possibly the majority of the weekend.  I have to say one of my favorite parts of Barcelona is the weather.  This is the stuff dreams are made of; unless you're a polar bear than it might suck.  If I make it to the zoo, and they have a polar bear, I'll make sure to ask him/her.