Hello Veggie num nummers :D What a week it’s been here, the biggest, most amazing week ever!! Yes that’s right, Cam and I welcomed our first child just over a week ago today.

Say Hi to little Lu our precious little bundle of sweet joy!! She caught us by surprise and arrived two months early but is healthy and doing well in Special Care Nursery. She’ll be staying for a month or two until she is big enough to come home.

Needless to say recipes may be few and far between for a little while here on Veggie num num while we take some time to enjoy and get to know our beautiful little daughter…

Thanks to everyone for your continued support, comments, messages and emails and for loving Veggie num num!! Wishing each and every one of you a wonderfully magical Christmas and Holiday Season xo

Hello there! Just thought I should let you all know Cam and I have been away from home visiting family & friends back in North Queensland, Australia and I apologise for the lack of recipes over the last week. There’s been plenty of catching up and lazing around with family on my parents lovely little property full to the brim with home grown tropical produce.

We’ve been cooking and juicing and baking and most importantly eating lots of lovely homegrown and homemade foods and spending some time away from the internet and just enjoying the beautiful warm winter days. Here in the tropical far north the winter is very mild and it’s been nice to escape the cold that’s settling in further south for a few days.

I’ll be back to normal recipe posting hopefully as of next week, so stay tuned and see what tasty veggie foods will be popping up soon. I would also like to take this opportunity to warmly thank everyone for all the amazingly kind and lovely emails I have received over the past few months, I’m a little overwhelmed with joy to know there are all of you out there enjoying Veggie num num so much!!! Thank You!!

i’m not sure if you remember but, a few weeks back, I shared a little post about Veggie num num’s contribution to America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches Veganized, the Crispy Drunken (not)Chicken Baguette!! The series has now completed and boy there has been some amazing vegan creations from a team of very talented bloggers!!

And the awesome news is the series has been picked up by the Huffington Post, which simply means more people will get a chance to have a peek at some amazingly delicious vegan sandwich recipes which sounds like a pretty good thing to me!!

Head on over to the article on Huffpost Food to check out the completed series of America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches Veganized!! Seriously good vegan foods, I promise :D

{ From top left : 1. Vintage Pyrex crazy daisy mixing bowls from TheFancyLamb 2. Redecorated vintage dinner plates from Ninainvorm 3. Oatmeal and black recycled felt appliqué pillow from alexandraferguson. 4. Sleeping cat serving plate from jimbobart. }

Hi there

There are many wonderful brands out there dedicated to providing ethically conscious products completely free of animal testing and animal derived ingredients; delivering some truly awesome products for conscious consumers!!

Below is a list of some of our favourite Ethically Conscious Brands and links to where you can purchase their products online. All of the companies are dedicated to providing true Cruelty Free and/or Vegan products and offer great transparency on ingredients and practices.

We personally use all these brands and vouch for their awesomeness :)

Eco Store

Eco Store is a fantastic company; suppling a complete range of household and body care products. We have been using their laundry powder and dishwashing liquid for ages and they are one of the only brands available from our local supermarket that are cruelty free. >>Eco Store

Purist Company

I L.O.V.E these products and have been using them for years. Made with essential oils and pure, gently ingredients; they offer a wonderful range of hair, body and baby care. All their products are ingredient-rich, vegan, 100% natural botanical aromatherapy and formulated without animal ingredients or animal testing. Oh Yeah!! >>Purist Company

Sante

My favourite make-up; they have a great range and certify to absolutely no animal testing on products or ingredients. They offer full ingredient disclosure (very rare for make-up) so you can see just what is in there. >>Sante

Sukin

Another great company, making simply awesome skin care, totally vegan and completely dedicated to Cruelty Free!! The body and hair care range is lush and smells wonderful; made using natural and pure ingredients. We especially love their moisturisers! >>Sukin

Giovanni

Mmmmm I am addicted to Giovanni Hair Care; top quality ethical products that give a great result! All their products are free of animal by-products and are not tested on animals. Their Shampoos and Conditioners are delux; I have not tried their body care range but would assume that they are also totally awesome!! >>Giovanni

I hope this little list has been helpful AND Please share any products or brands you love in the comments; it is a great way to find out about new stuff and share the veggie love :)

If you would like a little more information on Animal Testing check out these articles:
Animal Testing : Testing the limits of human cruelty
Go Cruelty Free

Or check out a list of animal derived ingredients found in consumer products here.

The last time we were in Christchurch I saw the sign for Lotus-Heart on the day we were leaving, so this time we made a point of going back to try it and I am very glad we did.

Being a vegetarian means that eating out can sometimes be a difficult experience; or at the very least an often boring one. Many restaurants will only offer one vegetarian option (lasagne anyone!!) and very rarely a vegan option.

But, at a Vegetarian Restaurant, it is so wonderful to know you can eat EVERYTHING on the menu!! This alone got me quite excited!! So in-lieu of a recipe I thought would give you a sample of the lovely food on offer at The Lotus-Heart.

The restaurant is located in Christchurch the biggest city on the South Island of New Zealand. The main restaurant is in Cathedral Square, the central part of the city; they also have a café in Colombo Street not far from the restaurant.

It is independently owned and run by students of the spiritual teacher Sir Chinmoy and the minute you walk into the restaurant there is a sense of relaxation and a somewhat spiritual ambience.

The restaurant is on the second floor and overlooks the cathedral and markets in the square and there is artwork by and images of Sir Chinmoy on the walls; overall a lovely atmosphere.

But now to the food!!

I was incredible impressed by their drinks menu which included over 50 choices, from fresh juices, to smoothies and boosters (with many vegan options), teas and fairly traded organic coffee. I choose the ‘Serenity’ vegan smoothie and Cam decided on their house brewed Ginger Beer.

Their lunch menu was extensive and included hot meals like Dal, Cajun Vegetable Stew and Mushroom Stroganoff, as well as wraps, burgers, salads and a great kids menu.

Cam loves a good burger so decided on their ‘Humming Burger’ a gourmet veggie burger with a deluxe nut pattie, melted vegetarian cheddar, mayo, pickles (Yes pickles!! Yum!!), fresh salad and a great wholewheat bun. The burger comes with chips (cooked in rice bran oil) for $12.

I am a massive falafel fiend so couldn’t go past the Indian Falafel Wrap. Which included a golden falafel, roasted garlic hummus, fresh salad, tabouli and an amazing cashew aioli, on a tortilla it is completely vegan and delicious for $12.

The Serenity Smoothie; a vegan smoothie of almonds, dates and ginger; was super yum!!

The Ginger Beer had that great home-brewed taste that may be a little off putting to those who haven’t tried it but we really liked it, cold, bubbly and not too sweet.

The Humming burger was Y.U.M!! We both love a good veggie burger and this was one of the best we have tried from a restaurant. The pattie was crispy and had loads of flavour, the pickles were great and the bun was almost like a focaccia in flavour with subtle herbiness and very fresh. The chips were super crispy and came with a delicious tomato relish that I would love to be able to recreate. Overall a great burger and fries that is definitely worth going back for.

As I mentioned above I love falafel and I was not disappointed by the Falafel Wrap. It was a good size and packed with lots of yummy ingredients but thankfully not overflowing. The hummus and cashew aioli were so good and the falafel was quite small and crispy golden with sesame seeds, mmmmm. I enjoyed the wrap and was very happy, content and FULL on completion of our meal.

The devotion and care taken to provide a truly spiritual and wholly vegetarian experience was refreshing and very enjoyable. The Lotus-heart is a lovely restaurant with an extensive and appetizing menu; with so many beautiful vegetarian and vegan options I only wished I didn’t live 5 hours away so I could go more often.

The Lotus-Heart Café
595 Colombo Street
(Btwn Tuam & St Asaph)
Christchurch
New Zealand
Telephone +64-3-379 0324

The Lotus-Heart Restaurant
Level 1
Original Chief Post Office Building
15-31 Cathedral Square
Christchurch
New Zealand
Telephone +64-3-377 2727
or 021 277 1327