Autumn 2019
We talk to VfL patron & queen of vegetarian cuisine,
Rose Elliotappg
eBitesPublished by Vegetarian for Life, the advocacy and educational charity working on behalf of older vegetarians and vegans
The carecaterers goingthe extra milefor vegans &vegetarians
LavishParliament
awardscelebrate
best in thebusiness
Respect for religious & philosophicalbeliefs while eating in care
PLUS: Win a
brand newcookbook
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WelcomeNow that the clocks have gone back, it’s time to get cosy indoorsand enjoy some hearty and warming recipes. So why not grab acuppa and relax with this autumnal edition of eBites?
We recently spoke with Rose Elliot MBE, the cover star for thisissue, who has penned over 50 vegetarian cookery books. Rose hasshared some of her top tips and recipes (see page 6). She is alsooffering three lucky readers the chance to win one of her newcookery books. See below for your chance to win.
Last month, Vegetarian for Life held its annual Awards forExcellence in Vegetarian Care Catering at the Houses of Parliament.Read more about the inspirational winners from this lavish event onpage 4.
We’ll return to Parliament next year, with the launch of an inquiryinto respect for religious and philosophical beliefs while eating incare. If you have ever heard of a vegetarian or vegan with dementiabeing served meat while in care, please send us your evidence by13 December. Find out more on page 8.
I hope that you enjoy the issue.
Amanda Woodvine, Editor
Vegetarian for Life is an advocacy andeducational charity working on behalf ofolder vegetarians and vegansthroughout the UK.
83 Ducie Street, Manchester M1 2JQVegetarian for Life is a charity registeredin England and Wales, number 1120687
Editor: Amanda [email protected] writer: Katie ButlerDesign: The Ethical Graphic DesignCompany Ltd
© Vegetarian for Life 2019. All rightsreserved. No part of this magazine maybe used, reproduced or copied withoutwritten permission of the publisher.
CONTACT US Submit articles and tell uswhat you’d like to read about.
VfLUK@VfL_UK
T: 0161 257 0887 E: [email protected]: vegetarianforlife.org.uk
In this issue…
3 VEGGIE MEALS TOYOUR DOOR
New guide makes eatingveggie at home easy
4VEGGIE HEROES2019 Awards for
Excellence in VegetarianCare Catering winnersrevealed
6ROSE ELLIOTThe incredible vegan
author shares her top tips8RESPECT FOR
PHILOSOPHICALBELIEFS IN CARESubmit evidence tosupport our Parliamentaryinquiry
Queen of vegetarian cooking, Rose Elliot,has released her latest book, and threelucky winners will each receive a free copy.
Ms Elliot, who is a patron of Vegetarianfor Life, has been creating tasty andnutrient-packed recipes for decades. Thelatest edition to her incredible backcatalogue, titled Rose Elliot’s CompleteVegan, is out now, priced at £17.50.
The clear, simple, and easy-to-followrecipes are perfect for those wanting toexpand their plant-based cooking or try itfor the first time.
We have three copies of the newbook to give away.
For your chance to win, answer thisquestion: Other than green, what isanother popular colour variety ofbroccoli? A) Purple B) Blue C) Red
Email [email protected] your answer by midday 13December.
Terms and conditions: Three winners will be drawn atrandom from all entries received. One entry per householdonly. UK addresses only. There is no cash alternative.
Reader exclusive
vegetarianforlife.org.uk 3
To mark this year’s Meals on Wheels Weekthat took place earlier this month,Vegetarian for Life has created acomprehensive, easy-to-follow directory ofthose offering vegetarian and vegan mealsas part of the crucial service.
An estimated 350,000 older people in theUK are vegetarian or vegan. While most ofthese are in glowing health and still cook forthemselves, others may be more vulnerable.
Vegetarian for Life’s 2019 survey suggeststhat around 7,000 older vegetarians andvegans live in care homes. Others rely oncommunity meals services, such as ‘meals onwheels’, as a lifeline to living independently.
‘Veggie Meals to Your Door’ is packed withtips and ideas for those who want to cookbut find it harder because of age or disability.
For example, Gill, a friend of Vegetarianfor Life, said: “Since I've been ill I havefound it very hard to deal with cooking ourmeals and managing around the house. Ihave always cooked from scratch, whichusually involves quite a bit of washing upand clearing away. So I have been trying tofind quicker, easier ways of doing thingsand cooking with fewer ingredients”.
The guide includes a range of tips frompeople like Gill, and top 10 kitchen gadgetsto help people carry on cooking forthemselves. Advice includes decluttering
the kitchen so you have what youneed to hand, placing the mostfrequently used items within easyreach, but also having some easy cookoptions such as ready-meals or pre-prepared meals in the freezer, ortinned soup in the cupboard.
Vegetarian for Life knows howimportant it is for people to remainindependent in their own homes, sowith the guide, we wanted tohighlight many different options forpeople to continue to do so.
A range of dishes, including mainmeals, sides, soups, smoothies and dessertscan now be delivered straight to your door.These are often hand-prepared, with well-considered ingredients, and developed byexperienced chefs. Dishes are available withinspiration from around the globe. Someare delivered as hot, ready-to-eat meals,while others may arrive chilled or frozen.
Some of the dishes on offer areincredible, and it goes to show just howmuch things have progressed for those withdietary requirements such as vegan andgluten free in recent years.
For a free copy of the guide, [email protected] call Vegetarian for Life on 0161 257 0887.
Veggie meals to your doorDelivered meals are a lifeline for those who are houseboundor are unable to cook for health reasons
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October saw the fourth annual Vegetarianfor Life Awards for Excellence in VegetarianCare Catering – and the nominees andwinners certainly didn’t disappoint withaccounts of incredible service for theirresidents.
The four categories: Veggie Care Chef,Veggie Wholesaler, The Beulah Charity TrustSpecial Recognition Award and MostInnovative Veggie Dish had stiff competitionbut only one winner could be chosen foreach category.
Champa Mistry, of Birchwood Grangecare home in Wembley, took the title ofCare Chef of the Year for her recipes thathave been passed down throughgenerations to create beautiful andcolourful dishes such as Champa’sfavourite, khadi.
Speaking at the awards, she said: “It’sabsolutely fantastic to have won. I am soproud of the whole team I work with, but ithas been a team effort. They have always
supported and encouraged me so I couldn’tbe happier. I will continue to createvegetarian dishes and even after 24 yearsworking at the care home I am still inspiredto create more dishes for residents.”
Brakes were crownedVeggie Wholesaler ofthe Year for theirextensive range ofvegan productsincluding saltedcaramel cake, burgers,mayonnaise, and icecreams available to carehomes across thecountry.
Cathy Amos, head ofmarketing collected theaward on behalf of thecompany.
She said: “It’s reallyexciting to have won theaward. Our head office
Awards recognise work of inspirational staff who are trailblazing the way forbetter veggie care cateringDedicated workers in the care sector have been recognised at alavish celebration in the Houses of Parliament
Above left: Champa MistryAbove: Cathy AmosBelow: Phillip Meyer
buying teams have vegetarian and veganvery high on their list when looking at newproduct development but we want to makesure that the products are great, and wehave been really impressed with the veganfoods. We will be continuing to look atvegan products and hopefully have evenmore products in the future.”
The Beulah Charity Trust SpecialRecognition Award went to Manav SevaCommunity Services, for the incrediblevegetarian ‘meals on wheels’ service theyoffer to those who may not be able to leavetheir homes.
Kalpana Joshi, one of the main foundersof the Leicester-based company was thrilledto have won – but said there are still biggerplans for the future.
She said: “I am really excited that we havewon the award. We started in 2014 so this issuch a great way to mark our five-yearanniversary. I can’t tell you how good itfeels to have been recognised for the workwe do. But we want to do even more in thefuture. We want to expand and hopefullyone day if we get the funding, we wouldlike to be able to offer free meals for thosestruggling financially. We love what we doand want to do bigger and better things inthe future.”
Head chef Phillip Meyer, of PemberleyHouse care home in Basingstoke, won thetitle of Most Innovative Veggie Dish for his
vegan creation of a baked lemon tart withchocolate swirls – showing there are somany flavours and textures that can becreated using plant-based ingredients.
Speaking at the awards, he said: “It’sgreat to have won and especially at anevent here at the Houses of Parliament. Ilove architecture so to have won here isextra special. I really do love and enjoywhat I do so it’s great to be acknowledgedfor my passion.”
Choosing a winner for each category wasdifficult, because the judges wereimpressed with the dedication and care thatall nominees give to their vegetarian andvegan residents. Care homes such as theseseem to be going the extra mile whenserving plant-based meals.
Each and every awards finalist proved whythey were at the awards. Vegetarian for Lifecongratulates everyone for their efforts anddedication to providing better vegan andvegetarian foods for the people in their care.
“It’s absolutely fantastic tohave won. I am so proud ofthe whole team I work with,but it has been a team effort.”
vegetarianforlife.org.uk 5
Below from left:Rajeshkumar Joshi,Kalpana Joshi, RajinikantRaikundalia
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She is the queen of vegetarian cooking –and with more than 55 recipe books to her name, she has inspired a generationand been the centre of family mealtimes for years.
Vegetarian since childhood, Rose isrenowned for her take on vegetariancooking. Now on her road to veganism, herlatest recipe instalment delves into plant-based cooking. We caught up with theinventive cook to ask about what led her tocreating the new book, and tips on herfavourite staple meals to eat at home.
WELCOME ROSE. TELL US ABOUT THENEW BOOK? It’s called Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegan andit’s a lovely chunky book with a nice clearlayout and lots of colour photos. I wanted towrite a vegan book thatpulled everything together– a ‘go to’ volume with allthe information one needs– ingredients, techniques,‘doing without the dairy’,being a ‘healthy vegan’,and of course lots ofdelicious, easy recipes. Ihope I have succeeded –my three dear daughters,all vegetarian from birth(and the subjects of myvegetarian mother andbaby books) have also contributedsome of their favourite recipes.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN THEREASON FOR THE RECENT RISE IN PLANT-BASED LIVING? I think the awareness of the damage thatintensive animal-rearing can have on theenvironment, and the inability of it to feedthe growing population of the world hasreached a kind of ‘tipping point’. Socialmedia has also had its part to play inspreading the message – as well as theconstant work that Vegetarian for Life has
been doing sopatiently anddevotedly all theseyears. I take my hatoff to you.
YOU’RE A PATRONOF VEGETARIANFOR LIFE. WHATMADE YOU WANTTO GET INVOLVED? I find it disturbing tothink of the very realtrauma that a vegetarian or vegan cansuffer through poor understanding bycarers of their dietary needs, especiallywhen they have to go into care. As a patronof Vegetarian for Life, and still having vivid
Rose Elliot: Decades of experience and knowledgepoured into brand new vegan cookbook
Rose’s go-to recipes: • Lentil soup – made with split
orange lentils, onion, maybe a littlecarrot, vegetable stock.
• A platter of roasted veggies withmelty vegan cheese, hummus, orfirm tofu.
• Nut roast – with several options inthe new book as well as overleaf.
vegetarianforlife.org.uk 7
memories of the very difficult time my littlesister and I had over the lunches served inour primary school – we were the onlyvegetarians in the school and felt likestrange objects of curiosity – I have muchsympathy towards this.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU WEREUNABLE TO COMMUNICATE YOUR VEGANIDENTITY LATER IN LIFE? Very worried and uncomfortable. Iexperienced this a little a few years agowhen my dear husband had to go into acare home because of the veryincapacitating form of dementia (LewyBody) that he developed. The chef therewas very understanding and as I visited myhusband there every day I was able to keepmy eye on the situation, but I think the moreinformation we can give to such institutionsthe better. I think that the current swingtowards the vegetarian/vegan way of lifewill help too, because of the growth indemand for these diets.
WHAT DO THINK CAN BE DONE TOENSURE A VEGAN IDENTITY ISPROTECTED LATER IN LIFE? The rapid growth of the vegetarian/veganways of life – our way of life – will inevitablyhelp with this, but I think it is somethingthat we can encourage. Supporting andpromoting Vegetarian for Life would I amsure help, because the more people whoknow of it, and the more it is mentioned,the better, so that both patients and carersare familiar with it, talk about it, and use itsresources. There is certainly ‘strength innumbers’.
Celebration White Nut Roast withHerb StuffingHere is the answer to the question people always ask vegetarians andvegans: ‘What on earth do you eat for Christmas dinner?’ As far as I’mconcerned, it’s a really delicious nut roast. My daughter loves it somuch that she chose it for the main course at her wedding reception.
Serves 6 Ready in 1 hour 45 minutes
l Vegan butter, or veganspread, for greasing andtopping
l Salt and freshly groundblack pepper, to taste
For the white nut mixture: l 40g (1½oz/3 tbsp) vegan
butter or vegan spread l 1½ tbsp olive oil l 2 onions, finely chopped l 300g (10½oz/2½ cups)
cashews, finely ground l 175g (6oz/3 cups) soft
white breadcrumbs
l 8–10 tbsp water orvegetable stock (bouillon)
l Grated nutmeg, to taste
For the green stuffing mixture: l 175g (6oz/3 cups) soft
white breadcrumbs l Grated zest and juice of
1 lemon l 2 tsp dried Herbes de
Provence l 6 tbsp chopped flat-leaf
parsley l 50g (2oz/3½ tbsp) vegan
butter or vegan spread
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and linea 900g (2lb) loaf tin (pan) with baking paper. 2 To make the white nut mixture, melt the butter/spread and oilin a large saucepan over a low-medium heat and cook theonions for 10–15 minutes until they are soft and tender. Removefrom the heat, then stir in all the other ingredients. Season withsalt and pepper and set aside. 3 To make the green stuffing mixture, simply blend all theingredients together in a food processor, then season. 4 To assemble, put half of the white mixture into the tin, thentop with the green stuffing mixture, ensuring the white layer iscovered. Spread the rest of the white mixture on top and pressdown lightly. Dot the surface of the loaf with vegan butter andtop with baking paper. 5 Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the paper and bake for afurther 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Rose’s golden rules iftransitioning to plant-basedeating: • Follow your inner prompting, but
don’t be too hard on yourself. • It’s tempting to dive straight in and
become vegan overnight, but thiscan lead to ‘lapses’ and feelings offailure and guilt. I think as you getused to making and eating veganfood, you’ll enjoy it more and more.
How would you feel if you had to entercare? Would you be fed foods that alignedwith your ethical and philosophical beliefs?If you have cognitive losses or capacityissues, would your choices be respected?
At Vegetarian for Life we believe that ourchoices should be respected throughoutour lives, but unfortunately this isn’t alwaysthe case. Vegetarians fed meat, and vegansbeing fed dairy are just some examples thatwe have heard of taking place in caresettings.
So as part of the All-Party ParliamentaryGroup for Vegetarianism and Veganism wehave launched an inquiry and will be takingit to the Houses of Parliament.
The inquiry will investigate cases ofindividuals being fed in a way thatcontradicts their beliefs when they havecapacity issues or cognitive losses, such asdementia.
Actor Paul Higgins, who is vegan, is justone of many people supporting thecampaign.
But we need your help. We need to gather as much evidence as
we can of this happening to effect change. Has this happened to someone to you or
someone you know? Anyone with evidenceof this is urged to submit their details tohelp ensure this doesn’t happen to others.
This is one of the most important
campaigns that Vegetarian for Life has everundertaken. We need to ensure that ourphilosophical or religious ways of living andeating are upheld for our entire lives, even ifcognitive losses mean that we haveforgotten.
We have heard from relatives of familymembers where this has happened and it’sdevastating. We need to look after ourloved ones and ensure they are able to livethe rest of their lives in the way they wouldhave wanted. That’s why we need your helpand your accounts of this happening. Themore evidence we get, the more chance wehave to make real, long-lasting change.Please tell us your experiences and togetherwe can make a change.
Please submit evidence [email protected] or bycalling Yasmine on 0161 257 0887 by Friday13 December 2019.
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The evidence that we receive may be made public either aspart of the oral evidence sessions, in the final report, or incampaign material. If you wish for the whole, or parts of, yoursubmission to remain private, please note this clearly in yoursubmission. Submissions from persons and organisations willbe published unless specifically requested otherwise. Where aperson or organisation has stated that they wish for theirwritten evidence to be anonymous, it will be published underthe title anonymous.
Inquiry launched through the All-Party Parliamentary Group onVegetarianism and Veganism
Respect for religious and philosophicalbeliefs while eating in care
