This time last year the 'Beast from the East' swept in and the Just V Show ended up having to be cancelled. Thankfully that didn't happen this year and I was able to travel down to Glasgow to take a look. The great thing about this show is that it doesn't just have stalls on vegetarian and vegan products, but a whole section on free from food as well. This is perfect as, whilst I'm trying to go as plant based as possible, I also need to cut gluten from my diet (though thankfully not the gluten in oats, which I seek to be fine with). I was mainly there on an information gathering mission, especially on companies I would like to buy from in the future, but I did purchase some products as well.
Shøre Seaweed is probably one of my favourite finds of the day, and I'd never even heard of them before. They are a food company and all their products are made from seaweed sustainably harvested from the shores of Wick (Scotland). I got the snack pack that included all of their snack flavours and a reusable bag (what's not to love), and so far I've enjoyed every flavour I've tried. In the future I plan to bring my own snacks with me to save on waste and money, but this is definitely a product I'm going to keep an eye open for if I need to get something on the go. And it's vegan, gluten free, and full of nutrients (seaweeds amazing - I love seaweed).
I'm coming to the end of my shampoo bar now and I wanted to find other companies that I could buy from in the future. There were a few and I've kept their details, but I didn't want to buy a whole lot at once so I went for some tester bars from Surya Luna Naturals. The lovely lady I spoke to knew a lot about the products and what would be good for different skin and hair types. Based on her advice I brought the Spiced Liquorice Root and Heather Rose. Depending on how they go I might try their balms and soaps as well. Based in Aberdeen all their products are made from plant oils and butters, and essential oils. They are also responsible sourced and cruelty free, as well as using minimum and recyclable packaging.
I guess this is what this show is all about because I hadn't come across Memi Makeup before either. They have lovely looking eye shadows and lipsticks, but let's face it I don't need any of those at the moment. However, I was needing a new mascara so went for the Volume Edition. It looks like their Expert Liner has good reviews as well, but maybe next year once I've used up what I have already. Based in the UK all their products are vegan and cruelty free.
Okay, so this is going to sound strange but Koko's Dairy Free Cheddar is the product I'm most excited about finding. Ever since watching Jamie Oliver make a vegan lasagne on 'Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast' I've been trying to find it. Unfortunately you only seem to be able to get it at Waitrose at the moment, nearest of which is no where near me, so when I saw it at the show I had to buy it. Whilst it apparently melts really well I'm actually going to use it in my sandwiches instead of cheese (though I may make a veggie bake as well) which I will thoroughly enjoy while it lasts.
If you know me at all you'll know what I'm a beer lover, but I can't really drink it that often because of the gluten in it. Enter Jubel Beer - yay! UK based it's vegan, gluten free, naturally infused (whatever that means), and most importantly tastes really good. At the moment you can only get it at Sainsbury's so it'll probably just be a beer I get now and then when I pass one of their stores. Of course, the glass bottles means they're easy to recycle too.
The next product is an interesting one and comes from a organisation called Hempen Co-operative. This is a worker's co-operative which grows hemp in the UK organically to produce a variety of products and whose model is based on sustainability (in all areas) rather than profit. When I was reading up on finding non drug based help with my many allergies I found some information about CBD being an anti-inflammatory as well as helping to support your immune system. So when I saw this stall I went over to have a chat and based on the information try provided decided to start with the tea option as this is the mildest form to start off with and get my body used to it. If it goes well and works I can move on to the full spectrum oil which I can buy online.
I've been using Dove Farm Freee products for quite a while now, mainly to make my own bread, and I really like them. The recipes are easy to follow and they always give you alternatives in case you don't want to or can't use dairy or eggs, etc. At the Just V Show they put on a number of cooking shows, such as making gluten free sponge cake and bread (which are the two I went to), and I'm glad I did as the information was pretty useful. One thing I didn't 100% get before was that when you make the mixture for gluten free bread and rolls it's actually a batter rather than a dough, hence the reason you have to bake it in a pan rather being able to mould it. I picked up their free recipe and information booklets and decided to buy their FREEE Seeded Bread Mix to try. I don't think I'll get this mixture regularly, but it'll give me ideas for what I make in the future.
I have lunch boxes etc that I use all the time but I've been looking for a material lunch / snack container for a while to use when I want something less bulky. When I saw this Re-Wrap-It it seemed perfect. Easy to use as well as clean, it's also made in Scotland by inmates at Kilmarnock Prison who get to learn a new skill. There were a lot of good designs but I decided to go for one that would show the dirt less as my work means I can rarely keep anything dirt free.
There was also a goodie bag available which came with some coupons, a packet of kitty treats (no idea what I'm going to do with that), some Fairy non-bio washing liquid (really not something I would normally chose but I'll use it), a fruit Yes! bar (I don't normally like these things but I'll try it), and a Love Beauty and Planet shampoo (which is going straight into my travel bag). I have noticed Love Beauty and Planet products before but I tend to steer clear as they contain SLS which makes my skin itchy and the packing, whilst mostly recycles, is still plastic. However, they are vegan and do have some good policies and goals in place, it's just not a product I will probably actively get in the future.
I also picked up some business cards from companies I didn't buy any products from this time around but would be interested in doing so in the future. These were Organic J (an Aberdeenshire based company making organic, cruelty free, synthetic free products), Lucky Cloud (an Edinburgh based company that makes handmade, vegan, cruelty and SLS etc free products in recyclable packaging), and Carnies Soaperie (another Scottish based company, this time in Kirkintilloch, which produces plant based soaps and body care. I'm particularly interested in the nettle line).
So, all in all it was worth the trip and I got a lot more information then I was expecting. I'm not sure if I'll make this a yearly thing, but it's given me ideas to move forward with.
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