Tag: low impact vegan

We are still here, but mostly living in the kitchen!

We are still here, but mostly living in the kitchen!

After three and a half months of living on hiatus, it seems most suitable to break the long silence and share what we have been up to!

Creating food against shallowness and commercialism

Creating food against shallowness and commercialism

We delivered a big order for a customer who is very supportive of reusing unconventional packaging. Creating less garbage is what we are after! Since last week we have had our online vegan food shop officially open. This existed for a while in our heads 

Vegan Very Much Shop is here with June fundraiser!

Vegan Very Much Shop is here with June fundraiser!

This is not our average post, but a short and quite sharp and straightforward announcement! Visit our shop while supporting our fundraiser!

We are so happy to announce that our Very Very Much Shop is finally open for business! To start it off in a special way, we are throwing a June Bake-Sale Fundraiser Since we are located in Toronto, Canada, this is the only city we are available to cater to at the moment.

For the longest time, we have been thinking of following two of our long-time passions: food and helping animals. No matter what personal challenges we face, there are always others worse off than ourselves and there is always something to be grateful for if we pay attention. There are many ways and opportunities to give back. We are used to volunteering our time and skills for the well-being of others.

Hence, for the month of June in celebration of our shop launch, we are selling simple and tasty vegan food and donating a large portion of the profit.

A loaf of a vegan banana bread on a cutting board made for the fundraiser
Delicious, moist and flavourful vegan banana bread

Why we are having this fundraiser?

  • promote veganism
  • donate money for animal causes
  • give our part of volunteering
  • to meet our neighbours

Where will my donation go?

For the month of June, 50% of the proceeds will go to a vegan-friendly charity! Want to help animal rights or support animal sanctuaries or help plant more trees? Order savoury carrot pie for yourself and your loved ones!

How it works?

Order on Mon/Tues/Wed by 6 pm and get your goodies delivered for free on Thursday! 

Orders on Thurs/Fri/Sat by 12pm and get your goodies delivered for free on Sunday!

**We currently ONLY deliver to Anywhere between Broadview, Danforth, O’Connor, and Donlands Avenues in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

via porch drop off 

or

we can deliver it right to you at your building.

Three pieces of a vegan carrot pie on a cutting board made for the fundraiser
Our newest addition to our baked goods – wonderful vegan savoury carrot pie

What is the suggested donation for a Pay What You Can slice? (per slice of carrot pie or banana bread)

$5 ($2.50 or half will be donated to charity!)

What is the price for a whole pie or bread? (fixed price)

$15 (6 decent pieces)

$20 (8 pieces)

Payment options: 

You can pay with cash during delivery or send an e-Transfer before delivery to info@veganverymuch.com Please use vegan as the security answer

Thank you for giving from your heart!

Please fill in the form below your desired product to order your goodies!

Want to support us? Visit our shop and purchase something tasty for yourself and your loved ones, while helping a charity! Visit the shop to find out more!

Vegan Very Much is having its 5th year Veganniversary!

Vegan Very Much is having its 5th year Veganniversary!

Do you celebrate your vegan anniversary? Is this even a thing? Yes, it is! And it even does have it’s special name – veganniversary!

Going vegan  – easy tips to help you get started

Going vegan – easy tips to help you get started

You have made the wonderful decision of going vegan. Good for you, we applaud your decision. But what’s next? Let us share some simple tips!

30-day minimalism challenge: 210 + 105 fewer items

30-day minimalism challenge: 210 + 105 fewer items

20 days later after participating in a 30-day minimalism challenge to have fewer items – what was the outcome?

This is the follow-up of our previous article 30-day minimalism challenge posted some weeks ago.

We introduced that we will participate in this fun challenge and will get rid of things we do not need. Basically, the challenge works like this: find a friend, family member, or co-worker who’s willing to minimize their stuff with you next month. The idea is very easy: each person gets rid of one thing on the first day of the month. Two things on the second. Three things on the third. So forth and so on.

As it was said that giving away few things in the first week was not so complicated at all, but it got harder after day 10. As in each day, you have fewer items to depart with. We were very persistent and went through ALL drawers, pantries, and closets. I didn’t forget clothes, but I didn’t include them in this challenge. I need a bit more time to go through these and let items go. My main wish was to declutter and get rid of meaningless things, which we found quite a lot.

Photo showing 20 items, which contributed to a fewer items at home after 30-day minimalism challenge
My last 20 items I was able to let go during a 30-day minimalism challenge

210+105 items, off you go!

Amazingly, in 20 days I was able to gather 210 items and Eve participated for 14 days letting go of 105 items. So 315 fewer items in our home! We did this just to challenge ourselves and to get rid of things in a fun way. While we had trouble getting rid of things before, we were quite okay to let things go while participating in the challenge.

We gathered the things for some time in two cardboard boxes, and then at one point, we started taking things out. It was starting to be a bit too much, you know. Luckily we had mostly smaller items to give away. We were taking the little boxes out one by one out and guess what? They found new homes very fast!

Most of the things we were getting rid of we have been trying to sell or trade for months, so we knew that selling or trading didn’t work. Since we do not throw things in the garbage, but share instead with friends or strangers, putting out a cardboard box with a sign free – worked the best for us.

Changes we noticed after the 30-day minimalism challenge:

  • things we own now all have a purpose
  • our counters and top of the furniture is clutter-free
  • bookshelves look presentable
  • the lunch containers drawer is closing with ease and looks organized
  • we don’t have food at home anymore we do not consume
  • overall pushed us to be tidier and keep it that way
  • it is easier to keep things tidy and have more space to move things around in closets
  • fewer items around you just feel better

Conclusion

If you want to have fewer items in your home, please take the 30-day challenge. It is a fun way and doesn’t take long. And, remember you just have to engage with it until you have the needed amount for a particular day together. You can continue the next day where you stopped. Or gather more and have the items ready for the next day. Remember you can always repeat this challenge if you feel like you need fewer items at your home.

P.s. Don’t forget to check #minsgame to see what others have been doing 🙂

The 30-day minimalism challenge to get rid of stuff!

The 30-day minimalism challenge to get rid of stuff!

If you haven’t heard about minimalism, then it is your time to jump on and find out what a fun thing is a 30-day minimalism challenge!

Let’s make this year about challenges!

Let’s make this year about challenges!

We have been throwing some challenges this year: Veganuary and volunteering. Perhaps you are ready for more?

I want to be vegan for a month!

I want to be vegan for a month!

As luck has it January is known as Veganuary. Therefore it is very easy to try to be vegan for a month! Our three tips will help you!

So you have made a wonderful decision of wanting to try being vegan for a month. No matter how long you can hold on to it, your choice is very much worthy of applause. Even if you manage to be vegan just for one day, you will save 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forest, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life. Isn’t that great?

But month being vegan does sound much nicer, eh? With the help of a wonderful vegan calculator at Vegancalculator.com, you can do some easy math. So during one month of being vegan, you would save the following:

The numbers speak to itself, right?

There is more than one reason to try going vegan for a month at least. Below are some things to keep in mind though when going vegan. These few tips will help you out during the most difficult few days and weeks.

What matters you the most?

Now think about why you want to be vegan for a month? Is it for the health, the animals or environment or some other reason? Though the most popular reasons are health and compassion for the animals, the others around you, especially meat-eaters can be threatened by that. As they think you are trying to be better than them. Or they will just do not get your sudden wish of loving animals of all kinds. The third reason why people go vegan is for the environment. This is half less popular than the previous answer. But this is actually the most acceptable cause for those who are not vegans. Environment affects us all, and making conscious choices about your eating habits, may actually make others also want to question theirs.  

Being vegan is connected to saving CO2, forests, and water. In a year a person who only eats plants will save:

  • 3,373 kilograms of CO2
  • 3,340 square meters of forest
  • 1,520,851 liters of water

Striking numbers, right?

Going vegan doesn't mean giving up your sweets - two very rich and creamy vegan cakes
Don’t worry you do not have to give up all your favourite creamy and fatty desserts – the vegan variety is awesome!

Eat more

When you do not consume animal products you leave out of your plate, you’re not eating so much. it is really important to replace the missing food items with others. Think of tofu, tempeh, beans, mushrooms, etc. Vegans tend to eat more, as the meals made of plants are less calorically intense. So you need to compensate for what you are missing. If you really love cheese, deli slices, and some other animal products, do not worry. There are a wonderful variety of all kinds of spreads, cheeses, and mock meat. Another good way how to eat properly is to google for vegan meal recipes. You will find a galore of breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas.  Whole grains, legumes, and starches are your friends now. You need to consume more of these food items to obtain more energy!

Plan ahead!

It is very important to stay on track when just started with a vegan lifestyle. Our lives are oftentimes so busy that we do not have time enough to prepare our meals and snacks. That’s how we may grab a muesli-bar which has some milk powder in it or a pastry made of eggs and butter. Believe us, we know that there are not many vegan-friendly snack options always nearby. Be one step ahead and prepare a little snack bag. It may consist of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and dark chocolate bits. Most of the potato chips are vegan and so are Oreo cookies. Let us recommend once again our favourite snack – peanut butter or peanuts and banana. Oh, they go together so well, giving you a sweet and salty, soft and crunchy experience. And this combo is oh so filling.

Conclusion

Starting with something or changing habits may not come overnight. If you started this journey because of health issues, you may see some changes overnight or you may have to wait for the results. Do not give up, just enjoy your path. The easiest is to cook food yourself and make your favourite homemade meals vegan. If you need help vegan websites and communities are there for you. Remember, plan a bit ahead, as every beginning is a bit bumpy. As an article we read about becoming vegan – it is a journey, not a race.

Perhaps now you want to be vegan longer than just a month.

Read more about our other article on Veganury here.

Helpful links:

Get help from this vegan starter kit at Veganuary.com

If you’re still not sure what to expect, read more by Maggie Kelly about her experience of going vegan for a month at Bodyandsoul.com

Statistics of the vegancalculator.com are listed here.