Our story It began in a foreign country in Western Europe. It was the summer of 2018. We made a move and later, another decision that would change our lives f o r e v e r. The city was Berlin. The year was 2017, in the … Read more...
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!
Dear you who you just stumbled to this small corner of our big world. Our website, where we mostly write about sustainable living, animals, and vegan food. Or you who you have been coming back and seeing no action here. Yes, we have been gone for a while, but not far at all. We just moved from our desks to the kitchen. The laptop was replaced with a stove.
Cooking
Ever since we started our home-cooking vegan food business, which mostly concentrates on vegan snacks and dried fruit chips, we had literally no time for writing. That doesn’t mean that we are not coming back. We may, but only time knows. The situation on our Mother Earth is not getting any better, so there are really urgent articles to write. But as urgent it may be, we also need to support ourselves to make the ends meet. As for you, so for us, the current world order has introduced many life changes. So more than ever it is important that we follow our passion and make a living on what we know the best – vegan cooking.
Freedom
Cooking is not the only thing that matters a lot. We love freedom, we love liberty and animals. This is why we try more to fight for our rights. Not only of the human brothers and sisters but also non-human brothers and sisters. We want to do more for the voiceless, for those who are caged, who are trapped or abused daily. The fight for animal liberation will never end. This is in our blood and in our hearts. We love animals and there is no place for animal abuse in our world.
Go vegan
If you do love animals as well, please consider taking the steps in your life, where you harm them the most. The easiest is to become vegan. If you are not quite ready this year, then please start freshly on the new year. Veganuary is taking place every year. This is your chance to start with a change. If you stop eating animal products, you will notice soon that your dog or cat is not much different from a cow or a chicken. They both have a right to the best lives. Just one is keeping you company and making you happy. While the other is meant to keep far away from you and feed you. They all should be free and not serve us, especially not sacrificing their lives for our taste buds. Living cruelty-free is good for animals, good for the planet, and good for you.
Make a change
Choose a compassionate living and start with eating no animal-derived foods. We are here to help you. We can help you out with a consultation, we can cook for your Christmas meal and we can become your friends. Help us to help animals by ordering special items from our Vegan Very Much Shop. You can find some fundraising food items made only using plants. We will donate the 50% as promised to a lovely animal sanctuary called Dara Farm Sanctuary. They are a cruelty-free, vegan living organization run by two guys. We have some other great ideas, how we can support them in the near future. Keep checking back and remember all lives matter.
Yours,
Eve and Kerly
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 and finally, we had the courage and means to make our dream come true. Though offering good vegan food is our main output, creating less garbage (and not participating in food waste) is just as important.
Creating vegan food…
When you are thinking of the food we offer, we hope you think of tasty, filling, and flavourful food. The kind of food you remember eating when you were young, the food the wise old women in your family made. But you do not have time to make it at home, or have no interest and learning to make yourself. Food which you can’t buy from the store. And you wouldn’t want to either, because freshness would be lost. As though the store-bought food you crave, may fill the gap for your tastebuds, it definitely creates a gap in your health. Commercially produced foods are always full of empty calories, fillers, and unnatural ingredients and additives to stretch the dollar. Nobody should put that kind of stuff in their bodies.
When we think of the food we are creating, we are following the next simple rule set out by wonderful food guru Michael Pollan:
“If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”
Michael Pollan
And another famous quote from “Finding Nemo”, which has inspired us a lot, in a bit changed form:
“Fish/animals are friends. Not food.”
Bruce the Shark
Simple as that? Right? This is why our recipes are simple and made of few natural plant-based ingredients. We love animals and want them to enjoy their lives. By using only plants, simple herbs, and spices, we are creating pleasant cruelty-free eating experiences. The ingredients do not come to us packed in many packages, and they will not reach the customers packed in many packages. Creating less garbage? Yes, please.
…against shallowness…
We are just making good vegan food. Period. We are not aiming for our products to be visually top-notch. Though we are aware of the fact that we first eat with our eyes, we may not deliver so much in the visual section. But we definitely want to slam in the culinary section! I think this is agreeable, better a bad looking and tasty food, than good-looking, yucky and unhealthy food.
Though I love photography and always want to take good food photographs, I am never aiming to create beautiful, colorful, but always the same-looking Instagram suitable photos. I admit that the vegan food feeds look gorgeous. The creativity of the people is out of this world. I respect plant-based home or professional chefs who make good meals and have wonderful photos. Though I appreciate their work, this is not something I aim to do myself. I want to create less garbage and have the food on the photos look how it actually is. I don’t want to be popular on Instagram, because I want to reach people who appreciate what we are creating. Real food made of real ingredients by real people.
…and commercialism
We do not like buying for buying’s sake. And shopping. And malls. We do not want to add to the richness of big corporations. We are doing everything opposite as much as possible. Commercialism doesn’t help to create less garbage, it only adds more. We do not want to invest in fancy, and beautiful packages you are using just once. The package is meant to be practical, not to give you a wow-effect. This should come while eating the food. Again, I do appreciate it when people put so much effort into making their products beautiful. I myself like simple, environmentally friendly packages or reusing of what is already there. Too many things exist already and via mutual aid, we can share and trade things we do not need. A different approach can be done if the volumes are small and you really care.
So we are saying no to single-use plastic and will not buy any containers or Ziplocks or any plastic items to pack our food into. We have been given by our kind friend some of the above-listed items and we will be using what we have.
Conclusion
How lucky we are that the big order we had was received by a kind person, who actually noticed our so-called homemade attempts to create less waste. We delivered a pack of 6 Pride rainbow cookies with glaze, which we didn’t want to put in a large container with a lid. Instead, we decided to use just the lid as a plate and covered it with foil instead (already had). If you are smart, creative, and care above all, you can use foil many times after you have bought it home, depending on its condition.
Our kind customer noticed this and mentioned that in their follow-up email. They were even so kind as to offer extra containers, which we collected the following day. They said that they wash them and prefer that they be reused at least once before ending up in the landfills since the notorious black takeout food containers are not recyclable (the downside of the ordering in) because the machines cannot detect black. Such are the people we want to reach. Who wants to support food that doesn’t torture animals, to create for customers who appreciate taste over looks, and understand the idea of reusing and a more low-impact lifestyle.
Feel free to leave a container on your porch next time you are ordering from us! 😉
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.
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.
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!
Going vegan – easy tips to help you get started
You have made a wonderful decision of going vegan. Good for you, we applaud your decision. But what’s next? Let us share some simple tips to help you!
Pat yourself on the shoulder for making that amazing decision. Summer is the easiest time to start your vegan journey. The new beginnings are sometimes hard and full of challenges. Let us direct you through the obstacles, which may arise. Please take a look at our short to-do list after making a decision when transitioning to a plant-based life. Please know that this list is in random order. You will find what is more important to you, so you can tackle that first. If you have anything else to add, please let us know, we would love to update this list.
Simple tips to follow to help your transition easier to vegan
*Start clearing your pantry, fridge, and freezer – read the labels and take all out which is not made of plants. But please do not trash the food. Look for donation options via community fridges, food banks, especially if you have lots of unopened products. If you have opened items and feel comfortable giving them away, please put everything in a box. Put it on the curb, or by recycling collection areas and your food will find a new home fast.
*Plan your meals – in the beginning, it may hard to find what to eat. That’s why you should have ideas for the first weeks. Find inspiration from Elephantastic Vegan.
*Tell your friends and family about your decision on going vegan – tell them your story. Add whatever you want to share with them, now when you are on your plant-based journey. Perhaps sharing this link from The Spruce Eats helps them to understand you better from the eating perspective.
*Educate yourself constantly – read more. Follow vegan news, check new recipes, visit vegan forums – the vegan community is there to help you.
*Meet other vegans – post on Instagram, follow fellow vegan websites, reach out in your neighbourhood groups – the people you meet there will always offer you support and help to answer your questions.
*Ask help from us – we are always here to help people transitioning to vegan and share personal tips on their righteous path.
More to come, so keep your head up!
We will break these points to separate articles and help you find more information behind all these suggestions. So, please check back weekly to find more information.
It may not be easy in the beginning, but which beginning is easy ever? So stay true to yourself. Remind yourself of the reason for you going vegan. Think of the values, the lives of the animals in whose death you are not participating, and of what it means to you. We are creatures of habits, we can change if we want to, it takes time, but it can be done!
Welcome to the wonderful vegan family!
Ask and you’re given – mutual aid at its best
Do you need anything? Just ask. Mutual aid is based on asking and helping each other’s goals come true! Get to know more about it below.
As you know, for the past four months, we have been making vegan sandwiches for those in need. We reached out to Food Not Bombs Toronto to offer some saved food items. Then we got to talking with a volunteer from there and he introduced us to mutual aid. A term we knew about but didn’t think of it so much before. Mutual aid is perhaps new to many therefore needs a wider introduction.
In organization theory, mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Mutual aid projects are a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions.
Source: Wikipedia.org
Anyway, besides that, he told that FNB is looking for people who would love to take over the sandwich making. As the other team was just ending their work. We were like, okay, but 100 sandwiches sound like a big deal. Making food for so many people wasn’t definitely a skill in our CV’s. But we thought that perhaps this is how we can introduce veganism to a wider audience. To show that vegan food is beautiful and nutritious.
Aiming for the best
Ever since we started with our task of making sandwiches we strived for the best. As vegans, we love and appreciate food. For a couple of years, we have also been fighting for food waste. What a great moment for us – save food and feed people! Also since we are not into consumerism and are frugal, we wanted since the beginning to keep the costs for Food Not Bombs as low as possible.
So far we have offered sandwiches made of different kinds of beans, such as black, white and kidney beans and our favourites, chickpeas. Few times we have been experimenting with wonderful results with vegan eggplant bacon. With mayo, tomato, and fresh lettuce leaf, this has proved to be a hit. At least amongst us two 🙂 One time we were lucky to score 10 packages of Ives gluten-free burgers. We smeared them in barbecue sauce and grilled them in the oven, these burgers were a hit among the receiving end.
Mutual aid started to work little by little, as we received food from different people. Many times people just gave away what they didn’t need, and we were able to put this to work while making sandwich fillings. Awesome! We didn’t think that there is so much free food to save if you just happen to be at the right place at the right time.
Though we like what we are doing, we also like to excite ourselves during this process. So we are trying to come up with new ideas and offer a more varied sandwich selection. But fabricated vegan products are quite expensive, so we have been mostly using vegetables and beans for delivering healthy sandwiches.
Would you be able to donate?
At the end of the last year, I really started to think about what I could do to make these sandwiches better. I knew that there had to be a way. Perhaps reaching out to vegan companies would bring some results. Though I wasn’t really sold on that idea, I decided to give mutual aid a chance and see what it may bring.
I contacted more than twenty companies. Some small local companies and some huge brands from the United States. When writing to them I didn’t think that they will take a step. As the companies have branches in Canada as well and perhaps even in Toronto, so it would be easier to communicate and deliver.
Anyway, we got back, I think around 6 replies. Guess what, responses came mostly from larger companies. This was really surprising, as I have been doing cold e-mailing before and they usually never get back. Wow, so I actually had some leads I could tie down to deals. My heart was full of joy and happiness. Mostly I was glad that people cared and gave mutual aid a chance. Even if it was just a promise to donate something in the future.
Yes, please! I want to Follow Your Heart!
One responder really stood out from the rest, as they were ready for action. The person was representing the company Follow Your Heart. If you are a vegan you are most likely familiar with their famous vegenaise. And perhaps you know their variety of vegan cheeses.
The representative of FYH was really supportive of what we are doing and offered their contribution to make better vegan sandwiches. They were all business when they asked for our mailing address. On Friday UPS delivered a 45 lbs box for our sandwich making. Just on time for our Saturday preparations.
When we opened the box, we were blown away – so many slices of cheese and vegan mayo! Yay, looks like we are on for grilled cheese sandwiches. And for many more ihttps://followyourheart.com/products/avocado-oil/n the future!
Thank you, mutual aid!
On Thursday I reached out to community members near us and a couple of friends. I contacted people from whom I have received free items or delivered similar things to them. Or people who have shared their surplus food with us. We have to talk later about the idea of the Buy Nothing Project, which practicing mutual aid actively.
Anyway, many didn’t have an electric griddle to lend, but our two friends, Ian and Maimu had. We were really happy and were hoping to make these sandwiches with two machines. Ian was even so kind to drop his griddle off. And I bought Maimu’s from her nearby porch.
We had an electric griddle for 8 sandwiches and an electric pan for 4. We were on!
Conclusion
The idea of this article was to give you a little idea of what mutual aid is. Encourage you to ask for what you need and be grateful for what you have.
From this article, many other subjects were hatches, which we will introduce to you in the near future. Such as the idea of the Buy Nothing Project, how to make perfect grilled sandwiches, and introduce mostly on photos how a large company can be environmentally friendly and make a change in people’s lives.