If your healthy eating resolutions are beginning to flag, fear not. Feast on these amazing alternatives from around Surrey...
No to refined sugar. Yes to cake!
Sinless Dessert’s vegan magical muffins – free from gluten, wheat and refined sugar – come highly recommended by Sheengate staff.
“I cut refined sugar out of my diet about 11 years ago when I realised one day that I was addicted to it," says Sinless Dessert's owner Kasia Lukas. "I was shocked to see how sugar had been controlling me for so many years without me really being aware of it.
"At that time I couldn't find any cakes or desserts that didn’t contain sugar – even now it's almost impossible. So I started to create my own cakes to give people the freedom to enjoy desserts without feeling guilty.”
Made in Richmond, and available from Gaia Wholefoods in St Margarets; Retreat Café in Putney; Aroma Organic in Kew; and more
Check the Sinless Deserts website for details
Ditching dairy
Hampshire-based Rebel Kitchen’s colourful, funky packets of flavoured coconut mylk (yes, that’s the way they style it) are shaking up the dairy-free market both here and abroad.
They are suitable for vegans, those on a Paleo diet and are gluten, nut and soy free. The kids packs are perfect for lunchboxes, too.
Available from your local Waitrose and Tescos, or from the Rebel Kitchen website
Healthy chocolate (yes, really)
Ohso’s probiotic-filled Belgian chocolate bars have caused quite a stir since they were launched a couple of years ago.
Since then the Guildford-based company has grown in strength and now have a child-friendly range. Each bar contains a billion live cultures, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
Each bag contains 14 bars at £5.99.
Order direct from the Ohso website, or buy from Holland and Barrett, Boots, Waitrose, Tescos and Harvey Nichols Food Halls.
Better Snacking
Avoid the temptation of dipping into that packet of biscuits at work by ordering yourself (or, indeed, your office) some Graze snack boxes instead.
This Richmond-based company lets you tailor-make your own individual snack boxes by choosing from a bewildering and imaginative array of nibbles.
Boxes of four snacks cost from £3.99, and individual snack boxes are also available from major supermarkets.
Buy online from the Graze website
https://veganliftz.com/
Vegan pizza
Everyone loves pizza but if you are avoiding dairy or gluten, it can be a nightmare. Happily, there are a growing number of chains catering to these dietary requirements.
Basilico, with branches in East Sheen and Kingston/Surbiton, offers gluten-free bases and vegan cheese options.
Village Pizza does a healthy range of vegan pizzas, too, with outlets in Twickenham, Surbiton and Ewell.
Check the Basilico and Village Pizza websites for details or even to order online
