Conor's Bandon Blog

Running, Food and Local stuff from a blow-in

Mirch Masala - Best vegan menu in Ireland?

Incredible range of vegan and vegetarian dishes in Clonakilty
We are spending two weeks in Clon whilst our kitchen gets rebuilt and decided to treat ourselves to an Indian takeaway on the first night. A bit of googling revealed that there was a new place called Mirch Masala, so I loaded up their website on my phone and my jaw hit the floor as I started browsing the menu. The range of vegan and vegetarian options is almost beyond belief.

How Flahavan's Oat Milk can out-market the big brands

There are a few areas Flahavans could dominate quickly
I was so pleased when I heard Flahavan’s was getting into the oat milk market. As the most famous porridge brand in Ireland, it seemed like an obvious move. I only turned plant-based in January 2020 and switched to oat milk pretty quickly as I preferred, and still prefer, its taste to all the other plant milks. Having Flahavans as an option along with the usual Oatly, Califia, Minor Figures and Alpro means I can now finally support Irish farmers again with my cuppa tea and coffee.

Irish Lockdown Vegan Brown Soda Bread recipe

This is better than any store-bought brown soda bread. Not as good as my mother's tho.
In January 2020, I went 99.9% plant-based as a way of kick-starting serious weight loss after 20 years of being either overweight or obese. The only initial exception was cow milk in my tea. I did similar back in 2016 but that was my silly “6 Day Vegan” plan where I ate chicken curry on a Friday. Both times I’ve used Veganuary as the starting point. After two months at 99.