When I was in the Netherlands, visiting Groningen, I went to the newly opened supermarket there and it’s 100% vegan! So amazing.. to know you can have everything what they sell. You don’t need to read labels and worry that there are any animals products. I said to the man at the till that I wish they had this in London too. And he answered: there is! How did I not know about this? A vegan supermarket in London and I didn’t even hear anything about it? So a while ago I went there and it was lovely. Not sure if you can actually call it a supermarket though, because it’s very small. The one in the Netherlands is also not very big, but bigger than Green Bay. Still, it was very nice!
Green Bay is located on a corner, in a lovely looking building. I like the colours outside their logo and the window stickers. Neutral, simple and attractive. Even though it’s fairly small, they did their best to fit in as many products as possible. Though it’s not comparable with VeganZ in Berlin for example. They have granola’s and cereals, cheeses, seitan, tofu, soups, kombucha, snacks, beauty products and lots more. It would be nice if they would also do veggies and more every day products etc. So it would actually be possible to get all your groceries from there. I think at this stage, that is maybe not possible yet. I’m sure that in the future, if more people turn vegan, Green Bay can expand.
I do think, we as vegans, have to support stores like this. It’s a shame it’s a little far from me, though the bus in front of my flat does go here. I went twice now, but I feel like I should go more often. By supporting this, we vote for vegan supermarkets. It would be a dream come true if there would be supermarkets like VeganZ here in the UK and all over the world. This is the way supermarkets of the future will look like. So, even though you live far, try to go as often as possible. You can just buy things you need anyway. Like nutritional yeast, tofu, granola, snacks etc. It’s not that hard and not that more expensive to get it from here. Show your support by consuming from the right companies!
WHO? Green Bay.
WHERE? 228 North End Rd, W14 9NU.
CUISINE? Supermarket.
VEGAN? Yes!
OVERALL? 8 (small, but well organised with nice products)
Did you go yet? What did you buy and do you agree with me by spending our money in the right place? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. You can also show me by tagging me or by using #PlanetManel on Instagram. Thanks you! X
This fridgecurious we are taking a look in the fridge of my cousin Mandy and her boyfriend Sven. What is so nice, is that it’s Mandy’s birthday today, yay! Happy Birthday! What is even nicer, Mandy is vegan since October 2016. Before she went vegan she was already vegetarian for 10 years. In the beginning of the transition she found it was quite a lot to take in and to learn and read about veganism, but it’s going very well now and she feels very good! I’m so proud of her that she took this step, as we are the only vegans in our family. Her boyfriend is still omni and so I thought it was interesting to see how they make this work. They both work full time and that’s why they go grocery shopping once a week. This works much better than getting bits and bobs every day. They rotate between 4 supermarkets, but most of it they get at the Dutch supermarket ‘Jumbo’. They only sometimes go to ‘Eko Plaza’ (health supermarket) or the Vegan Supermarket to get some special things. Because the 2nd of March they will move to the city Groningen, going to these supermarkets will probably increase as they will be much closer by then.
On the top shelf of the fridge she keeps all the spreads and sauces. There is a very nice plant-based herb-butter she gets at her local supermarket. They both like spicy food, so there is also a bottle of ‘sambal’, but the thing she is most happy with, is the plant-based mayonnaise from ‘Remia’. She has a jar and a bottle of this. She displayed the bottle in the front of the fridge, especially for the picture, haha.. I love it! The love for mayonnaise is so Dutch, I love it myself and I have to watch out I don’t eat too much of it. She likes to eat it with fries (yum!) and toasties and mix it up a bit with ketchup. I totally get this! Sven likes to drink sparkly water with a light flavour, so that’s what you see on the next shelf. You can also see bell peppers, carrots and cherry tomatoes. They eat a lot of vegetables and Mandy often takes cherry tomatoes and cucumber to work. In the left drawer you can see a package from the ‘vegetarische slager’ (vegetarian butcher) with ‘gehacktbal’, this is not vegan, but vegetarian. 
This is for Sven. He still eats a little meat now and then, but a lot of times he eats the same as Mandy or he goes for a vegetarian meal. They respect and take each others food choices into consideration. This is how they make it work and it makes them feel good. I do think that Sven deserves a compliment though! In the fridge door you can see a lot of Alpro products: butter, milk (Soy, Rice, Almond and she especially likes the Cashew) and yogurt. She likes to mix up the flavoured ones with the plain. Every morning she has breakfast with this yogurt, adding some oats and dried fruit. All the way in the top, you can see ‘Wilmersburger’ cheese. This is vegan cheese and super delicious. They use it to make toasties and often Sven eats toasties with this cheese too. They like the ‘Wilmersburger – würzig’ best.
Planet Organic.. almost Planet Manel, haha! There are 7 stores throughout London now, but they opened the first store in 1995. I really like the Planet Organic stores. They look amazing and you can just see it’s good food. They also definitely remind me of the 
weekly groceries. It’s definitely a reason why I would like to have a lot of money, haha, so I can buy all my food organic. A dream! I try to buy organic where I can though. As I believe that the organic stuff out there is not necessarily too expensive, but the cheaper products are just too cheap, as cheap stuff is mostly mass production made with less quality products. I also think that if we buy more organic, the price will go slightly down. So let’s vote with our wallet! One of the best thing about Planet Organic is that they sell absolutely nothing containing artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours, flavours or anything what has to do with GMO. Also they avoid hydrogenated fats in their products.
They try to be as sustainable as possible and encourage others to do so as well. For example, you can bring your own container and fill it up with cereals, coffee beans, seeds, nuts and lots more.. Which is so cool! They don’t use plastic bags and they use compostable take-away coffee cup lids. All very sustainable and truly great! Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that it’s all vegan. They are not even vegetarian as they still sell meat. And there is no such thing as sustainable meat.
Since I can remember I like to go to supermarkets. If my mum went groceries shopping, I always liked to go with her. I still like to be in the supermarket, maybe even more since I’m vegan. I can easily be in a big supermarket for 2 hours. Yes. Just to look at all the products, read ingredients and make recipes in my head. It really inspires me, sometimes I don’t even buy anything. Here in the UK you have really big supermarkets and gosh I love them,, BUT.. there is nothing like the WholeFoodsMarket! This is definitely my favourite supermarket at all times.
The WholeFoodsMarket is an American supermarket chain which opened it first store, with a staff of 19 people, in 1980 in Austin, Texas. Since then they have grown a lot. Today there are at least 431 stores within the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In 2007 the first WholeFoodsMarket opened in the UK(Thank God!), on High Street Kensington, West London. That also happens to be my favourite one. I almost feel magical walking inside. I get so excited walking around and finding new and healthy products. I enjoy the colourful vegetables which are all put down with care, the ‘organic’ signs and tags, the herbs and spices you just want to buy all, because they smell so fantastic. The self service area where you can fill bags with oats, beans, dried fruit and all sorts of dry stuff.. The nut butter machine! There is too much to mention.
There is a whole fridge section with vegan foods: tofu, cheese, yogurts, burgers, etc. I can easily stand there for ages. I like to slowly walk all the aisles, even if I just needed to get 2 things. I almost always see something new. They have lovely, good quality, kitchen accessories as well and a lot of cook books. Though they do have a few, I would love to see some more vegan ones. Also they have a big area with all sorts of supplements, beauty products, make up, baby and kids stuff(very nice things, I like to look there for presents) sport accessories(yoga) and even a massage chair. It’s a joy to look around and to learn all sorts of things.
The High Street Kensington store has 3 levels. The basement has the most products and that is mainly where you shop. On the ground floor there is a bakery, a take away food buffet, a juice bar, a flower corner and a cheese section(non vegan). I don’t drink myself, but if you enjoy a good glass of wine, you can also find quite a big wine area on the ground floor. The top floor is not for shopping, but for eating. You can enjoy the food you just bought, get a tea, smoothie and snack or enjoy a meal in one of the little restaurants.
The WholeFoodsMarket stands for good quality products, free of artificial preservatives, colours, flavours, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats. What unfortunately means they also sell meat and all other animal products. I always try to ignore it and focus on all the amazing products. Most of the time there are promotions and you can taste or try new products, which might be fun and handy, as the person promoting it can tell a lot about it.I also like that there is quite a lot of staff, so there is always somebody you can ask in case you’re looking for something.
I would really love to get all my groceries there, but it’s quite expensive and for me it’ll not be possible. That’s why I go about 2 times a month. I would like to go every week, but I know myself and I will spend all my money. So I don’t, haha! Another good reason to only go twice a month is that I never leave the store without buying a Vego chocolate bar!
Planet Manel 