u/Normal-Picture2042

This question is for people who use EVO for cooking as well as drizzling. I just read that 500ml of olive oil should last about 1 month for someone who cooks with it. Well I just finished a 500ml bottle in 2 weeks! I do eat a lot of Italian and Spanish food, so I use a little oil to fry off my ingredients and also drizzle a little extra on at the end. I cook every day, majority of the time using EVO (occasionally vegetable oil). Am I getting through EVO way too quickly? Is 500ml in 2 weeks a normal amount or too much?

Looking at switching my dog to a vegan diet. We currently give her a mix of dry and wet food. V-dog dry food looks like decent value for money, and not much of a price difference in the dry food we currently give her. But I can’t seem to find affordable vegan wet food? We currently pay £19 for 18 x 390g cans. All the vegan wet foods I’ve found seem to be double that price. I’m debating batch cooking some wet food for her (this obviously wouldn’t be her main source of nutrients, it’s just to top the dry food and make it more tasty) but we don’t have much freezer space. Any recommendations?

I’m very new to good quality EVO (previously always bought the cheap stuff). I’m specifically wanting a fresh, high polyphenol EVO that obviously tastes good too. I recently bought a tin of Odysea Greek olive oil which was miles better than the cheap 1L plastic bottle I used to buy in Aldi lol. But although it’s nice, I’m looking to up my game and I would especially like more of the health benefits from EVO.

Has anyone here tried Honest toil olive oil? What’s your opinions on it? Is it worth it? The 3L box actually works out pretty decent value, but of course I would buy a small bottle first to try it. I’m looking for an EVO to cook with as well as using for dips/drizzling.

I was also looking at the Citizens of soil subscription, but in terms of value for money I think Honest toil is better value. Thoughts?

Just got my hands on some Parveggio from M&S and I’m super excited to try it after reading the recommendations. I will obviously be using it to top pastas, but I used to use loads of parmesan in my cooking pre-vegan (melted into sauces, risotto etc.) so just wondered if it melts well into sauces? Also, if sprinkled on something like pizza and then put back in the oven for a few mins, will it melt? I bought the grated version as it was the only version available, the wedges seem to be hard to get hold of even online. TIA 😊

Having a BBQ this week and I’m torn on what cheese to buy for my burger. I have used Cathedral City slices which were fine, and I will buy them again if there’s no better option. I kind of want that American style plastic cheese? The type you get at McDonalds. Interested in maybe trying the Violife slices (haven’t tried any Violife cheese before). What’s your go to supermarket cheese for a burger?

To give context, I (30F) live in the UK. My parents have been radicalised by GB news, a far right propaganda “news” channel who big up Nigel Farage and Trump. I guess it’s the equivalent of Fox news? My family have always been right wing, but over the past few years they’ve moved further and further to the right. Especially ever since Labour came into power (left wing party), my parents do nothing but talk about how awful the UK is and how it’s in the “worst state it’s ever been” (not true).

My partner and I visit my parents once every 3 months or so, and spend the night there because they are a fair distance away. I usually dread it, because as much as I love my family, politics always comes up in conversation. Usually in the evening after everyone has had a drink. My mum especially becomes very argumentative when drunk, she always has (I used to hate her being drunk when I was young as there was always arguments). There’s been a few times where my mum will try to provoke me by making political digs here and there, trying to get me to take the bait, and I’ve just ignored her. But sometimes ignoring her makes her even more mad to the point she explodes or she’ll just keep going on and on and on until you argue back. We have very different views on many things, and I hate to say it, but my mum is actually very uneducated when it comes to politics. I love her, but she just believes everything she sees on social media and GB news (which she doesn’t believe is a right wing biased channel), she doesn’t bother to fact check anything. She just believes the headlines “immigrants & benefit scroungers are ruining the country”. Debating her is completely pointless, because she’s extremely stubborn and dismisses any logical argument. She doesn’t even believe the statistics that net migration is down and the economy is up.

Last night we spent the night there, and after a few drinks a big political argument kicked off but it was worse than usual, with my mum getting angry and shouting. She had this mad look in her eyes which I hate when she’s drunk. I told her about three times during her shouting match “look, you think one way, I think another way, we’re clearly never going to agree so let’s just drop it” and each time she just dismissed me and continued to argue. I told her I don’t want to talk politics, and it actually makes me dread coming to visit them, but she continued. I actually just got up and went to the bathroom in the end to wait for things to cool down. Luckily she did calm down but not long later she started telling me and my partner we should have children because we’d be great parents, when she knows we have zero interest in having children! She started trying to convince my partner that he’d be a “great dad!” it’s almost like she wanted to persuade him so that he’d then persuade me. I feel like it’s disrespectful. My partner and I went to bed soon after.

The next morning my mum just comes downstairs and acts as if nothing happened. No apologies or acknowledgements, just back to her normal self. So we’re fine now…

But I’ve gotten home and just feel a bit depressed. I love my family, but I hate their political views and the fact they always feel the need to argue with us. To be clear, I have told my parents on multiple occasions “please can we not talk politics when I come over” but no one cares about my boundaries and it’s always broken. I feel like I need to have a real honest chat with my mum and tell her that it really makes me upset, and it makes me not want to visit them. I know my mum will hate the conversation, because she’s very defensive and doesn’t like talking about emotions and boundaries (it’s all too “woke”). But my partner and I are both really sick of it. How do you handle parents like this? Who seem to want to argue? Especially after a drink. Any advice welcome and I’m sorry for the long rant.

I’ve made multiple batches of simple fermented cashew cheese and still trying to perfect my recipe. I’ve found that fermenting for only 24 hours or less gives me the nicest flavour, but I see so many people say they ferment it for longer in the fridge. I want to try it, but also worry about not liking the end result. Does it become sour? I know cashew cheese can ferment quite quickly.

On top of that, I’m also wondering what ingredients people put in their cashew cheese. I put a variety of seasonings in my cheese to try and give it that umami, cheddar flavour - but still I haven’t perfected it. Here’s what I currently add:

Unflavoured coconut oil (for firming), Lemon juice, Kimchi brine, Nutritional yeast, Garlic powder, Onion powder, white pepper, miso, truffle oil, dijon mustard, smoked water, smoked sea salt, MSG

I don’t often see people adding lemon juice to their fermented cheese, which is making me wonder if I should skip it? I do sometimes find that after fermenting, the cheese can be slightly too acidic. Is the lemon juice contributing to this? I’m trying to recreate a mature cheddar, which I know is pretty much impossible really, but I’d love to get as close as possible! The cheese needs to have a sharpness to it, but I just don’t know whether it’s better to rely on the lemon juice for that, or instead omit the lemon juice and ferment the cheese for longer to get that sharp umami flavour?

Any advice would be appreciated, also if you have any suggestions for my recipe please let me know!

So I’m a lash tech who no longer feels any passion or motivation for my job. I stopped getting lash extensions myself about 2 years ago because it became expensive, and ever since then I’ve kind of lost my love for lash extensions. I’ve also noticed it getting a lot quieter this year, as people are wanting a much more natural look (plus people just can’t afford the upkeep). I could train in lash lifts and brows, but I’m just not sure I really want to continue down this path and worry about spending lots of money only to get bored of it in a year or two.

I am really into self care, and I think it’s important for the mind and body. Self care has also risen in popularity over the past few years. I don’t think looking after yourself ever really “goes out of fashion”. I love a massage myself, and I also like to make others feel good.

So I’m thinking of training to become a massage therapist. This is something I have thought about for a few years. I’m just curious if anyone here was/is in a similar position to me and can give any advice or insight. Do you have any regrets? Do you love your job? If you have done lash extensions or any other type of beauty in the past or currently, do you prefer to do massage or beauty? Thanks in advance :)

So I’m a lash tech who no longer feels any passion or motivation for my job. I stopped getting lash extensions myself about 2 years ago because it became expensive, and ever since then I’ve kind of lost my love for lash extensions. I’ve also noticed it getting a lot quieter this year, as people are wanting a much more natural look (plus people just can’t afford the upkeep). I could train in lash lifts and brows, but I’m just not sure I really want to continue down this path and worry about spending lots of money only to get bored of it in a year or two.

I am really into self care, and I think it’s important for the mind and body. Self care has also risen in popularity over the past few years. I don’t think looking after yourself ever really “goes out of fashion”. I love a massage myself, and I also like to make others feel good.

So I’m thinking of training to become a massage therapist. This is something I have thought about for a few years. I’m just curious if anyone here was/is in a similar position to me and can give any advice or insight. Do you have any regrets? Do you love your job? If you have done lash extensions or any other type of beauty in the past or currently, do you prefer to do massage or beauty? Thanks in advance :)

I’ve only been a lash tech for about 2.5 years and already feel done with it (for context I seem to have a pattern of getting bored of any job after about 1 - 2 years). I currently only offer lash extensions. I know I should train in lash lifts and brows too to maximise my income and keep busy (I’m never fully booked, and I’ve definitely noticed less clients this year too). Lash extensions do seem to be less popular right now, with many people opting for a more natural look (including me!). I also think many people can’t afford luxury treatments as much these days. That’s another reason I’ve not had my own lashes done in a long time.

I just feel I’m losing the passion for the beauty industry more and more recently. It’s been on my mind for probably a year to be honest which isn’t good lol, but I just kept pushing through it. I don’t “love” lash extensions anymore. And I’m worried about pouring lots of money into training for lash lifts and brows and then also losing interest in that too.

I’m thinking of quitting beauty, but I just have no idea what I want to do. I admit I’m very privileged, as my partner has a good job and earns enough to pay the majority of our bills. I’m currently earning less than minimum wage, so whatever job I go into next doesn’t exactly need to pay well. I just want something low stress. Has anyone else working in the beauty industry felt the same way? I would love to hear from anyone who has changed careers after being a lash tech.

I made the mistake of dying my bleached hair dark, not liking it, and bleaching it back to blonde. The whole process has severely damaged my hair. My bleached hair was actually pretty soft and healthy prior to this! But now it’s snapping near the root, leaving lots of little spruts of hair sticking straight up on my head. Every time I wash, more hair comes out. It’s still salvageable, and the majority of my hair remains, but I want to stop any more breakage.

I’ve already been using K18 for the past 4 weeks, which I think is helping? BUT my shampoo is a very cheap, drying, drugstore shampoo (I know I know, terrible for bleached hair). I’m wanting to swap to a gentle, sulphate free, moisturising shampoo. But I’m not sure that’s a good idea when using K18 directly after? I know you shouldn’t condition the hair before K18, but will a moisturising shampoo leave a film on the hair? Also, would a sulphate free shampoo cleanse the hair enough to allow the K18 to fully penetrate?

Thanks :)

I currently use “it’s a 10 plus keratin” but it’s not vegan, and I’m wanting to replace it when it’s finished.

I’m bleach blonde with very dry, damaged hair. I should stop bleaching it but I won’t lol 😭 So I need something that’s very moisturising and good for damaged hair. Thanks in advance!

I currently use “it’s a 10 plus keratin” but it’s not vegan, and I’m wanting to replace it when it’s finished.

I’m bleach blonde with very dry, damaged hair. I should stop bleaching it but I won’t lol 😭 So I need something that’s very moisturising and good for damaged hair. Thanks in advance!

I can’t decide what to use for my cashew cheese. Is one better than the other? Or will they all produce the same flavour after fermenting?

I’m trying to create a cheddar inspired cheese.

I’ve only been vegan around 6 months now. I really miss cheddar cheese. I’ve found decent vegan cream cheeses as well as mozzarella cheese (I am nut OK). Julienne Bruno is great too. But I haven’t found a really good cheddar. I’ve tried the fancy artisan cheeses, and although they are nice, they’re not very cheesy in my opinion. The closest I’ve tasted is Cathedral City extra mature, but it has that annoying sweetness to it. If they could get rid of that sweetness, it would be great! I like that it’s a solid block that’s grate-able and meltable. I like that it actually tastes (and smells) similar to cheddar. But that sweet tang sort of ruins it.

I’ve tried making my own vegan cheeses at home using cashews. They’re not bad, but still don’t taste quite right. It’s like I need something in between the Cathedral city cheese and a cashew cheese lol. I wish I knew what flavourings they used so that I could try and replicate it!

Just wondered what everyone’s thoughts were on this. Do you prefer artisanal vegan cheese or supermarket vegan cheese (or homemade cheese)? If anyone has a really good cheddar recipe please let me know!

Trying to perfect my seasonings for my mature cheddar cashew cheese. I haven’t made one that’s been able to scratch that itch for me yet :/

I currently use red miso, but I’ve seen a lot of people use white miso. Which do you prefer for cheese?

Also any other seasonings you add that really help give that cheesy flavour, let me know! Thanks :)