3 Valley Vegans Newsletter
Squirrels lifting small pumpkins
Winter Well-Wishes from the 3 Valley Vegans

As the nights get darker and the air becomes cooler and frost begins to bite our poor fingers and toes, we cannot ignore the feeling of the winter blanket that is wrapping itself over us.

Christmas is fast approaching and so begins all the colourful festivities. The jolly carols, the lights, the food, the madness of shopping and who can forget the loud jumpers!

As well as all the sparkle and jazz, Christmas is a great time to be grateful, for reflection and to spread the gift of kindness.
What better a way to do this than by being one of the 7% of the UK population who get jolly around a plant based meal this Christmas.

This issue we will be sharing some delicious Christmas recipes with you, giving you lots of great tips and as always we will be keeping you informed with events that will be taking place in the near future.

many chia seeds
Food For Thought: The Traditional Turkey Christmas Meal.

The tradition of eating Turkey at Christmas became popular back in the 19th Century when King Edward Vll reigned. 

Today approximately 10 million of these beautiful birds are killed in the UK, for the purpose of being the centrepiece  food on the dinner table during the Christmas meal.

In order for there to be enough of these birds ready for this season, the turkeys are manipulated genetically and fed drugs to enable them to grow very large as quickly as possible.

They have actually increased in size by over 40% within the last 50 years.

Unfortunately the additional body weight is not natural and their legs are not strong enough to hold it. Therefore many of their legs actually break due to the immense strain they are under.

The way the majority of turkeys are reared are within sheds with no access to outside. They are packed in close confinement with each other with very little space to move. To prevent injury from beaks and claws, due to the crammed conditions, the farmers snap parts of the birds beaks off and cut off their toes. This is done mostly without any painkillers.

Unfortunately after this brutal existence they are slaughtered. At around 6 months they are little more than babies, yet this is the age that their lives are taken from them.
Naturally they can live up to 10 years in the wild
.

Turkeys are a bird that are so highly associated to food at Christmas that people are often surprised to find out that they are very intelligent.
In fact there are quite a few You Tube videos knocking about of them actually playing computer games!

When they exist in their natural habitat they display very complex social skills and create strong bonds with their family members.
They are also extremely fast and people don't tend to know that they can actually fly.

Click on the link below to read about how incredible these gorgeous birds really are.


Fun Facts About Turkeys
How Fresh Is your Christmas Meal?

Did You Know?

Did you know that Turkeys are slaughtered at just 5-6 months old, but then they can actually be frozen for up to 3 years before they are sold on to the consumer?



3 Valley Vegans Christmas Meal Event

As with previous years, we will be holding our annual 3 Valley Vegans Christmas Meal. 

We are currently still in the process of arranging it, but please pencil Wednesday 19th December in your diaries.

We will email, post on our normal social media pages and update our website with all the details when they have been finalised.

So keep a look out and hopefully we will see you there.

chia cookies and pudding
Festive Vegan Roast

A delicious vegan roast, which was created by one of our very own 3 Valley Vegan members ....... thank you Rob!
It is made from very simple ingredients and the great thing about it is that it can be varied in so many ways depending on what you may have to hand in your kitchen at the time.


Click For Recipe
Recipes Galore!

Viva have gathered lots of recipe ideas that you can enjoy this Christmas.

From appetizers and starters to mains and puddings. There is so much choice to suit every palette.

Click below to access this vegan recipe club.

Christmas Recipe Ideas from Viva
Vegan Advent Calendars

There are quite a variety of vegan advent calendars out this year, ranging in price.
Click below to see an article which gives a breakdown of what's available, their prices and of course where you can purchase them.

If you are wanting to shop local then Saker (in Hebden Bridge and Todmorden) and Meow (in Todmorden) are both selling some.

UK advent calendar blog by Manchester Vegan
sheep in truck

Come And Join Us!

New year resolution pledges are on the horizon!
January will be with us very soon and it is the official month for detox after the Christmas eating sessions.

A fabulous way of becoming healthier is to go plant based. It is also better for the environment and kinder to animals.
 
Come and join us on the 3rd January and meet people in the Calder Valley area for empowering information and lots of local support.

It is totally free and there is no need to book - just come along!
It is a child friendly event and the videos being shown are short and without any distressing footage.

This will be the first event, of a planned few, that the 3 Valley Vegans will be hosting throughout January to help people who have an interest in this healthier lifestyle.
So come along and start your amazing journey.

More Information
World Vegan Month logo
Get Healthier And Embrace A Kinder Lifestyle In 2019

Signing up to Veganuary couldn't be easier.
Just follow the link below and it will take you to their registration page.
They will then send you emails with tips, meal plans, and recipes on a daily basis. They'll keep you up to date on vegan news and offers.

Sign Up To Veganuary
Meet The Vegan

We are proud to launch a new thing on our website, interviews with people who are going or have become vegan.
First up, (and runner up!), a member of our group Kim.
If anyone would like to take part and tell their  vegan story, then please contact us at:  tech@3valleyvegns.org.uk 

Interview With Kim Ashworth - Vegan Ultrarunner.
Keep In Contact


We would like to remind you that 3 Valley Vegans have a Facebook page, a Facebook group and our own website...


Our Facebook page is open to the public and is updated with lots of  events both local and national, interviews, videos, information, news and tips from the wider vegan community. 
To like, or visit this page please click:

Facebook Public Page



The Facebook group is a closed group and is a good place to air and vent any local vegan issues.
Information relating to local shopping and/or eating out can be posted by members of this group and also if any businesses in the local area would like to promote any vegan products or offers then this is the group to use.
If you would like to join then please click:
Facebook Private Group

On our website you will find local eating guides, recipes, up coming and past events, blogs and lots of vegan articles.
What our group is all about is detailed on this side and our location and contact detai
ls. 
To visit the website please click on link:

Website

Map of Calderdale
UPDATED! Local eating and shopping guides

Eating out and shopping can be tricky when you're vegan, especially when just starting out. To make things a little easier, we have compiled a list of vegan-friendly eateries and shops in Calderdale:

View our Guide to Eating Out in Calderdale

View our Vegan Friendly Calderdale Shopping Guide

Have we missed anything off these lists? Please send your suggestions to tech@3valleyvegns.org.uk 

 

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3 Valley Vegans

3 Valley Vegans, 24 Park Road, Todmorden OL14 5 NJ

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