We’re celebrating World Vegan Day!

Celebrate World Vegan Day with us this November! We’ve put together a poppin’ guide to how to introduce vegan products into your life and what the benefits are of a plant-based diet.

We can give you peas of mind (see what we did there?!) that going vegan, or even just cutting down on animal products, isn’t that hard at all and comes with some great benefits!

When was World Vegan Day established?

On November 1st, 1994, World Vegan Day was established to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UK Vegan Society, as well as the term "vegan." Although the precise date is uncertain, the Vegan Society was founded sometime in November of 1944. Veganism is thought to have existed for a whopping 2000 years! The concept of vegetarianism may have existed for 500 years before that!

Popcorn has been around for even longer, estimated to have been invented 10,000 years ago, which means it’s been a vegan-friendly snack staple since the very beginning!

What are the benefits of a vegan diet?

Vegan diets are typically thought to have more fibre, along with less cholesterol and sodium than omnivore diets, which lowers the risk of heart disease. By sticking to a plant-based diet, or being more flexible by swapping out meat every now and then, you could even find yourself feeling healthier and more alert, as the diet on a whole contains less saturated fats, which are commonly found in meat.

Apart from veganism offering a number of benefits for your health and well-being, it also positively impacts the environment by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

I bet you didn’t know that veganism can boost your mood as well as your immune system! Following a compassionate attitude that avoids harming animals will clear your mind of any guilt, and research shows that vegans are happier than people who eat meat. How a-maize-ing is that?

We think by far the best benefit of a vegan diet is you can still munch on our de-popping-licious vegan popcorn! At Shedquarters, our top priority is to pop popcorn for everyone, that’s why we’ve got a variety of sweet and salty flavours on offer to tickle everyone's taste buds. Try our popular selection of six yummy vegan flavours and see if you can choose a favourite! We bet you won’t be able to.

How can vegans get B12 into their diet?

Many are often put off from going vegan because of a lack of vitamin B12, which meat-eaters and pescatarians can get from consuming meat and fish. By eating fortified b12 cereals and soy-based products, you can easily add enough b12 to your vegan diet. Supplements are also an easy way to make sure you’re getting a B12 boost.

Another ingenious method for absorbing as much of this precious vitamin as possible is through nutritional yeast powder. Try sprinkling this stuff over our vegan butterscotch popcorn, the sweetness will perfectly balance out the flavour of the yeast.

Jazz up your popcorn

Fancy taking your vegan snacks to the next level? Try this totally simple but extremely yummy recipe that you’ll be munching on all day long!

Dark chocolate popcorn balls

Ingredients:

6 x bags of vegan sweet and salty popcorn
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
64g dark chocolate chips

Method:

Combine the maple syrup and coconut oil in a saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. At this point, the mixture will boil and begin to rise; keep an eye on it and remove the pot from the heat source.
In a large heat-proof bowl, slowly pour the syrup mixture over the popcorn. It's better to use a heavy glass bowl. If you're using a metal bowl, be cautious because the outside will become quite hot. Allow the popcorn to cool for a few minutes after thoroughly coating it in the syrup mixture.
Form a small ball out of a small handful of the caramelized popcorn mixture, pressing carefully to ensure that the caramel-coated popcorn sticks together into a firm ball. Lay the popcorn balls on wax paper or parchment paper.
Microwave the dark chocolate chips or use a double boiler to melt them. If you want the chocolate mixture to be particularly gooey and pourable, add 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Drizzle over the chocolate and leave to set, and that’s it!

Vegan popcorn gifts

It’s nearly time to start thinking about the festive season, why not be super organised this year with a vegan popcorn advent calendar? With 24 days of super tasty popcorn to lead you up to the big day, you’ll be eager to pop out of bed every morning!

Or if you’re looking for an all year round gift, for birthdays or just to say thank you, check out our super smart vegan popcorn letterbox gift. All you need to do is tell us their address and we’ll take care of the rest.

Want to win a lifetime supply of popcorn? Of course you do! Read our latest blog post to find out more, and don’t forget to sign up to our mailing list for all the latest news and tasty discounts.