Where to eat and shop for the health conscious and speciality diets in Sheffield

I care about what I eat and I look after myself. I've not always been this responsible but I've developed this passion over the past few years. I suppose this comes from working in an organic cafe, researching  nutrition and reading blogs and magazines that promote a healthy way of living.

With my limited diet comes limited eating out choices and I'm not the only one who struggles in finding places to eat and also buy their groceries from. Hopefully this list I've compiled will help those of you in the same boat, if you know anyone with a limited diet, share this post with them and maybe they've got a few I've missed off the list. I'm always keen to discover more places.

Filthy Gorgeous
Brand new greengrocers / health food store literally two minutes from my house. What sets them apart from other health stores is the fact that they make fresh smoothies, sell organic wine AND stock products from pure on raw, including cheesecake! Wonderful! Plus they are the only place I've come across in sheffield where you can buy multicoloured quinoa!
Great for - healthy treats, chia seeds, buckwheat, unusual vegetables.

Rude Shipyard
Not a secret that this is a fav' haunt of mine, they'll always do their best to make something I can eat even if its not on the menu. Lovely quirky bookshop cafe with individual clientèle that frequent there
Great for - cd's from local artists, home made breakfasts ( the potato cakes!), wonderful staff, live music evenings.

the rude shipyard

Beanies
Beanies is run by a workers coop and stocks a variety of unusual vegetables, vegan vegetarian and wheat free produce. They are also Sheffield’s first, longest running, best quality and best value organic veg delivery scheme and they have their own blog too!
Great for - knowledgeable staff, ethical produce, organic veg, good chocolate (booja booja and montezumas)

Pure on Raw
Sheffields only raw restaurant. Their mocha pie with  clementine gelato is one of the best desserts I have ever eaten, fact. You can read my full review here.
Great for - raw macaroons, cashew cheese pizza, home made almond milk coffee

Pure on raw dishes

Zeds
Quirky little shop, always seems like they are having a move around. Located in one of my favourite areas of sheffield, very inviting with green awning and lots of fresh veg and plants outside. Inside is a mix of organic and ethical produce from incense to toothpaste, nut butters and vegan cheese. A nice shop to spend time browsing in.
Great for - raw cacao raisins, dairy free ice creams, candles, tea

Zeds in nether edge

Fanoush
I go here a couple of times a month or more. The salad boxes are packed full of tasty veg, hot fresh falafel and sauce. Full of flavour, cheap and healthy.
Great for - in house pickled turnip, fresh juices, event posters, chatty staff

Incredible Nutshell
Much brighter and friendlier since the new management and name change from "in a nutshell" here is a small and sparkly health store who stock home made fresh soup to go as well as plenty of other exciting food and ethnic gifts and jewellery.
Great for - christmas shopping, happy kitchen brownies, local honey, smoked garlic, tofu

treats at incredible nutshell

 
Saigon 68
Previously pho 68, as far as I know, only the name has changed. They do the most amazing crunchy fresh vietnamese salad with chilli and palm sugar and peanuts. Lunch time offer includes a hot bowl of noodle soup which you can have with rice noodles, delicious and you get a free tea and fruit.
Great for - huge portions, sriracha, people watching on london rd, yee kwan sorbet for pudding

The Blue Moon Cafe
Popular vegetarian late opening cafe in the city centre. Has tasty vegan cakes and gluten free ones too. The specials are wholesome and they serve organic beer and wine too. Menu doesn't change that often if at all so if you have a favourite then you can rest assured they'll have it when you visit again.
Great for - vegan ice cream, tasty jam, a plethora of notices, quirky meal names, pre-theatre dinner.

Just Natural 
I always visit here whenever I'm in crookes. I love the layout, very neat and the little wicker baskets are cute. It is rather expensive though so watch out for that. I love the self-pour raisin and nut selection.
Great for - fresh orange juice, wide variety of fruit and veg, yoghurt raisins, hipster shoppers

Heeley Farm Kitchen
Small bright cafe, located on their farm so nice for visiting after looking at the animals. Always children, always vegan options.
Great for - bringing the kids, petting the animals, the veggie chilli

heeley farm kitchen

 Otto's
 Delicious moroccan food in a busy restaurant that caters for all dietary needs.
 I recently had the fish tagine and there was plenty of tender fish, very filling with the rice.
 Great for - live entertainment, garlic mushrooms, friendly staff


So there you have my favourites. Let me know what you think and tell me yours.

Sushi Express Restaurant Review

I was flicking through the Sheffield magazine 'Toast' and at the back was a voucher for two free salmon nigiri at the new Japanese restaurant - Sushi Express. I love sushi, and free stuff, so now all I had to do was find this place and claim my free food! This was harder than I expected and the little map on the coupon wasn't much help but after nearly 30 minutes of searching I finally found it just down the round from DQ. The first thing I saw when I entered was shelves containing strange Japanese snacks such as squid flavoured peanuts and various pocky. Staff wearing too-big shirts covered in seashells greet me, and take me past the colourful snacks into the dining area. I was pleased to see full colour photos of each dish on the menu - A bad sign in western style restaurants but good in places such as this. I chose my favourite - Unagi Maki, some miso soup, tofu skin and my free roast salmon nigiri. The miso soup wasn't hot which is a shame as it was pretty chilly outside but the hot green tea was, thankfully. The sushi arrived shortly after and was well presented. The salmon was singed and very delicate. It was drizzled with a sweet yellow sauce. The Unagi (eel) was great! Fresh with crunchy strips of cucumber. I was surprised by the tofu skin. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a sort of tofu skin pocket with rice inside. The skin itself was quite sweet and dough-nutty. I ate the rice separately, dipping it in the wasabi. Only suddenly I realize I was a bit over enthusiastic with the wasabi and I felt the burn all the way up into my brain it was very intense! I finished my last salmon nigiri by dropping the rice from under it. Still clutching the salmon with my chopsticks I watched as the rice bounced off my table and onto the floor. I turned around and the waitress was looking at me with the sort of polite smile that said "relax I have seen this many times before". I was rather embarrassed none the less. I then ordered a Dragon roll. I was unsure about it but it did have a chef recommends star next to it so I decided to try something new. Turns out to be a prawn maki with added tiny fish roe and a juicy tempura prawn that's shaped so it looks like a dragon - Very cute! The prawns were slightly warm, whether that is a good thing or not I do not know. The bill comes to £13. I like this place and I'll definitely go back when I'm in the mood for a sushi lunch. Food - 7/10 Value - 7/10 Service - 10/10 I will be doing marks out of 10 for places now! If I remember that is.. Thanks for reading!

The Orchid Thai Restaurant Review

Browsing the Internet a month ago, I came across an offer on groupon that I couldn't resist - "A Christmas journey" for two people at the orchid Thai restaurant. My mouth watered as I read the menu and after seeing that it was just £21.50 instead of the original £53.60, I bought my voucher straight away. Last night, me and a friend braved the horrible, slushy snow and rain in search of this place. We eventually found it, I was pleased once I realized its whereabouts as I had walked past many times, and always wanted to visit. We step inside to see elegant, expensive decor, which surrounds a huge fish tank, which houses several large fish. The waiter shows us to our table and hands us the Christmas journey menu. We are about to tell him what we would like when he informs us that we will be getting everything on the menu! This makes our choice a little easier. We help ourselves to the prawn and crab crackers. I say we, but I have only a small nibble of a crab cracker, as I'm not keen on them. Our starters arrive almost immediately. The food looks stunning. Well presented and with the addition of some beautifully sliced carrot in the shape of a butterfly and a flower - Very impressive. I enjoy every piece of the starter especially the ribs with meat that fell effortlessly off the bone. Our empty plates are taken and no more than five minutes later our mains start to arrive. The "tradition beef slice" is served in a little pot over a candle and is thin, silky, melt in the mouth beef with a lovely peanut flavour and crunchy green beans. The rice is fine as are the accompanying vegetables. Salmon and aubergine is a combination I've never seen before but it works and is tasty. The chicken has a moreish crunchy coating and a delicate sauce which is unlike the typical Chinese chicken and cashew nut I have tried and has a lighter, more delicate flavour. My curiosities about the traditional Thai dessert are certainly not answered when it arrives. I fish about in the bowl with my spoon and find slices of banana, which I realise after placing in my mouth that they are very hot! The sauce us light,sweet and coco-nutty and the toasted sesame seeds give a lovely crunchy texture and depth of flavour to the whole thing. Overall I'm pretty happy - not only did I get a bargain but I got to sample great food that's a bit different from the standard Chinese meal out, and in lovely sophisticated surroundings!

Yuen Shan

I was sitting in the pub with my friend drinking rum when we both realised we were getting rather hungry.

I remembered this place having visited there about 6 months ago and it being really good so I suggested we go visit.
It was only two doors down from the pub that we were in so we didn't have far to go.

We arrive and its full. Most of the customers are Chinese which is always a good sign when you're dining in a Chinese restaurant.
After waiting for about 5 minutes we are seated to our tables and are given the menu.

Its all you can eat for £11.99, its not a buffet as the food is cooked fresh to order but you just keep on ordering dishes until you can't eat any more.
You choose your dishes, write down the number on a piece of paper and hand it to the waiter.

There is free prawn crackers and green tea.
I'm not too keen on prawn crackers but my friend says they're the best ones he's ever had and I'm so hungry I eat a few anyway.
We also order some wine and it comes with an ice bucket.






Our food arrives soon and there is crispy wontons first which are mainly pastry with a tiny bit of prawn in the middle so we weren't too impressed by them.

Next is beef in satay sauce and thats tasty, can't taste any peanuts though but its still good nonetheless.





Malaysian lamb is next and arrives with pancakes, cucumber, hoi sin sauce and leeks, like crispy duck is normally served but with lamb instead.
I prefer the lamb to duck because its very sweet and not as fatty as duck.

Shredded crispy chicken is basically strips of chicken skin that has been coated in a batter, deep fried and then covered in a very sweet sticky sauce. It tastes good but is very hard. This is the one we end up leaving the most of.

The spare ribs in chilli sauce however are very delicious, slow cooked pork so that it just falls off the bone. My friend realised this as he picked up a piece by the bone and it the meat just slid off and fell into the hoi sin sauce!






We're pretty stuffed but choose one more dish when the waiter returns - salt and pepper ribs which would be really tasty if they weren't so incredibly salty.

Stuffed, we force as much food down us as we can and ask for the bill which is around £32 so we leave £36. Good value food that is quite tasty.
I'll probably return when I fancy lots of tasty Chinese food for only £11.99.