Secret vegan paradise in Ukraine (2013)

In August, 2013 I went on a hiking trip in Crimea, Ukraine with a group of fellow vegans and vegetarians. The plan was to hike all the way from Bakhchysarai to the sea. All the food cooked on the trip was vegan!

Nice "propaganda" poster, telling to eat more fruit and vegetable: 500 grams / 5 portions a day!

Ukraine is a secret vegan paradise: you can get fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere in the markets or from some vendors just on streets. And the prices are so small!

Nice lady selling veggies and fruits on the street of Bakhchysarai

Dried fruits, berries and chalva in Simferopol. The vendors knew some words in Lithuanian!

Amazing watermellons in the market in Crimea. You need to learn a few tricks to pick the best and a ripe one!

Don't miss churchkhela - amazing fruity "sausage" candy made of wallnuts and fruit juice.

Spices sold in Simferopol

Honey, nuts and weird fruits sold in Simferopol.

Since vegan and honey does not go together, I got myself the fruit.

Momordica charantia, or a bitter melon looks really nice, but the taste is not so good.

 

When you go to the market, everyone tries to sell you their products, so before buying, you can try almost anything.

We saw a small vietnamese stand where a nice lady was selling pickled food. She had a variety of pickled or grilled veggies and mushrooms, was waving us and inviting to see what she has to sell.

We could not resist : )

The vendor gave us a lot of food to taste, so after stuffing our stomachs with a piece of each veggie, we left the market with two boxes of grilled eggplant, korean carrots, pickled mushrooms and pickled garlic sprouts.

Yes, it was the day when I fell in love with pickled garlic sprouts - it is so sad that these are hard to find!

 





Our friends told that it is hard to find vegan food outside in Kyiv. So we tried the foods that the capital city of Ukraine had to offer.

The day we arrived to Kyiv, we were invited to a birthday party with vegan shashlik made of fresh veggies, spiced tofu and marinated soy chunks. Tofu is great and cheap in Ukraine!

 

You can buy some vegan sandwiches in kiosks. They are made of rye bread, olive oil, fresh veggies and smoked seitan sausage. 

I believe that this vegan sausage was the best I have ever eaten im my whole life!

If you prefer a proper lunch, you should look for Eco Buffet restorant. They serve vegetarian food and have vegan options as well.

The chain is more of a canteen style, but food is nice, delicious and cheap. At least the bean "steak" with veggie mix (on the left) I ate!