Products

Burger Patties

I enjoy a cheeky burger from time to time (see the posts about GBK, The Vurger Co., Honest Burger) but thanks to a certain global pandemic, I have been forced to make my own at home.  I’ve tried a few different patties available at our UK supermarkets. First I cooked the Waitrose’s Seitan Pattie and Sainsbury’s Love your Veg! on a pan, and although both tasty, Sainsbury’s patty had a lot more flavour and felt nicer to chew… if that is a thing.

Next, grilled on the BBQ I tried The Meatless Farm Co meat free burgers. I was pleasantly surprised as I’m usually not a fan of the ‘fake meat’ style. But these were good! I’d recommend them.

M&S have burger patties in their Plant Kitchen range which again, are a ‘fake meat’ type patty. I love M&S and but these aren’t my favourite, they are quite chunky and have a meaty taste. I think they could do with a bit more flavour.

I finally got my hands on the Beyond Meat – Beyond Burger patty to cook at home. I’ve mentioned before I’m not a huge fan of ‘fake meat’ but this is really tasty. I would recommend it for someone who is not fully vegan but wants to cut down on meat.

I believe I’ve found the winners for my home-cooked fake-meat Burgers, Taste & Glory (sadly no longer available) and Richmond Foods. They are really good in taste, in texture and in price!

Cheese

People always ask ‘Don’t you miss cheese?’ And of course I do, but I will settle for all the alternatives out there, and there are a lot of alternatives out there. And even if they don’t always taste like cheese, I don’t think that’s a problem, it’s a matter of habit and taste.  Anyway, out of all the variety, I have found:

•  Violife cheese comes in all shapes and sizes.  I enjoy eating the smoked style the original on sandwiches and wraps, and spreading the creamy on bagels, these all melt really well too. However I wasn’t a fan of the tomato and basil flavoured slices the taste didn’t sit well with me. 
• I make pizza at home every other weekend so the hunt for the right ‘mozzarella’ was serious business.  I started using Sheese which made my pizza taste exactly like if it came from Papa John’s, amazing (when they used to use Sheese)!  However, the following weekend I couldn’t find it so I had to get Daiya’s mozzarella;  it didn’t really melt and it didn’t have the right flavour either, I was a bit disappointed as there is a lot of buzz online over Daiya cheese.  The following weekend I used Violife’s grated mozzarella; it melts well and the taste is accurate.  Going forwards I will rotate between Sheese and Violife for sure.
• I prefer to make cheese toasties and burgers with Applewood Cheese because I absolutely love the smokeyness and it has a good melt too!
• My absolute favourite spread for bagels is from Nush. I truly enjoy the chives flavoured spread, it spreads well, and I’ve even been known to add it into my Mac ‘n Cheese recipes for that extra flavour.

Chocolate

My love for chocolate can be at times slightly unhealthy, I thought becoming a vegan would mean I would struggle and miss my daily doses.  But these brands came to my rescue:

• These are my top brands for chocolate, all delicious in their own ways: Chococo, Chocolonely, Hotel Chocolat, NOMO Chocolate, Seed and Bean, Booja Booja, Galaxy Smooth, Pico Chocolate, King Monty
• And if you can’t find these and are desperate for a fix, our lovely local supermarkets also have an array of dairy-free chocolates, out of which I have tried Tesco’s Free-from chocolate bar, Moo Free Chocolate, Sainsbury’s Free-from choc.  Now, I wouldn’t say they are the best and they all have the same ‘taste’ which isn’t quite chocolate-y.  But I will admit, I actually quite enjoy them.

Ice Cream

If you’re looking to cool down on a warm summer’s day with delicious ice cream, gratefully there is a lot to choose from!!! 

• About a month into my vegan lifestyle Ben and Jerry’s announced a vegan range, I saw this as a sign that I had to keep this way of living as B&J have always been my favourites.  I’ve tried all their vegan flavours and they are all delicious;  I’ve served them to non-vegans and they didn’t notice the difference. 
• I will say the same for Cornetto (hurrah!) and Magnum who have vegan versions for both their original and almond ice cream. 
• Of course I’ve spread my wings, I was on the lookout for simple Vanilla ice cream so that I could make an Oreo milkshake (Oreos are vegan, remember this) and I found Jude’s, it is so creamy and tasty.  Jude’s vanilla is a tad bit sweeter than your usual dairy vanilla but I have a sweet tooth so I am not complaining about it.   
• Now, during my explorations I found Halo Top.  I’ve tried their peanut butter cup (I thought it would, but it does not taste like Reeses) and chocolate flavour and I’m sorry to say I really did not enjoy them, I’m sorry Halo Top, it’s not you, it’s me.   
• Another of my favourites is Oatly’s Chocolate Fudge Ice cream, oh my goodness!! I ate two tubs in one week, it is so creamy!
• In the USA, I found vegan Häagen-Dazs flavours, the Chocolate Fudge was an absolute dream come true, creamy, chocolatey and chunky.  I was sad when I came back to the UK and realised they don’t sell them here yet…

Mayonnaise

Before becoming a vegan I loved mayo! I ate it on bread with nothing else but a smile, so finding Vegenaise and Hellmann’s Vegan Mayo made me really happy.  I recommend both brands.

I recently added Leon’s sundried tomato and harissa Aioli to my larder and it is so good, specially on a burger.

Mince ‘Meat’

I love making Lasagna and Spaghetti Bolognese, so I’ve been trying out alternatives to ‘Mince Meat’ over the past few years.  Here is what I have found:

• My favourite so far is the Vivera plant mince, the texture holds and it has a good taste.  I also eat it on its own, marinated and cooked in lemon juice when I’m in a hurry.
• I’ve recently tried Waitrose’s mince for a Lasagna and was really happy with the results, I will keep experimenting!
• I wasn’t entirely convinced by the Meatless Farm’s plant based mince.  The taste and texture didn’t feel right for me.   

Nando’s Peri Peri

Although they don’t mention It themselves, having read through the ingredients and dozen vegan blogs, I consider Nando’s Peri Peri Medium sauce to be vegan.  I’ve mentioned it before, add it on anything for an extra kick for your taste buds.

Cylindrical shaped…bah, Sausages!

My favourite breakfast is Sausage bagels. I enjoy plastering the toasted high in protein bagel with ‘cream cheese’, sprinkle a bit of nutritional yeast and stuffing it with a couple of sausages. I’ve gone through the different brands and had a favourite…. Taste & Glory. Oh my! they were so good, I was actually sad to see them go…

Richmond foods have a couple of lovely options, regular meat-free sausages and also a super tasty BBQ version – YUM! if you have non-vegan friends coming to your BBQ definitely serve these.

Similarly, Linda McCartney, M&S and Meatless Farm have a solid proposition. I will say though, Tofurky have the best Italian style sausages, although their products have disappeared from the UK markets, my US readers can still find them!

Vegan ‘Steak’

As much as I love Vivera’s mince, I’d have to say I was disappointed by their Steak.  I found it rubbery and didn’t really enjoy the taste, it is a shame. 

On the other hand Plant Pioneers are really taking the lead when it comes to meat substitutes. Their steak is pleasant to chew, and has a good taste.

Yogurt

I don’t always eat ice cream and chocolates, sometimes I have a healthy bowl of Yogurt and fruit (ok, Maple Syrup). If this resonates with you then you’re in luck because there are many vegan friendly products to substitute old fashioned yogurt!

Oatly, of course has a range of Oat-gurts. Having tried the vanilla, Greek and Plain flavours, I would recommend it!

If you’re all oat-ed out then you might want to try the Coconut Collaborative’s Yogurt. They have multiple flavours although I’ve only had the plain one. It’s tasty and coconut-y.

Alpro have a wider range of flavours, I usually go for either the plain, the vanilla or my favourites from them – either the High in Protein Raspberry and Strawberry pot or the Cherry- yummy!