Vegan food choices and recommendations

[xotGD]

I had a Ginsters Quorn sausage roll this evening. With a dollop of chutney on the side it was pretty good.

 

[Techniquest]

I recommend the Ginsters vegan pasties, they're really full of flavour and best heated up. They can of course be enjoyed cold, but pop them in the microwave for around 1m30s to 2m0s (depending on your machine) and enjoy!

Yesterday I endured the Plant Pioneers No Beef Quarter Pounders, in the Sainsburys chilled range. As they were Yellow Stickered to 89p, it made sense to give them a go. I was famished after work, so fancied something filling. I was incredibly disappointed, not only did they take an eternity to cook but the texture and flavour was terrible.

I hope this is the last time I will be tempted by the Plant Pioneers range, it's almost always awful. The No Chicken Korma and rice ready meal was decent though!

While on the topic of Sainsburys, I recommend their Love Your Veg! Sweet Potato Katsu Curry and jasmine rice ready meal. £3 so not cheap but oh so good! The same range had a carrot, ginger, turmeric and something soup in plastic tubs that I liked too, normally £2 and worth trying for sure. I was converted, that's for sure, and I want to try the other flavours.

Looking around my room, I see an empty Popworks Sweet BBQ packet, which are popped (not fried) crisps and an amazing flavour. Very moreish, and yes they're not the healthiest snack out there but the protein count is ideal for post-exercise snacking. Strongly recommended!

 

[telstarbox]

Has anyone found a decent vegan (shop) pizza? Waitrose do the Pizza Express one but it's more than a fiver

For a restaurant one the Purezza chain in London was amazing in my opinion.

 

[Techniquest]

Has anyone found a decent vegan (shop) pizza? Waitrose do the Pizza Express one but it's more than a fiver

For a restaurant one the Purezza chain in London was amazing in my opinion.

I tried the White Rabbit pizza out of the freezers in Sainsburys the other week, it was £3.75 (now gone up to £4) and it wasn't too bad. Rather thin and made with sourdough, but the pesto and cherry tomato topping wasn't too bad. I've seen other pizzas/flatbreads from the same manufacturer in the chiller in Sainsburys (I do most of my shopping in Sainsburys, hence the large amount of things I can recommend ) but I haven't yet tried them.

Sainsburys do a Plant Pioneers margarita pizza in their chilled range, £3, but I haven't been brave enough to try it. Same brand with a No Chorizo and grilled peppers pizza in the freezer, £1.75 so rather cheap for a vegan pizza. Not tried that either, but I did try the tomato stuffed crust BBQ Jackfruit Chicago Town pizza recently. That was on offer for £3 and I love stuffed crust pizza! I'm not a huge fan of things like red onion, peppers and such like, but in this case it all seemed to work quite well. The jackfruit was good, I can confirm that much. Highly recommend that pizza

In terms of restaurant pizza, I don't go out for meals too often, but on New Year's Eve 2021 I went to Zizzi (multiple WMR cancellations and I needed something to do, plus I was hungry!) for the first time. I loved the garlic bread, oh wow that was good! The margarita pizza, WOW that was nice, oh my days that was beautiful, so strongly recommended I'm in the mood to go to my local Zizzi and have one right now. Bit difficult as it's a little after 6am and they won't be open yet

I do like the Pizza Hut pepperphoni pizza though, I get it on the thin base as that's 11" and feels like an actual mansize pizza. I like deep pan pizza, but the individual is only 9" and is simply not enough for me. Mind you, when I went last Wednesday I was really hungry so even the pizza wasn't enough. I had an entire salad bowl of just beetroot (I should have tried some on the pizza, come to think of it) and a big serving of tortilla chips too!

Back to supermarket pizza, I don't think Tesco still do it but their Plant Chef range certainly used to include a margarita pizza in their chilled range. At one time apparently they used to do a fake pepperoni one too, but I never got to try that. I only ever see the mushroom pizza now, and don't ask me for an opinion on mushrooms! I didn't buy it too often, after all it's hardly healthy so it would usually be a treat every couple of weeks (depending if I'd had a lot of cycling that week, it was sometimes once a week), but I can't get the margarita pizza at the moment It was a bargain at £2.50 as well, the mushroom one is £2.85 and I guess if the other ones ever come back they will be too.

I hope that all helps make a decision for you on your next pizza purchase!

 

[507020]

Maccy D's McPlant is also excellent.

I tried Beyond meat burgers tonight. Were pretty tasty and juicy. The oil coming out of them was a little red like a steak!

I made the mistake of trying the McPlant, which is a beyond burger last week and then had to get up no less than 8 times in the night to be violently sick and was unable to eat anything else at all for the rest of the week, all through storm Eunice. I’m unsure if I was unfortunate enough to get some sort of food poisoning from it or if I simply couldn’t digest it.

I don’t tend to eat these vegan meat imitations which I find makes me quite a good test subject for them and after such an unpleasant and distressing experience I have no intention of doing so ever again, so they have failed to convert me, but I have a number of observations. There are many ingredients e.g. fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices/smoothies etc which are vegan anyway (and it would be unnerving to some extent to discover if they contained meat) and I have noticed the amount of flavour present when meat burgers have additions like sliced tomato, but despite such a tomato being included with the McPlant, the whole thing including the bread, burger and everything else was effectively homogenous and it felt like I was biting into a solid block of damp cardboard, none of the ingredients having any taste or texture, which only helped it to become nauseating.

the fat content in such food is disgraceful

Another observation I have made is that vegan mayonnaise is now available from several manufacturers, but this has been created by removing the egg content (the only ingredient of mayonnaise with any nutritional value) and replacing it with an increased amount of rapeseed oil to compensate, giving it by far the highest saturated fat content of any mayonnaise that has been sold.

One of the most frequently cited reasons for large numbers of people becoming vegan in recent years is the threat of meat production becoming unsustainable this century with an exponentially increasing global population, but now Covid-19 has decimated the birth rate. In developed countries the population will peak this decade and even in the third world by 2064. By the end of the century the population of the earth will be little over half what it is now, if that, making the continued plentiful supply of (potentially cruelty free) meat a realistic possibility for the foreseeable future, so I fail to see the need for everyone to be vegan, especially with the inherent problems it can cause to human health with essential nutrition such as vitamin B12 not being found in any plant material. The average person’s individual meat consumption may well be too high and something that could do with reducing, but that’s not to say the best option is always, if ever to cut it out entirely.

 

[yorksrob]

I made the mistake of trying the McPlant, which is a beyond burger last week and then had to get up no less than 8 times in the night to be violently sick and was unable to eat anything else at all for the rest of the week, all through storm Eunice. I’m unsure if I was unfortunate enough to get some sort of food poisoning from it or if I simply couldn’t digest it.

I don’t tend to eat these vegan meat imitations which I find makes me quite a good test subject for them and after such an unpleasant and distressing experience I have no intention of doing so ever again, so they have failed to convert me, but I have a number of observations. There are many ingredients e.g. fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices/smoothies etc which are vegan anyway (and it would be unnerving to some extent to discover if they contained meat) and I have noticed the amount of flavour present when meat burgers have additions like sliced tomato, but despite such a tomato being included with the McPlant, the whole thing including the bread, burger and everything else was effectively homogenous and it felt like I was biting into a solid block of damp cardboard, none of the ingredients having any taste or texture, which only helped it to become nauseating.

Another observation I have made is that vegan mayonnaise is now available from several manufacturers, but this has been created by removing the egg content (the only ingredient of mayonnaise with any nutritional value) and replacing it with an increased amount of rapeseed oil to compensate, giving it by far the highest saturated fat content of any mayonnaise that has been sold.

One of the most frequently cited reasons for large numbers of people becoming vegan in recent years is the threat of meat production becoming unsustainable this century with an exponentially increasing global population, but now Covid-19 has decimated the birth rate. In developed countries the population will peak this decade and even in the third world by 2064. By the end of the century the population of the earth will be little over half what it is now, if that, making the continued plentiful supply of (potentially cruelty free) meat a realistic possibility for the foreseeable future, so I fail to see the need for everyone to be vegan, especially with the inherent problems it can cause to human health with essential nutrition such as vitamin B12 not being found in any plant material. The average person’s individual meat consumption may well be too high and something that could do with reducing, but that’s not to say the best option is always, if ever to cut it out entirely.

It sounds as though you may have had a spot of food poisoning to me in that case. There are some replacement meat products that I've not taken to, but I've never had such a violent reaction to them.

 

[Techniquest]

I'm glad I don't like mayonnaise then! As for your negative experience with the McDonalds burger, it is possible that it was caused by any number of things and not the burger but who knows? I have yet to find a way to convince myself that it is ethical to support a huge multi-national company to go and try this burger. I am happy to support Greggs and their vegan range (not that it's all that extensive), but McDonalds and Burger King I struggle with. I like the coffee in McDonalds, and I have to confess to liking their hash browns as well. Normally I'm not available in the mornings when they're open to get the hash browns though, so it is rather rare to find me in McDonalds for anything at all! However, this morning is different, it's rest day following a huge dose of cycling yesterday. So I guess I don't know what I'll do there yet!

As for your view on the world and veganism, who said that there's a need for everyone to go vegan? Not me, although I'd like to see more people actually try it. Your comment on things like B12 is null and void, given how stupidly easy it is to get the essential vitamins and minerals in a vegan friendly form. Granted, I take a daily supplement of all these (and I sure notice when I forget to do so in a rush, like I did the other day, to get to work on time) but it really is not hard to get the essentials on a vegan diet. You do have to know what you're buying in some cases, yes, but I live pretty well and healthily (let's not discuss things like chocolate ) so I don't agree with you I'm sorry to say.

Each to their own, granted. I don't see evidence of the world's population being 'decimated' either, maybe in some parts of the world yes but I know of 3 babies born by 2 mothers during the pandemic. That's just the people I know about, and there's no shortage of mothers and pushchairs around the country. I think I even saw a triple pushchair on my trip to Scotland last month, as in 3 across. There is no shortage of new people being made as far as I can see, so again I disagree completely with you there. You won't find me contributing to that, I can promise you that much, and there really should be more of us who don't feel the need to create more people. That's a view very off-topic here, and one I'm a fiery believer in so let's not go there!

So, vegan food, let's get back on track!

I have to big-up one of my current favourite foods, New York Bagels' cinnamon and raisin bagels. Oh my days those are so good! Easy to eat as they are, straight out of the packet which is what I do with them, and so tasty and good for you. OK yes, the sugar content has to be monitored if you're not terribly active (I really must get some exercise done later actually, the sun is out and the wind has died off) but in a balanced diet then it's not a big concern. Strongly recommend trying them if you're not already a lover of them!

 

[Edsmith]

It sounds as though you may have had a spot of food poisoning to me in that case. There are some replacement meat products that I've not taken to, but I've never had such a violent reaction to them.

Me neither and I do find that a lot of meat free products are an acquired taste.

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As someone who gave up meat recently (and who's always loved meat) I think Burger Kings plant based whopper is wonderful, as is its vegan chicken royale.

Maccy D's McPlant is also excellent.

Agreed, I've never been a great lover of fast food outlets but I went in BK recently with the kids and I tried one and it was excellent.

 

[yorksrob]

Me neither and I do find that a lot of meat free products are an acquired taste.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Feb 2022 ==


Agreed, I've never been a great lover of fast food outlets but I went in BK recently with the kids and I tried one and it was excellent.

I've always had a bit of a taste for fast food !

 

[Techniquest]

I'm posting this from the MacBook (no I'm not suddenly rich, this is a 2014 secondhand one for a reasonable price!) so no photo to hand, but today I tried Veetee's Plants & Rice Spiced Chickpea & Sweet Potato with basmati rice, which comes in an aromatic coconut sauce (yes I had to read the label).

I got it recently on offer in Sainsburys for £1.70 (usual price £2) and wow that was nice! Not enough for my liking in the portion, but that's my appetite for you! Generally pretty healthy, the coconut milk bumping up the saturated fats a bit, I would absolutely recommend it and I'll be buying it again some time!

 

[xotGD]

This week's Friday Pie: Clive's Chickeny Puff Pie.

Very tasty. The fake chicken bits are made of seitan. Being new to this game, I had to look up what that is!

 

[Welly]

This week's Friday Pie: Clive's Chickeny Puff Pie.

Very tasty. The fake chicken bits are made of seitan. Being new to this game, I had to look up what that is!

It's wheat gluten, to save others looking it up.

 

[Gloster]

Anybody had people having a go at them for buying vegetarian or vegan food in a shop? I had this twice a year or so ago and again today. The two a year ago were about a fortnight apart and both involved men complaining that I was destroying farmers’ livelihoods. One was polite, but spoke rather as if he was explaining something to a four year-old. The other was belligerent and even managed to bring Brexit into his diatribe.

The one today went on about how you didn’t know what was in vegan food and how it was all full of dangerous things and it shouldn’t be allowed and I was helping them by buying the stuff and... He did ramble on and I just walked away, but not before I noticed that he had a microwaveable cheeseburger in his basket.

 

[Techniquest]

I have been meaning to get back to this thread for a while, so many recommendations from the last few weeks!

Let's start with Leon Aioli Mac 'n' Cheeze Bites, they were incredible! Full of fats and flavour, not healthy but oh my days they were so good!

Pizza wise, that Ristorante one with cherry tomatoes and a pesto-like substance was not bad, I'll happily have it again that's for sure. The meal in the second photo I've attached is a chickpea curry made with Sorella's vegan pumpkin and mango sauce, on top of a big bed of basmati rice. It might look appealing, but I felt like sharing what I cooked last week. Highly recommend the sauce, it must be said!

M&S Plant Kitchen No Fish Cakes, that creamy centre I have no idea what was in it but the 'fishcakes' were huge. Worth a try with some steamed veg!

Heck's Vegan Italia chipolatas are one thing I've bought multiple times, they are amazing! Surprisingly low fat but full of flavour, strongly recommend getting some, I'll be buying more next time I go to Sainsburys. I was in there today, but I got something I've never had before to try tomorrow, I'll not spoil the surprise!

Not photographed here, but highly recommended, is Bol's Sweet Potato and Cauli-Dahl soup. Surprisingly filling for a soup on its own, although I generally have soup with some bread too. Lots of flavour, high in fibre and high in protein. Absolutely recommended, I'm going to investigate other flavours soon!

Gloster, no I haven't had anyone have a go yet. I did have an older gentleman query me on veganism once in Morrisons last year, and we had a brief but intelligent chat about it. It sounds like you've had some very unfortunate experiences!

 

[Gloster]

I tried the Morrison’s Plant Revolution cocktail sausages: they were all right, but a bit bland. They might do better in a casserole or stew where they can absorb flavours.

 

[dmncf]

Gggg

The other was belligerent and even managed to bring Brexit into his diatribe.

Send the vegans back to their own country!

The one today went on about how you didn’t know what was in vegan food and how it was all full of dangerous things and it shouldn’t be allowed and I was helping them by buying the stuff and... He did ramble on and I just walked away, but not before I noticed that he had a microwaveable cheeseburger in his basket.

I wouldn't accept criticism like that from anyone who eats gelatine!

I recommend the pizza restaurant Franco Manca where you can swap dairy cheese for vegan cheese at no cost. Their cheese and tomato pizza tastes amazing. Only discovered this recently.

 

[Techniquest]

I tried the Morrison’s Plant Revolution cocktail sausages: they were all right, but a bit bland. They might do better in a casserole or stew where they can absorb flavours.

Most of the supermarket own-brand stuff is like that sadly. I do not approve of Morrisons' rebrand of their frozen vegan range, as they have used it as an excuse to skyrocket the price of at least some of it.

I also discovered a firm favourite of mine from Morrisons, in their oven fresh range, that the vegan 'sausage' rolls now have mushroom in them. That's me not buying those again then I don't like mushrooms, and yes while I probably didn't notice the taste so it's probably OK, it's the principle of it. I just hope they have not done the same with the vegan pasties in the same range, or I will have very little reason to go to Morrisons!

Another food tried tonight, a live review as I am currently eating them. Doisy & Dam Ballers, which are dark chocolate crunchy balls. They usually sell for £2 in Sainsburys, but were on offer for £1 recently. They are OK, but quite honestly if this is their answer to Malteasers then I would mark them as 'not bad, but must try harder'. If given a packet, I would eat them again, but I would not buy them myself.

Now the M&S smooth hazelnut vegan chocolate I bought the other day, now THAT was good! I am going to buy some more tomorrow, and it is so far my absolute favourite vegan chocolate! Lindt do a similar product, but theirs is wildly inferior AND more expensive.

Yes, that's right, Lindt do an inferior chocolate to M&S. My world is shaken!

 

[xotGD]

Yesterday I discovered that battered haloumi and chips gives a reasonable impersonation of fish and chips.

 

[Techniquest]

Halloumi is non-vegan, unless you found a vegan version of it? If so, I am interested!

I had the spicy sweet chilli flavour Tofoo Co pieces today at lunch, oh wow they were good! Good bit of kick to them, but my first sampling of tofu and I was impressed!

 

[hexagon789]

Halloumi is non-vegan, unless you found a vegan version of it? If so, I am interested!

I have seen a two vegan halloumis in supermarkets (one is by Violife, the other Tesco own-brand), but I have never been enamoured of coconut oil-based plant alternatives to dairy cheese which both those products are so I haven't tried either because -

1. It's almost double the price of dairy halloumi by weight on average
2. I would likely end up binning it after one taste, which is a waste.

If however you yourself are so inclined, by all means report back with an opinion as to whether either is any good!

 

[PauloDavesi]

For top quality, award winning vegan cakes and pastries try https://vegancakery.com/

The Vegan Cakery was born in June 2012 as a true not-for-profit artisan cottage industry, set-up and run by ethical vegan Michelle Orme in rural Leicestershire.

Established with the dual purpose of producing the highest quality vegan cakes, pastries and treats, while also raising as much money as possible for a wide variety of animal charities and sanctuaries, TVC has become renowned as a leader in its field.

 

[Techniquest]

Well if I find it, I WILL be trying it as halloumi fries are one food I would love to have again and will happily make! Absolutely will report back on here, but as I have never seen it in my neck of the woods it may be a long wait!

 

[hexagon789]

Well if I find it, I WILL be trying it as halloumi fries are one food I would love to have again and will happily make! Absolutely will report back on here, but as I have never seen it in my neck of the woods it may be a long wait!

Well obviously Tesco sell their own one, and a quick check of the website suggests they sell the Violife one as well but likely only in the larger Superstores which have bigger plant-based food sections.

Sainsbury's also stock Violife but same story - probably needs to be a Superstore again.

 

[xotGD]

Halloumi is non-vegan, unless you found a vegan version of it?

No, it was normal milk-based cheese. I have taken the liberty of pushing the boundaries of the thread to include meat-free in addition to vegan.

I have managed two and a half months without meat, but to cut out dairy would be too much of a challenge for me.

 

[hexagon789]

I have managed two and a half months without meat, but to cut out dairy would be too much of a challenge for me.

You and me both, but I'm not against trying purely vegan foods/dishes - some are surprisingly nice!

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Yesterday I discovered that battered haloumi and chips gives a reasonable impersonation of fish and chips.

Has anyone tried Banana Blossom (a flower that grows on the end of a bunch of bananas)? It is, to me at any rate the nearest to fish...a sort of flaky texture that is very tasty when cooked with a decent batter (made with oatly). My partner is far more keen than I am on meat 'substitutes', despite being a vegetarian/vegan for nearly 40 years, I'm not so bothered but will always try anything. Although I do most of the cooking she is in charge of the batter.

 

[telstarbox]

Yeah I wasn't a massive fan the one time I tried it. Prefer the Chinese tofu / seaweed fillets for a fake fish and chips.

 

[xotGD]

Visited friends yesterday, and they served up Linda McCartney sausages. Not too shabby.

 

[Techniquest]

I still want to try the LMC vegan katsu bites, they're sold in Asda but I don't fancy paying £2.50 for them and finding they're not good!

I recently tried the M&S Plant Kitchen Lentil Cottage Pie, which for £2.50 was far too small but it also had red wine and mushrooms in it. Yuck!

Something I did enjoy was had this morning, from GWR's catering trolley. Wolfy's strawberry jam porridge pot, yes it is really expensive (made in Stroud apparently) but it was really good and helped set me up well for a lengthy cycle ride today.

 

[xotGD]

I still want to try the LMC vegan katsu bites, they're sold in Asda but I don't fancy paying £2.50 for them and finding they're not good!

I recently tried the M&S Plant Kitchen Lentil Cottage Pie, which for £2.50 was far too small but it also had red wine and mushrooms in it. Yuck!

Something I did enjoy was had this morning, from GWR's catering trolley. Wolfy's strawberry jam porridge pot, yes it is really expensive (made in Stroud apparently) but it was really good and helped set me up well for a lengthy cycle ride today.

I really like a bowl of porridge, but I have to make it with proper milk. With added sultanas.

Incidentally, I made porridge from barley flakes at the weekend, and while the flakes stayed separated, they softened nicely and it was very tasty.