Tag Archives: food blogger

Where Do Vegans Get Their Vitamin A?

Loading

While most people don’t need to specifically worry about whether or not they’re getting enough Vitamin A, it’s still beneficial to learn what foods have which nutrients. It can also be helpful to see some “staple” foods that seem to have every nutrient in them that you should be eating all the time, and other foods you can use to shake up your diet, while maintaining your health.

Speaking of which, you may know that Vitamin A is important for you to eat, but do you know why? (Other than “people say so”)

Vitamin A is important to eat because it helps maintain:

  • Vision
  • Body Growth
  • Immune Function
  • Reproductive Health

There’s actually two kinds of Vitamin A: Vitamin A1 (also called retinol) is the kind only found in animal products, whereas Provitamin A is the kind found in plant-based foods.

And while getting enough Vitamin A is important for your overall health (my research found “males” need 900 micrograms, whereas “females” need 700 micrograms), I also came across an article that said getting too much Vitamin A (200,000mcg) could lead to some not-so-fun side effects:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Vertigo
  • Blurry Vision

The article I found this information from was unclear on whether or not they were speaking about the food-sourced Vitamin A or supplements, but I figured it was good information to include, anyway.

Now you know how much you need (and how much to avoid), time to learn the best plant-based sources of Vitamin A:

Starting in the top left-hand corner, moving clockwise:

  • Sweet Potato, Baked 1,920 mcg
  • Carrots, Cooked 1,280 mcg
  • Butternut Squash, Baked 1,140 mcg
  • Spinach, Cooked 943 mcg
  • Collard Greens, Cooked 722 mcg
  • Turnip Greens, Cooked 549 mcg
  • Swiss Chard, Cooked 536 mcg
  • Pumpkin Pie (1 “piece”) 488 mcg
  • Cantaloupe 270 mcg
  • Red Bell Pepper, Raw (1 Large) 257 mcg
  • Romaine Lettuce, Raw 205 mcg
  • Grapefruit (1 full) 178 mcg (89 mcg per half)
  • Kale, Cooked 172 mcg
  • Broccoli 120 mcg
  • Mango 89 mcg
  • Papaya 78 mcg
  • Apricot (2 Apricots) 67 mcg
  • Black Eyed Peas, Boiled 66 mcg
  • Watermelon 43 mcg
  • Tomato Juice (3/4C) 42 mcg
  • Tangerine (1 full) 37 mcg

Like this article? Check out the rest of my Nutrient Collage series here!

Culcherd Herb and Garlic Cheese Review

Loading

In keeping with my theme of last year, I decided for this years’ Valentines’ review, that I’d do another cheese. Because even though I’ve yet to try it, fondue just seems very romantic. And you can’t do fondue without cheese, right?

This cheese is by a company called Culcherd, and honestly I’d never heard of them before. Credit to this review goes to my friend Blair, he got his hands on some and was kind enough to share it with me. (This was back before COVID broke the world)

I was slightly hesitant to try it, as I am with most companies I’m unfamiliar with, but I’m glad I did. Also, it came in a hexagon box, so how bad could it have been? I was mildly disappointed that the block wasn’t also a hexagon, but I guess some things are still out of reach.

AterImber.com - The Veg Life - Product Reviews - Culcherd Herb and Garlic Cheese Review - vegan cheese, vegan food, Culcherd, cashew cheese, product reviews, food blogger, vegan food blogger

Aside from my disappointment that the block wasn’t a hexagon, it was also actually quite small, even for a vegan cheese. The base was just smaller than my palm. (The widest part is just under 3in, or about 7.5cm – and yes, I just measure that for you. You’re welcome) So, it didn’t come with very much cheese.

Up until now, I’ve tried to steer away from reviewing products I didn’t really like, because I don’t want to be shit talking what I’m sure is a great company. However, this cheese just wasn’t my jam. (No pun intended)

I tried it first by itself – as I think you should with any new food – and I have to say, I didn’t really like it. It was quite tangy. Like, over-powering-ly so, and was definitely not the taste I was expecting when I think of ‘cheese’. (Though, to be fair, I mostly ate goat cheese before being vegan, which is quite game-y, so maybe I just don’t know what ‘real’ cheese tastes like?)

It reminded me more of pasta salad sauce than cheese. It had that very tangy/vinegar-y taste. The consistency was soft, making it very spreadable. It was a little firmer than hummus, actually. It’s also one of the very few cashew based cheeses I’ve tried, so I’m not sure if that’s just a thing with turning cashews into cheese, I did notice the other cashew based cheeses I tried had a slight tang to them as well. (Definitely not as strong as this one does, though)

It didn’t go to waste though! I ended up using it as a spread in a wrap, and that made it way better. I used maybe a teaspoons worth, and it was just the right amount for one of those big (12 inch) wraps. My non-vegan brother had some of it on a burger he made, and although he didn’t outright complain about the taste, I could tell it wasn’t his favourite. (Though he’s usually just happy if there’s any cheese he’s ‘allowed’ to eat)

Another thing that surprised me was the price. Even though my block was free, I took the liberty of price comparing it at Good Rebel. (If you haven’t checked them out yet, you should, they’re an awesome vegan grocer here in Toronto) There, the block was $11.99, and on the official Culcherd website, it was about the same ($11.47, but that was marked as the ‘on sale’ price). For reference, on Good Rebel, the Daiya blocks are 6.75, and bigger. So, while I’m glad mine was free, this cheese definitely counts as expensive.

All in all, I don’t think I’ll be buying this cheese again anytime soon, definitely not unless it’s on sale. I do want to try the other blocks and products from this company, because I don’t want to write them off after just trying one product.


Like this review? Check out more here!

Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!

Que Pasa Nacho Chips Review

Loading

I first discovered these chips in April last year, thanks to Eamon and Bec and HotforFoods’ Youtube channels. (I recommend checking out these guys, btw, they’re both awesome!) They each had videos that were only a few days apart featuring this snack, so I took it as a sign that I should try them.

And boy, am I glad that I did. They are awesome!

AterImber.com - The Veg Life - Product Reviews - Que Pasa Nacho Chips - vegan food, vegan snacks, vegan food reviewer, food reviewer

They’re like vegan nacho Doritos. Or at least, they’re what I imagine nacho Doritos taste like, as I’ve never had them myself. The only kinds of Doritos I’ve had are the Sweet Chili Heat and Ketchup ones. Those two are great flavours as well, but I’m always down for discovering a new vegan snack.

They’re smaller in size to Doritos, though they’re still the classic tortilla chip shape. They’re pretty cheese-y as well, and not in a nooch-y way. I’m not sure what they use for the vegan nacho flavour, but it’s really good. It actually tastes a bit similar to the Skinny Pop White Cheddar popcorn. (Which I also recommend)

Now, these chips do have a bit of a kick to them, so if you’re sensitive to spicy food, or can’t handle spicy food, I recommend not eating the whole bag at once. (Trust me, it does not make for a happy stomach) The fact that they’re spicy is one of the only bad things about them. If they were not spicy cheese-y chips I’d definitely get them more often.

Another bad thing about them? I can barely find them anywhere!

I was able to find them at No Frills when I posted the pic to Instagram, but since then? I haven’t been able to find them.

Seriously, I don’t know if they’re getting discontinued, or if other vegans are just beating me to the punch, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on them since.

The size of the bag is another thing I don’t really like. They are similar in size to Vegan Rob’s Cheddar Puffs. That kind of bigger-than-single-size-but-not-big-enough-for-family-size bag that I hate. Either make them small enough for one person, or as big as regular chip bags! (Preferably the latter)

It sucks that they’re so hard to find though, because they’re one of the best vegan snacks I’ve tried.

…. Maybe they’re just hating on Canadians?

I don’t know, but one thing is for sure: You find them in a store? You buy 3 bags.

Do you know of a store that has a secret stash of these chips? Let me know in the comments below!


Like this review? Check out more here!

Liking the site? Consider signing up for my Patreon, so I can continue bringing you the content you love!