Category Archives: The Veg Life

All things regarding veganism. Recipes, product reviews, etc.

Product Review, The Veg Life

Choose Life Beefless Lover’s Mild Jamaican Patty Review

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I’m going to be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve had any form of a Jamaican Patty. The closest in recent years would’ve been those Oggi’s Calzones I tested a few years ago – and those were supposed to be pizza flavoured!

There were a few years there when I was in school where it seemed like everyone was absolutely obsessed with eating Jamaican Patties for lunch. They were everywhere at one point, and then faded out after a few years. Does anyone else remember that, or was my school just special?

Unfortunately, because of my food allergies, even pre-vegan there were a lot of foods I wasn’t able to try. So, while I personally didn’t eat them, Jamaican Patties were a strangely big part of a few years of my life.

Because of this, I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this patty, but, I’m happy to report, I enjoyed it!

This patty came frozen, individually wrapped, and only had cooking instructions for a microwave. (I have no idea if this is a normal cooking method for this food or not) Because the place I recently moved into has pretty much brand-new appliances, I cooked the patty for 1 minute, then flipped it over and did another 20 seconds, wrapped in a paper towel. (Out of the plastic)

I don’t know if wrapping it in a paper towel was the right move, because it got a little stuck to it post-cooking. The patty also had a very strong flour/corny smell post-cooking that wasn’t there when it was frozen.

Size comparison

The patty was a good size, in my opinion. And, if I’m remembering correctly, it was taller than a ‘regular’ Jamaican Patty. The crust was very flaky, soft, and had an Earthy turmeric taste. There was also a good amount of beefless filling inside, though I didn’t think it really tasted all that beef-y. Not that that’s something that bothers me – if you’ve been around this blog a while, you know I like when plants taste like plants – I just think that’s important to note if it’s something you care about. I can’t say specifically what the faux beef tasted like, other than just, sort of vaguely ‘veggie’.

Beefless filling amount

Also, even though I did get the mild one, there was (unfortunately) still a bit of spiciness to the filling. It wasn’t overpowering to the point of making my tongue tingle, but I was also glad I had my water bottle with me.

For something that was only $4.69 (Good Rebel), it was also surprisingly filling. It was more filling than the snack territory I thought it’d be in, but definitely wasn’t enough to be considered a whole meal. (I had to eat ‘real’ dinner maybe 2 hours after)

This is definitely something I’d buy again, especially if I were to find it at a regular grocery store, or if it was available at a gas station or something. There are definitely worse vegan options out there.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gusta Turkey Veggie Deli Slices Review

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I wanted to start this year’s reviews off on one of the products that would be replacing a staple at my house: Gusta’s Turkey Flavoured Veggie Slices.

If you didn’t hear the news, unfortunately, Yves has been discontinued. It was not a great way to end 2025 for sure, but luckily, Gusta stepped up to fill the gap. (A little too quickly*, according to some people)

So, I wanted to answer the big question: is Gusta actually filling the void left by the 40-year legend?

Right out of the gate, I thought the packaging could use some improvements. The slices came in a sort of plastic sack-like bag, which… was not the most appetizing way to package a product that’s brown.

The slices were also all lumped together, there was no paper separator or anything, they were just layered one on top of each other, the same way Yves’ were. Unfortunately, unlike Yves, the Gusta slices don’t have that small rind, and are very clearly a different texture, because they were extremely difficult to separate. Unless I carefully slid a knife between the top slice to gently separate it from the slice underneath, they tore.

And, they didn’t even tear straight across, they tore jagged. I believe this is because of the way the product is made – when you rip it in your hands, it separates the same – but, this cross-stitch connection made for a thicker slice, which I think, was a good thing!

Example of the jagged tearing

If you’ve eaten Yves deli slices for anything longer than once in your life, I’m sure you can related to the pain of getting those so-thin-they’re-see-through couple of slices that were somehow present in every pack.

The smell, I’ll admit, made me a little apprehensive. There wasn’t anything specifically wrong with it – it was just a little… strong, for a deli slice. I hesitate to use the word ‘weird’ here, because the slices did taste how they smelled, but I’m not yet sure if that’s a good thing.

To me, these slices had a slightly smokey flavour, and reminded me of what I remember white-meat turkey tasting like. They didn’t give me that, ‘Oh no, you just ate meat’ thing that Beyond Meat does, but it also wasn’t quite veggie enough to not-notice.

It was like an odd, no-man’s-land between the two flavourings.

I would say, I think the slices would be more enjoyable if Gusta picked a side. Either make them more veggie tasting, so they almost completely blend into a sandwich, like the Yves ones, or make them stand out more, so you know you definitely have a Gusta deli slice in your mouth.

These slices were also weirdly… dry? Like, they had a sticky-ish juice/sauce/whatever on them when you pulled them out of the pack, but when you actually put one in your mouth, it was somehow dry? I don’t really know how else to describe it, but I thought that was odd, too. (This was another contributing factor to why it reminded me of white-meat turkey)

I had my non-vegan friend try a slice, as well, and they agreed they tasted dry, and went on to say: they are pretty close, reminiscent of thick-cut turkey slices, like the kind you’d put on a toothpick. In a sandwich – which mustard or something – you wouldn’t be able to tell as much (that they’re not real meat).

So, feel free to factor that into your decision however you’d like.

I also didn’t exactly count how many slices were in the pack, but I know it was definitely more than 10, just from the sheer number of times I ate them. And, they were selling at a comparative rate to Yves. ($6.49 from Good Rebel)

Deli slice size comparison to my pointer finger

Now, to be fair, I haven’t bought a lot of other Gusta products – I had only sort of peripherally heard of them, but learned recently, apparently they’re Canadian! – so I don’t know if this packaging and taste is on-brand for them or not.

What I do know, is that these deli slices are a new product for this company, and I feel like you can tell. They haven’t quite honed these to perfection, but I think, with time – and, if they’re willing to listen to our feedback – they could very well fill the hole left by Yves.

*On the Yves discontinued announcement post, Gusta had made some comments announcing they were coming out with deli slices, and some people had… opinions about the way they went about this announcement. One person commented (to Gusta) something like, ‘Wow, Yves’ body isn’t even cold yet, and you’re coming in to take over?‘ which I thought was hilarious, but the comments have since been deleted, so I guess not everyone agreed. (I thought I had screenshotted it when I saw them the first time, but I apparently didn’t)

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Bloggy, The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

10 Year Veganversary!!!

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Ten years. 10 years. Dix année.

10.

Years.

Ten years vegan.

I wanted to make a post this year for my 10 year veganversary, because ten years is a crazy milestone to reach – for anything, not just veganism – but, ironically, I’m having trouble finding the words.

Not only does ten years vegan sound crazy because I’m proud of how long it’s been, but mentally, it’s also crazy to think that something I chose basically on a whim when I was 20, was long enough ago to be ten years old.

Time marching forward is nuts, and all that.

My actual anniversary isn’t until Friday (Feb. 6th) so I won’t actually be celebrating until then, but even looking back to write this article has got me in my feels.

Ten years…

I remember sitting here – yes, on the same laptop, even! – typing out my first year veganversary post. It simultaneously feels not that long ago, and almost a lifetime ago. There was so much back then I didn’t know, and obviously, I still don’t know everything, but the amount I’ve learned since then is almost comical.

I also remember, being so excited to finally reach the day when I could say I’d been vegan for ten years, and now that it’s here…

It’s a very surreal feeling, to put it mildly.

I know I mentioned this in my 5 Year Veganversary post, but being vegan is just part of who I am now. I don’t even really think about it as being a ‘thing’ anymore. Checking ingredients, reaching out to companies to answer ingredient questions I couldn’t find answers to on their website, pre-researching a restaurant’s menu before going out – it’s all just become second nature at this point.

The concept of any of that being ‘weird’ or foreign is so long gone, it’s actually funny to think of it as something I used to have to remember to do.

It’s also crazy to see how big the movement’s gotten now. Back when I first went vegan, everyone was talking about how great and accessible it was – that there were tons of options and mainstream stores carried so many vegan products.

Now?

It’s not even a contest.

I’ve watched this movement bloom exponentially since I started on this path, and it truly blows my mind to see all the options in stores nowadays. Even big meat places like KFC have vegan options!

Veganism has become so mainstream, it’s crazy!

It truly feels like we’re living in that dystopian vegan paradise we used to dream about.

Obviously, I know, this is not indeed the case. Unfortunately, animal exploitation is still alive and well, and happening all over the world.

But there have been a ton of wins, too. (I’m not going to list them all here, because that would take forever, but if you want to jump through and take a look at some of the biggest food wins from 2016, check out this VegNews article)

I couldn’t find exact yearly stats – because, of course I couldn’t – but I was able to find that apparently, in 2015, there were 700,000 Canadians who followed a vegan diet, and that number’s jumped up to 850,000 in 2025.

That’s 150,000 new vegans in the span of ten years!

And that stat is not counting vegetarians, and other non-meat eating people. That is strictly the veganism stat.

That’s crazy!

I know I’ve said that like, six times already, but it is!

This milestone… I truly don’t have the words to express how beyond ecstatic I am to finally be able to say I’ve reached ten years.

Veganism, contrary to popular belief, has opened up my food world so much more than I ever thought would be possible. And, I think, it’s also opened my heart.

I liked to say I was compassionate and empathetic before I found veganism, but wow. There is no doubt in my mind that I would be even half as empathetic as I am today if I hadn’t stumbled across Earthlings all those years ago.

It’s crazy to think that an idea I picked out of the blue changed my life, and who I am, so radically.

I think back to that New Years Eve a lot. How I was sitting in the chair, staring at the ceiling, racking my brain just trying to pick anything for a resolution. How ‘no meat’ just hit me out of nowhere, almost like a bolt of lightening.

Sometimes I wonder if that ‘choice’ was truly as random as I first thought?

Interested in the lifestyle? Check out my Vegan section!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Smirnoff Ice Green Apple Review

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Important: This is the last article of 2025! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 19th, 2026 with the first article  of the new year! (First short story will go up the previous Friday)

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of alcohol. Not only do I not enjoy a lot of flavours, but I’m also very sensitive to it’s affects.

But, ‘tis the season’ of mostly, family drama – despite people telling you it’s really about world peace or something – so doing an alcohol review for this month seemed appropriate.

I consider Smirnoff Ice Original my go-to for alcohol, so the one day I walked into LCBO and saw two other flavours, I decided it just made sense to take a chance on them.

LCBO had this flavour and a pink one that I thiiiink was raspberry? But, that was a few years ago, so I’m not sure if I’m remembering correctly. (And/or whether or not it’s still a flavour)

What I do remember though, is how much I liked this green apple flavour! The apple taste wasn’t over-powering, or taste like cough syrup from my childhood – which was a description I used for one of the cherry-flavoured drinks – but I don’t know if I’d tasted the ‘green’, at all. Since it was alcohol, it fizzed on my tongue and burned down my throat, anyway, so that made it hard to tell.

It had the same amount of alcohol content as the Original (7% for an 11.2oz glass bottle) and was within the same price range! The only ‘downside’ to trying to buy the flavour, was it either came in a four pack of the small bottles, or as a single in the big (1L) bottles. This means that, if you just want one personal sized bottle, you’ll have to forgo this flavour. I did check the Smirnoff website and it didn’t say if the flavour was listed in tall cans, as well, but I don’t think it’d hurt to ask your local store, if you really wanted to try one.

Or, you can always buy the four pack, try one, and then host a holiday party or gift the extras to friends/family.

And, in case you missed my Surprising Vegan Alcohol post, yes, Smirnoff Ice is vegan! Which means you can indulge in it guilt- and worry-free during these next few busy, hectic weeks. (Or, any other time of the year)

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Store Crawl #6: Wal-Mart

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Important: This is the 2nd last article of 2025! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 19th, 2026 with the first article of the new year! (The first short story will go up the Friday before)

Wal-Mart having a lot to offer is no surprise. It’s a giant department store and has basically anything you could need: electronics, furniture, plants, food…. but, how are it’s vegan offerings?

Surprisingly, they’ve gone more veg-strong in recent years! So it’s not as hard to find those special pre-made foods you crave!

Please keep in mind that their website only shows items that are currently in-stock in nearby stores – yes, even though I don’t have that box checked. It’s a little annoying, but if you see the brand listed and not just your favourite item, it’d be worth checking out your own local store (or website) on a different day. Chances are good if they sell the brand, they’ll have a few varieties of their foods.

And if not, you can always call and request it! Letting them know you’d like them to carry something might just get it on the shelves.

Faux Dairy

  • Silk Almond Dark Chocolate
  • Silk Oat Original
  • Silk Unsweetened Soy
  • Silk Soy Original
  • Silk Soy Vanilla
  • Silk Almond Coffee Creamer Vanilla
  • Silk Oat Coffee Creamer Peppermint
  • Silk Oat Coffee Creamer Vanilla
  • Silk Nextmilk Regular
  • Silk Unsweetened Cashew
  • Silk Protein Almond & Cashew
  • Silk Unsweetened Coconut
  • Silk Almond Shelf Stable
  • Silk Soy Original Shelf Stable
  • Silk Protein Soy Original Shelf Stable
  • Silk Oat Vanilla Shelf Stable
  • Silk Oat Original Shelf Stable
  • Silk Oat Barista Original Shelf Stable
  • Silk Unsweetened Almond Shelf Stable
  • Silk Nextmilk Whole
  • Silk Coconut Yogurt Strawberry-Raspberry
  • Silk Probiotic Coconut Yogurt Vanilla
  • Silk Greek Yogurt Vanilla
  • Silk Greek Yogurt Key Lime
  • Silk Coconut Yogurt Unsweetened Vanilla
  • Silk Coconut Yogurt Unsweetened Plain
  • Earth’s Own Oat Original Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Oat Original Zero Sugar Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Almond Unsweetened Original Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Almond Original Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Oat Vanilla Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Oat Barista Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Almond Barista Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Oat Vanilla Zero Sugar Beverage
  • Earth’s Own The Alt Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Organic Soy Original Beverage
  • Earth’s Own Oat Milk Oat Nog
  • Oatly Barista Blend Oat Milk
  • Delicious Kitchen Coconut Milk Can
  • Becel Vegan Margarine
  • Becel Dairy Free Plant Butter Garlic Tub
  • Becel Dairy Free Plant Butter Salted Tub
  • Becel Dairy Free Plant Butter Salted Brick
  • Becel Dairy Free Plant Butter Unsalted Brick
  • Daiya Gluten Free Supreme Pizza
  • Daiya Gluten Free Cheese Pizza
  • Violife Cheddar Style Shreds
  • Violife Tex Mex Style Shreds
  • Violife Mature Cheddar Style Slices
  • Violife Smoked Flavoured Provolone Style Slices

Faux Meat

  • Gardein Meatless Meatballs
  • Gardein Supreme Plant Based Bowls: Be’f & Broccoli
  • Gardein Supreme Plant Based Bowls: Meatball Marinara
  • Gardein Supreme Chick’n Nuggets
  • Gardein Supreme Saus’ge Links Bratwurst
  • Gardein Supreme Chick’n Filets
  • Gardein Supreme Plant-Based Based Burger
  • Gardein Supreme Chick’n Tenders
  • Beyond Meat Plant Based Seared Steak Tips
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Burger with Avocado Oil
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Ground Beef
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Breaded Chicken Tenders
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Hot Italian Sausage
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Breakfast Sausage
  •  Beyond Meat Plant-Based Mild Italian Sausage
  • Beyond Meat Plant-Based Burger
  •  Lightlife Smart Dogs
  • Lightlife Original Organic Tempeh
  •  Lightlife Organic Smoky Tempeh Bacon Strips
  • Field Roast Smoked Apple and Sage Sausages
  • Field Roast Italian Garlic and Fennel Sausages
  • Zoglo’s Incredible Burgers Meatless Royal Burger
  • Impossible Foods Chicken Nuggets
  • Impossible Foods Burger Patties

Faux Other

  • JustEgg Made From Plants Folded
  • Hellman’s Vegan Mayo
  • La Vida Vegan Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
  • Vega Protein and Greens Plant-Based Protein Powder Vanilla
  • Vega Protein and Greens Plant-Based Protein Powder Chocolate
  • Vegan Essentials Plant-Based Protein Powder Chocolate
  • Vega Essentials Plant-Based Protein Power Vanilla
  • Vega Protien and Greens Protein Powder Berry
  • Vegan Sport Protein Powder Vanilla
  •  Vega Sport Protein Powder Chocolate
  • Vega One All-in-One Plant Based Shake Unsweetened
  • PERFECT Sports Diesel Vegan 100% Plant-Based Protein Powder Vanilla Ice Dream

Shelf Stable/Pantry

  • Amy’s Kitchen Tortilla Soup
  • Amy’s Kitchen Lentil Soup
  • Amy’s Kitchen Quinoa, Kale and Red Lentil Soup
  •  Mr. Noodles Vegetable Flavour
  • Mr. Noodles Mushroom Flavour
  • Knorr Vegetable Bouillon Cube
  • Aurora Bouillon Mix Vegetable
  • Chef Woo Ramen Plant-Based Braised Beef Flavour
  • Kraft Dinner NotCo Original Plant-Based
  • Delicious Kitchen Udon Noodles
  • Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast
  • Bob’s Red Mill TVP

Snacks/’Fun’

  • Dandies All Natural Vegan Marshmallows Vanilla
  • Castle Kitchen Classic Caramel Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate
  • Smartfood Movie Night Butter Popcorn
  • Boom Chicka Pop Sea Salt Vegan Popcorn
  • Quaker Crispy Minis Original
  • Quaker Crispy Minis All Dressed
  • Yupik Nacho Roasted Cashews with Vegan Cheese
  • Prana Algarve Almonds and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bark
  • Lindt Vegan Salted Caramel Chocolate Bar

This is (unfortunately), the first store crawl I’m writing since the Yves news broke, so I didn’t include their deli slices, but they were available previously. I’m not sure if your local store might still have some in stock or not, but it’s worth checking out if you’re unsure!

This crawl is also obviously not including all the fresh fruit, veggies, bread and regular/plain packaged noodles like pasta. I figure those things are easier to find than some obscure vegan brands, so including them would be basically pointless.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Lightlife Smart Tenders Plant-Based Chicken Review

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Important: This is the 3rd last article of the year! I’ll be taking the last half of December, and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th 2026, with the first short story of the new year! (First article will go up Jan. 19th)

This year has surprisingly shaken out to include a lot of faux meat reviews, so I’d like to apologize in hind-sight about that. I usually try to pick food items that I think go with the seasons (like soups/heartier foods in the cold months) and are a good mix of products, but clearly that doesn’t always work out the way I plan. Next year I promise I’ll try to add a wider variety!

For right now though, we’re gonna do one more faux meat review – the last one of the year! (Faux meat review, not over-all product review)

Mostly I know Lightlife through their notdogs (which I haven’t done a review of because it would be one line – they taste like a hot-dog), so I was somewhat surprised to learn they made a few other faux meats, including bacon, ground round and sausages. Ironically, their website doesn’t list these faux chicken Smart Tenders, but it also says they’re an America company, so I’m not sure if they’ve been discontinued, or are just showing a different product range than what’s available up here. (Ontario, Canada)

These tenders come in a pack of 5 and it looked like they are vacuum packed in a plastic bag/wrap inside of the cardboard box. If you’ve been around a while, you know how I feel about companies using unnecessary plastic in their packaging, so while I’m glad the tenders weren’t individually wrapped, I’m a little annoyed that plastic is still the standard. But, I’m not a food safety person, so if that’s the way it has to be for health-standards, I’ll understand. (Albeit bregrugingly)

On the plus side, these tenders were a good/proper chick’n finger size, and surprisingly thick. They didn’t look like much in the package, but once I got them out and separated, they were thicker than my finger, and slightly longer, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of them whole when I got them out of the plastic, because they were all stuck together and I had to start cooking them as a ball. (I didn’t know I was going to use them that day, otherwise, I would’ve defrosted them first) Once I got them cut into chunks though, you could tell how much chick’n they had!

The tenders didn’t have too strong of a smell, either, which I really appreciated! They only smelled once they started to cook, but it wasn’t over-poweringly meat-like, like the Beyond Meat products are. It was more subtle.

That was true for their taste, too. They had a ‘realer’ taste of meat than the Gardein products, but I would say were about halfway between Gardein and Beyond Meat. You could tell they were made out of plants, but they were close enough to give my brain that small warning it gets when it smells meat.

I also learned, these tenders are the same chick’n that’s used in PizzaPizza’s Plant-Based Boneless Bites, so it was that flavour, but without the breading. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but before I was vegan, I used to love PizzaPizza’s Boneless Bites. I used to like them so much, I started referring to them as ‘crack chicken’. Their plant-based Bites are also very worthy of that label, so if you haven’t tried those yet, I recommend you do!

These are also worthy of the label, so I definitely recommend these tenders, as well. I will say though, they have a bit of a weird aftertaste that I can’t quite put my finger on, so if you do decide to try these, I recommend you put them in something, instead of eating them plain.

I ended up putting them in a simple pasta I made (tri-coloured butterfly noodles, frozen peas, hemp hearts, the tenders, faux butter, a little oat milk and then just some oregano and basil), and they definitely added to the dish, instead of taking away. Their flavour was enough to know they were there, pleasantly, but they didn’t steal the show. Which I think is an important quality if you’re making a product that you want people to mix in/cook with other things, instead of eating it ‘plain’.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Nashville Hot Chick’N Tenders Review

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If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that I’m not exactly a fan of spicy food. It lights my mouth on fire, burns up my tongue, makes me sweat and isn’t easy going out, either. So, it might surprise you that I decided to try something with the words ‘Nashville hot’ in the name voluntarily.

It might also surprise you to hear, I actually liked them!

I first tried these tenders back in January 2023, and have had them a few times since, and I have to say, they’ve been slowly growing on me!

These tenders are slightly longer than the 7 Grain Crispy Tenders, and a little thicker, which might explain why they only come 8 to a bag. But what these tenders lack in quantity, they make up for with flavour!

They’re not overtly spicy like I had assumed they’d be – when you open the bag, there’s no puff of spice to sting your nostrils – and when you’re eating them, you don’t get any heat until the after-burn on the swallow. If we ignore the spice factor, they taste the same as their other faux chicken products and they have a pretty interesting breadcrumb coating.

If they had a non-spicy version of these tenders with the exact same breading, I would definitely add them to my weekly shopping list!

Another thing I appreciated about these tenders is that you can easily cut them up and add them to things like rice or pasta, and they won’t overpower the dish at all. The flavour of the tenders is great at seeping out and permeating the rest of the dish, so if you, for example, add them to pasta, I would recommend not adding additional spices if you want to avoid a tongue-burning-disaster when you go to eat.

If you’re not too big into spice, like I am, but are still curious to try them, I’d recommend eating them on their own, with some kind of dip to cool off your mouth. I chose a fairly easy homemade ranch, but I’d imagine any non-spicy dip would do the trick.

As I said earlier, they only come 8 to a bag, but I actually don’t mind that with these. Between their bigger size and their spice, I think 8 is a good number to get you through the week.

Also, they aren’t any more expensive than Gardein’s other faux chicken products, so the only deciding factor in whether or not you should add them to your grocery haul would be whether or not you feel like getting a new batch of taste buds.

Like this review? Check out more here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

NotCo Chicken Burger Review

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I don’t know very much about the NotCo brand – aside from their partnership with Kraft Dinner – so when I saw they had chicken burgers, I was obviously curious and had to try them.

These burgers were better than your standard veggie chicken burger for so many reasons, and I’m so happy I decided to try them! Their sizing, for one thing, was surprisingly good. They were, dare I say, slightly bigger than an actual burger!

Their breadcrumb coating was also nice. It had the classic texture of what I remember chicken burgers having, and they felt pretty solid when pulling them out of the bag. Like you could man-handle them a little without needing to fear they would break in your hand, y’know?

Speaking of the bag, I loved that it was purple. It also only had instructions for oven or grill cooking (usually, I cook burgers in a frying pan), so I cooked them in the oven. On the plus side, the instructions said they only need about 10 minutes total, with a flip in the middle before they’re done, so they weren’t a pain to cook at all.

A small pet peeve of mine is when cooking instructions say things like: Frying Pan: 10 minutes, Oven: 30 minutes.

They don’t really change colour when they’re done, and the first time I made mine, it did get a little softer/more breakable, so I didn’t think 10 minutes was enough. Luckily, more than one come in a bag, so I was able to experiment a few times after the tester I made for the review. I found 15-18 minutes was better for my oven. But of course, ovens vary, so I would recommend checking after the time on the bag, and then throwing them back in if they feel a little squishy.

Sometimes with vegan food, it’s hard to know if a food is supposed to remain squishy after it’s cooked, or if it’s supposed to firm up, so I always exercise caution when cooking vegan products.

Also luckily, these guys firmed up a little after longer cooking, so if yours come out a squishy, pop them back in!

I kept my tester burger simple, with just some lettuce and a mayo’d bun. I also cut out a piece of the burger to eat ‘plain’ on the side.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a ‘real’ chicken burger (at least 9 years), but these burgers had the flavour and texture of what I remember. They’re not eerily close like Beyond Meat products, but it’s enough to tell you’re not just eating breaded tofu.

Also, the cross-section of what the inside looks like showed off a great texture.

One thing that is not-so-awesome about these burgers is the fact only 4 come in a bag, and they were $7.49 (Metro), so I wouldn’t recommend making them a new staple. But, I can definitely recommend you try them at least once – especially if they’re on sale – as they’ll be a welcome addition to help you close out the summer.

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: Tim Horton’s Edition

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Considering how much of a Canadian staple this chain is, I surprised myself with the fact I hadn’t done it yet!

And yes, I know, Tim Horton’s is a cafe/coffee shop, not a classic ‘fast food’ restaurant, but they do serve food, and Canadian vegans deserve to know what offerings a Canadian brand has, instead of having to rely on Starbucks. (But if you prefer them, I made an article for them, too!)

Hot Beverages:

  • Original Blend Coffee
  • Dark Roast Coffee
  • Decaf Coffee

Tea

  • Bagged Tea
  •  Steeped Tea

Cold Beverages:

  • Sparkling Quenchers
  • Blackberry Yuzu Quencher
  • Orange Tangerine Quencher
  • Peach Quencher
  • Pineapple Dragon Fruit Quencher
  • Strawberry Watermelon Quencher

Lemonade Quenchers

  • Blackberry Yuzu Quencher
  • Orange Tangerine Quencher
  •  Peach Quencher
  • Pineapple Dragon Fruit Quencher
  • Strawberry Watermelon

Beverage ‘Additions’:

  • Cane Sugar Syrup
  •  Mocha Syrup
  • Vanilla Syrup
  •  Roasted Hazelnut Flavoured Syrup
  • Caramel Toffee Syrup
  • Toasted Marshmallow Syrup
  • Brown Sugar Syrup (may contain Milk, Mustard and Sulphites)

Classic Bagels (All say May Contain Milk + Eggs)

  • Plain Bagel
  • Sesame Seed Bagel
  • Everything Bagel
  • 12-Grain Bagel
  •  Cinnamon Raisin Bagel
  • Blueberry Bagel

Bagel Toppings:

  • Strawberry Jam Packet
  • Raspberry Jam Packet
  •  Peanut Butter

Breakfast:

  • Hash Brown

Lunch:

  • Potato Wedges
  • Cilantro Lime Veggie Loaded Wrap*
  • Habanero Veggie Loaded Wrap*
  • Cilantro Lime Veggie Loaded Bowl*
  • Habanero Veggie Loaded Bowl*
  • Soup Bun

Sauces:

  • Marinara Sauce

Pop/Other Cold Drinks:

  • Coke
  • Diet Coke
  • Sprite
  • Canada Dry
  • Spring Water
  • Gold Peak Lemon Tea
  • TH Apple Juice
  • TH Orange Juice

*Will need to ask for the non-vegan toppings to be removed. I believe the Wraps/Bowls just come with shredded cheese, so not too big of a modification.

I e-mailed Tim Horton’s and they said, ‘You can find ingredient information for our menu items on our website or mobile app. Simply select the item you’re interested in, then scroll down and tap on ‘Nutrition & Ingredients’ to view a detailed list of ingredients.

Any menu item can be modified upon request (e.g., removing cheese, cream cheese, etc).

Within our Allergen Guide, items that are marked as ‘may contain’ do not contain the specific allergen (e.g., egg) as a direct ingredient. However, these items are produced in a facility that contains the allergen.’

I did of course check the Allergy and Nutrition Guides before I wrote in, but at least they gave a semi-helpful answer by letting us know the food items could be modified, if needed. (I suspected that was the case, but figured it couldn’t hurt to ask)

Like this article? Check out more of the Vegan Fast Food series!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Crabless Cakes Review

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If you’ve been around here a while, you’ve probably seen me talk about not liking the taste of seafood.

‘So Ater,’ you’re thinking (probably), ‘why would you do a seafood product review?’

That’s a good question!

And the answer is: Because they were recently used as a replacement in my grocery order, so they’re fresh on my mind. Also, crab cakes seem fitting for a summer review.

These cakes, as you may have guessed, are not my favourite Gardein product. But, I’m going to put my bias aside (as best I can) and give you a proper review of them.

Gardein’s Crabless Cakes actually surprised me with how big they were. I’ve obviously not had a real crab cake in… well I don’t think I’ve actually ever had a crab cake, even pre-vegan, but I assumed these would’ve been smaller. Closer in size to their Manadarin Orange Nuggets. They were maybe double the size? And definitely thicker.

The upside of them being bigger than I was expecting is, unfortunately, dampened by the fact there is only 8 cakes in one bag. Now, I’ve only got these twice, so I don’t know if it’s the norm or if I just managed to get duds/end of the line batches each time, but that’s something to be aware of.

For someone who doesn’t like seafood, I was glad there weren’t very many, but if you like them, you’ll definitely want to grab more than one bag.

These cakes had a good breading on them. They weren’t too crunchy (cooked in the oven) but the breading wasn’t too soft, either. It was a nice in-between. If I’m remembering correctly, I would say it was close to those frozen fish filet things.

The faux crab/filling itself is where my dislike for these became apparent. It oddly enough, didn’t have that classic fish taste. (Or ocean, which is why I also don’t like seaweed) What it did taste like to me – other than ‘bad’ – was weirdly enough, mint?

Not super strong like toothpaste, but it was more subtle, like candy cane mint?

I have no idea if mint is a flavour that’s supposed to be/usually found in crab cakes, but I found it weird. I don’t like mint in my food. No mint chocolates for me. It’s just too tied to toothpaste for me to want to swallow it. (I do like the smell of it, though!)

The texture of the filling was another… let’s call it an ‘interesting’ aspect of these cakes. It was what I remember canned tuna being – you know, that flaky, soft/squishy texture? – and since they were so big, there was a lot in a mouthful. (Even though I did bite them in half)

But again, I don’t know if flaky is a good or bad thing for people who enjoy crab cakes, so….

Another good thing about these crabless cakes – because I like to end reviews on a good note – is that they weren’t more expensive than the other regular Gardein products. So if you do choose to get these, they won’t cost you anything extra!

Except maybe in your mouthwash budget.

Like this review? Check out more reviews!