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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Store Crawl #2: Metro (Online Edition)

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Welcome to second store crawl in my new series.

I want to start this off by saying that at the time of writing this post (20.04.07), the COVID-19 shut down of practically everything is still in full swing, so this store crawl is going to be a bit different.

Since I wasn’t actually able to go through and crawl the physical store, this will be a crawl of Metros’ online store. This means that not only may there be vegan items not listed, but that due to the virus and panic buying, they may not list items that are sold out, either.

I actually debated about scraping this post and doing a different one altogether, and to maybe back burner this series until things get back to normal, but then I figured in the midst of what’s happening, it may be more important now than before to keep the series going, as you may not be able to get groceries delivered from your favourite store, and knowing what other stores are offering without doing the research yourself (which takes hours, btw) would probably be helpful.

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Also, I want to note: Since this is an online version, instead of listing the foods by section, I’m going to be listing them by brand.

I’m also not going to list the fruit, veg, grains or most snacks that are vegan friendly because seriously, how long do you want this post to be?

Earth Balance

  • Soy Free Traditional Spread
  • Original Traditional Spread
  • Creamy Peanut Butter & Flaxseed
  • Creamy Coconut & Peanut Spread

 

Yves

Lunch Meat:

  • Salami
  • Turkey
  • Bologna
  • Ham
  • Pepperoni (I know it’s not technically a deli meat, but the official Yves website lists it here)

Not-Dogs:

  • Jumbo Veggie Dogs
  • Meatless Veggie Dogs
  • Yves Mediterranean Harissa Sausages
  • Spicy Italian Veggie Sausages

Ground Round:

  • Original Ground Round
  • Italian Ground Round
  • Mexican Ground Round

Other:

  • Veggie Burgers
  • Souvlaki Veggie Skewers
  • Veggie Chick’N Tenders
  • Veggie Breakfast Links
  • Veggie Breakfast Patties
  • Broccoli Bites
  • Falafel Balls

 

Lightlife

  • Original Veggie Bacon
  • Veggie Chicken Tenders
  • Smoked Veggie Hot Dog Sausages
  • GF Vegan Burger
  • Beyond Meat Beyond Burger (don’t know why, but online they were listed together)

 

Tofurky

  • Italian Sausages
  • Polish Style Meatless Kielbasa Sausages
  • Marinated Roast Ham
  • Holiday Roast and Gravy

 

Daiya

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Cheese/Sauce:

  • Plain Cream Cheese
  • Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
  • Mozzarella Slices
  • Cheddar Slices
  • Smoked Gouda Block
  • Cheddar Block
  • Mozza Style Cutting Board Shreds
  • Cheddar Style Cutting Board Shreds
  • Mozzarella Sticks
  • Cheddar Sticks
  • Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac
  • Deluxe Alfredo Style Cheezy Mac
  • Deluxe Veggie White Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac
  • Deluxe Cheddar Style Sauce
  • Deluxe Alfredo Style Sauce
  • Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing
  • Homestyle Ranch Salad Dressing
  • Blue Cheeze Salad Dressing

Frozen:

  • GF Supreme Pizza
  • GF Margherita Pizza
  • Cheeze Lovers’ Pizza
  • GF Classic Pepperoni Pizza
  • GF Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Pizza
  • Crunchy Chocolate Fudge Ice Bar
  • New York Cheezecake
  • GF Chocolate Cheezecake
  • Key Lime Cheezecake

 

Amy’s Kitchen

Frozen:

  • California Veggie Burger
  • Roasted Vegetable No Cheese Pizza
  • Thai Red Curry
  • Pad Thai
  • Organic Veggie Loaf While Meal (listed as Veggie Loaf and Vegetable Meal)
  • Black Bean Enchiliada Whole Meal (Enchiliada with Spanish Rice and Beans)
  • Quinoa & Black Beans with Butternut Squash & Chard
  • Dairy Free Bean & Rice Burrito
  • Black Bean Vegtable Burrito

Cans:

  • Organic Split Pea Soup
  • Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup
  • Organic Vegetable Barley Soup
  • No Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Organic Medium Chili with Vegetables
  • Organic Spicy Chili

 

Silk  (All Silk products are vegan!)

Soy:

  • Organic Unsweetened Soy Beverage
  • Organic Original Soy Beverage
  • Chocolate Flavoured Soy Beverage
  • Soy Beverage For Coffee

Almond:

  • Original Almond Fortified Beverage
  • Unsweetened Almond Fortified Beverage
  • Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Beverage
  • Vanilla Flavoured Almond Beverage
  • Dark Chocolate Almond Fortified Beverage
  • Berries and Acai Flavoured Dairy Free Almond Yogurt
  • Peach Flavoured Dairy Free Almond Yogurt
  • Vanilla Flavoured Dairy Free Almond Yogurt
  • Strawberry Flavoured Dairy Free Almond Yogurt
  • Hazelnut Flavoured Almond Beverage For Coffee
  • Dairy Free Almond Coffee Whitener

Coconut:

  • Original Coconut Beverage
  • Unsweetened Original Coconut Beverage
  • Almond and Coconut Blend Beverage
  • Vanilla Flavoured Unsweetened Coconut Beverage
  • Original Coconut For Coffee
  • Vanilla Flavoured Coconut For Coffee
  • Unsweetened Vanilla Dairy Free Cultured Coconut Yogurt Alternative
  • Unsweetened Plain Dairy Free Cultured Coconut Yogurt Alternative
  • Berries and Acai Cultured Almond Milk Yogurt

Cashew:

  • Original Creamy Cashew
  • Unsweetened Creamy Cashew Beverage
  • Vanilla Flavoured Creamy Cashew Beverage

 

Gusta:

  • Vegan Montrealaise Wheat Sausages
  • Vegan Espanola Wheat Sausages
  • Vegan Italiana Wheat Sausages
  • Pizzaroni Vegan Seitan Stick

 

Gardein

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Chicken:

  • 7 Grain Crispy Tenders
  • Crispy Chick’n Patties
  • Chick’n Sliders Mini Burgers
  • Chick’n Fajita Bowl
  • Teriyaki Chick’n Bowl

Beef:

  • Sweet and Tangy BBQ Wings
  • Beefless Ground
  • Beefless Tips

Patties:

  • Chipotle Flavoured Black Bean Patties
  • Spicy Breakfast Meat Free Saus’age Patties
  • Breakfast Meat Free Saus’age Patties

 

Sweets from the Earth

  • GF Flourless Cashew Flavoured Cookies
  • Nut Free Cupcakes
  • Blueberry Cheesecake
  • Chocolate Fudge Cake
  • GF Vegan Chocolate Cake
  • GF Vegan Espresso Cheesecake

 

Ben & Jerry’s

  • Non-Dairy Peanut Butter Half Baked
  • Non-Dairy Cherry Garcia
  • Non-Dairy Chocolate Fudge Brownie
  • Non-Dairy P.B. and Cookies
  • Non-Dairy Coffee Caramel Fudge

 

Okay, I know that seems like a lot, but considering they’re a pretty big grocery store, this actually isn’t that much. It just looks like it all listed out.

Anyways, I hope you found this helpful, should you need to do some digging around your non usual digs for vegan food, at least this way you know you’ll be able to find some pre-made stuff.

Which I know isn’t everyone’s favourite, and I’m actually trying to move away from it, myself, but it’s better than starving.

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Stop Online Grocer Review

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Vegan Stop is a new online fully vegan grocer for Canada who had reached out ‘to some of Toronto’s vegan leaders’ via Instagram on Feb. 1st to let me know they had just opened their online store veganstop.ca.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find this message because a) they think I’m a vegan leader in Toronto? That’s so cool! And b) they actively sought me out and wanted me to check them out? Double cool!

I was also excited to try out a vegan grocer specific for Toronto ever since V Word Market closed. Vegan Supply is a bit too far for me to order from.

Needless to say, I did check them out, and I’m here to share my experience with you guys.

*Disclaimer: this post is in no way sponsored by Vegan Stop*

I checked out their website that same day, and found it very easy to navigate. They even have a Search by Brand option which is a very handy addition. That first day, I went for some ‘classic’ premade vegan food brands: Daiya, Tofurky, Gardein and Earth Balance. (I had just been searching for Earth Balances Cheese Square crackers the previous week and really wanted to find them)

As expected, since it was the first day they launched, they didn’t have very many products for each brand, and they didn’t have Tofurky products at all.

I asked them about it, and they told me that they were expected to get the Tofurky products in over the weekend. I decided to wait to place my order until after that. I also gave them a few suggestions for the website, and as a thank-you they gave me my own special discount code, for which I’m very grateful!

I checked out their FAQ’s, and was again pleasantly surprised to see that they said that they aimed to have mostt orders out same day, or within 24 hours. Again, this was a huge plus for me, as other vegan online places took anywhere from a few days to 1-2 weeks to deliver. I also loved that they are strictly Canadian (for now, at least).

About a week or so later, I went back to the site, and again used the Search by Brand option. (I really love being able to search a store this way) I immediately scrolled down and found Tofurky, eager to see which products they had. To my disappointment, they only had deli slices, no sausages. (Not hating, I just wanted the sausages)

I went over to Daiya and saw that while they didn’t have the Monterey Jack Block (my favourite block of Daiya, and hardly anyone has them anymore!) they did have the Alfredo sauce! I was sold as soon as I saw that and decided to get some stuff to make alfredo pasta. I headed over to Gardein and got some Beefless Tips, figuring I could probably use them in place of the Tofurky sausages for the pasta.

I also got Gardein 7 Grain Crispy Tenders and Amy’s Kitchen Alphabet Soup (another one of my fav products). I didn’t want to get too many things in the first order until I saw what the shipping would be, and how long the order would take.

I went to the Check Out page and again was happy to see they accepted Paypal. (You wouldn’t believe how many places I can’t order from because they don’t accept Paypal)

The Check Out process was very easy to navigate – on par with the rest of the site – and I was glad to see that shipping was only $9!

Their prices are cheaper then I’ve found at other places as well. For example, the Gardein Beefless Tips and 7 Grain Tenders are $4.49 each, compared to $5.99 at Vegan Supply.

The Alfredo Sauce is $8.49, compared to $9.49 at Vegan Supply as well.

And, perhaps the best price difference: Daiya pizzas are $8.99, which is a whole dollar off from other places I’ve seen them for $9.99, or even $10.99!

Altogether, using the discount code, my order was $20.51, which, is a much smaller bill then it would’ve been elsewhere. And, that was the total including the shipping price.

Buying the exact same items at Vegan Supply, the same bill came to $23.17, not including shipping. Their cheapest shipping option was $16.83. That would’ve made my grand total $39.80 for the same order, and Vegan Supply didn’t even have the Amy’s soup! They also require you to purchase cold packs for refrigerated/frozen items, which are $1.50 each.

That’s a $19.29 difference for the same food, and, it would’ve been slower delivery.

That’s crazy!

I strongly urge you to check Vegan Stop out. They’re still new, so there may still be a few bumps in the road, but for that price difference? It’s definitely worth it.

I am very happy to have this new online grocer, and am looking forward to becoming a regular customer.

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Surprising Vegan Soup

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Hey!

Sorry this post took so long, but I was having… technical difficulties waiting for companies to reply to e-mails. (If you follow me on Twitter, you know what I’m talking about)

Anyway, that’s also why I listed Amy’s Kitchen, because even though they’re marketed as being vegan (and are therefore not really ‘surprising’) I had to include them due to the lack of response from other companies about their products. I may or may not update this post with the new products once I hear back.

Winter is coming!

And what better way to prepare yourself for the upcoming -40 blizzard weather then with some pre-made soup?

Answer: There isn’t. Except for maybe also stocking up on some hot chocolate.

That’s why I’ve decided to make this Surprising Vegan Soup Collage, so that your shopping trips are that least bit less irritating. I know I don’t like coming in from outside, freezing cold, and then get sweaty standing in the aisles of stores because you’re reading ingredients on products.

Also, with the holidays coming up, you’ll want to save as much of your stomach room as possible for the festivities. These soups aren’t too filling, inexpensive and last a while on your shelf. (So you can have them stocked for that mid-January holiday burnout)

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From the top left-hand corner, the soups in this collage are:

  • Habitant Garden Style Vegetable
  • No Name Rich and Chunky Vegetable with Pasta
  • No Name Tomato
  • No Name Vegetable Broth
  • Lipton Cup-A-Soup Spring Vegetable
  • Presidents Choice Hearty Vegetable and Navy Bean
  • Amy’s Kitchen Light In Sodium Minestrone
  • Amy’s Kitchen Light In Sodium Lentil and Vegetable
  • Amy’s Kitchen Split Pea Soup
  • Amy’s Kitchen Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable
  • Amy’s Kitchen Chicken Noodle
  • Amy’s Kitchen Black Bean Vegetable
  • Amy’s Kitchen Minestrone
  • Amy’s Kitchen Vegetable Barley
  • Amy’s Kitchen Lentil Vegetable
  • Amy’s Kitchen Alphabet
  • Amy’s Light In Sodium Split Pea
  • Amy’s Light In Sodium Lentil Soup
  • Campbell’s Soup at Hand Garden Tomato
  • Mr. Noodles Mushroom
  • Mr. Noodles Vegetable
  • Knorr’s Vegetable Bouillon Cube
  • Compliments Vegetable Instant Noodles

**As always, these products being vegan is specific to Canada. Ingredients may differ from country to country.**

In my research, I also discovered that Campbell’s has a line of soups called Well Yes! (US only). The ones that are vegan from that list are:

  •  Campbell’s Well Yes! Harvest Carrot and Ginger Sipping
  • Campbell’s Well Yes! Lightly Salted Santa Fe Vegetable
  • Campbell’s Well Yes! Red Bean and Vegetable
  • Campbell’s Well Yes! Chickpea and Roasted Red Pepper
  • Campbell’s Well Yes! Italian Vegetables with Farro
  • Campbell’s Well Yes! Hearty Lentil with Vegetables

And there you have it! 23 soups you might not of known were vegan – completely by accident! You should be able to find these in any ‘regular’ grocery store. (I believe No Name might be a Canada-only brand)

Have an idea of a Surprising Vegan food group I should tackle? Leave it in a comment below!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Store Crawl #1: Zehr’s

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I’ve wanted to do these Store Crawls for a while, but there was always something more important/immediate that had to get done.

I’ve finally decided to stop putting it off, so welcome to the first Store Crawl!

Store Crawls are going to be articles where I take you through/list all the vegan offerings available at a non-vegan grocery store (No Frills, Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, etc.), in the hopes it helps you out should you need to buy something. Now, since these aren’t vegan-centric grocers, I’ll only be listing the premade stuff, that’s available more in a grab and go style, like the deli meats, cheeses, etc. Hopefully, this will help you should you ever find yourself away from your preferred grocery store so you aren’t scrambling for something, also this may help you with your day-to-day shopping.

Okay, so, without further ado, here’s the first Store Crawl:

I know Zehr’s is not in Toronto (I’ve yet to find one, anyway), so if you live outside of Toronto (say, New Market, or Barrie), this might be of more help to you. I’ll be posting other Store Crawls for stores that are actually in the city soon, so keep your eye out!

I’m starting with Zehr’s because I was just there this past weekend and figured, why not start with the one that’s fresh in my mind?

Here’s what I found:

Apparently, Zehr’s is owned by Loblaws, so they have a lot of vegan options, thankfully. They pretty much had all this stuff in one aisle, (I believe it was labelled the ‘Natural Foods’ aisle) which was super convenient for me, I didn’t have to run around the entire store!

Deli Section: (Next to the meat counter)

  • Yves Lunch Meats (Turk’y, Ham, Bologne, and pepperoni)
  • Yves Not-dogs
  • Daiya Shreds (Mozzerella and Cheddar, no slices or blocks)

Natural Foods Aisle

Fridge/Freezer:

  • Silk (I didn’t see Silk Almond, just the Soy, also didn’t see the Chocolate one, just Plain and Vanilla)
  • Earth Balance Butter
  • Veganaise
  • Daiya Yogurt
  • Daiya Pizza
  • Gardein Nuggets (7 Grain Crispy Tenders, Mandarin Orange Chick’N nuggets and the Fishless Filets)
  • Hilary’s Burgers (green box [which I believe is their original?], and I think there was a purple box [Spicy Thai] too)
  • Sol Burgers (Quinoa)
  • Nature’s Path Organic Buckwheat Blueberry Waffles (Gluten Free!)
  • Amy’s Kitchen Black Bean Vegetable Burrito (the green and blue wrapper one)
  • So Good Ice-cream (chocolate)

Shelf:

  • Almond Breeze
  • Rice Dream
  • Coconut Oil
  • Amy’s Kitchen Cans (Organic Alphabet Soup [my favourite!], Organic Lentil, Vegetable Soup, Organic Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable soup, and they had a black can, I’m not too sure which kind that one was)
  • Daiya Mac (Deluxe Cheddar and Deluxe Alfredo – they were $4.49!)
  • Nuts To You Organic Tahini Paste (and almond and other nut butters)
  • Skinny Pop White Cheddar Popcorn
  • Veggie Sticks
  • Love Beauty and Planet Shampoo (never seen/heard of this brand before, I bought a bottle, keep an eye out for the review!)

And there you have it! Most, if not all the vegan finds available at Zehr’s.

I did my best to keep all the proper brand names/flavours, as I felt it’d be more comprehensive to list the ‘official’ flavours, instead of just listing (as example) ‘Gardein nuggets’. I’m sure some of you would still understand what I meant if I did it in short-hand, but I thought it might just make it easier, especially if you’re wanting to find a certain product for the first time, or requesting it.

I hope you found this list helpful, and I look forward to doing more of them in the future.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Amy’s Kitchen Organic Alphabet Soup Review

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I’d like to start this review off by saying that I’m not really that big of a soup fan. It’s weird to me: it’s a food, right? So why do we drink it? Who wants to drink their food? I can do that when I’m a hundred and my teeth are all gone. I want to chew my food. Stew is better, it’s chunky and chewable.

That being said, this soup is one of the few I actually like. Before going vegan, the only soup I’d eat was that Hearty Chicken can. And, while I don’t want to tell you to go out and try it, if you’re not vegan and are pondering soup choices…

Okay, anyway, on to Amy’s.

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Amy’s Kitchen is not a fully vegan brand, so if you check them out, keep that in mind. I recommend checking out their website, they have these little sticker things that tell you if it’s vegan, gluten-free, low fat, etc. This soup is luckily vegan and is very good. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about food looking like non-food shapes (letters, animals, smiley fries, little triangle-shaped sandwiches, etc.) that makes it taste better. I don’t know, maybe it’s the kid in me, but I love food that looks like non-food. Who doesn’t love spelling things in their soup?

I will say, it’s not all that remarkable, it’s tomato soup with some pasta. Honestly, if you’ve ever had Alphaghetti you know what this tastes like. I recommend this product though because it’s vegan alphaghetti! I love finding vegan foods that are similar to the foods I used to eat before going vegan. I’m not trying to diss this soup or anything – it’s good, albeit having a smidge of an acidic taste (but given that it’s tomato soup, that shouldn’t be surprising)

The only two ‘problems’ with this product?

  1. It comes in a can, which means if they go on sale/you want to stock up for winter, it’ll be heavy to carry back to your house.
  2. There’s no real earth-shattering ‘holy sh*t’ moment when eating it. It won’t blow you away and make you double check the ingredients to make sure it’s vegan, it’s just kinda… soup.

It’s not really on par with VeganEgg or Field Roast Burgers, because it’s just soup in a can, y’know? It’s kinda hard to give that kind of product a glowing review. I mean, chances are if you like any soup in a can and/or tomatoes, you’ll like this. Not exactly one of those super-star vegan products that’s out now, but just because it’s not getting hyped to the moon doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I can’t just review all the hyped products – you need some staple-y foods too, right?

Bottom line, I like this. It’s great to have in the winter, is ridiculously easy to make, and it might just bring back some of those simpler childhood memories.

So, Amy’s Alphabet Soup, have you tried it? What did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know! And, if you have any suggestions for future vegan products you’d like to see me review, leave it in a comment!

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