This article was written 23.03.06, some of the below products may be sold out/discontinued/etc. at the time of posting.
Though No Frills is owned by Loblaw, they surprisingly don’t carry as many vegan options as their parent company. Sure they’re a ‘discount’ store, but that doesn’t mean they should carry less vegan products.
Vegans like deals, too!
Earth Balance:
Soy Free Buttery Spread
Original Buttery Spread
Becel:
Vegan Margarine
Unsalted Plant-Based Margarine Brick
Salted Plant-Based Margarine Brick
Yves:
Veggie Ham Slices
Veggie Turkey Slices
Veggie Bologna
Veggie Bacon Strips
Ground Round Original
Ground Round Italian
Ground Round Mexican
Veggie Family Hot Dogs
Jumbo Veggie Dogs
Veggie Chicken Nuggets
Veggie Nuggets With Whole Wheat Breading
Veggie Breakfast Links
Falafel Balls
Veggie Meatballs
Lightlife:
Smart Bacon Strips
Smart Dogs
Smart Chicken Tenders
Original Crumble
Original Tempeh
Gardein:
7 Grain Crispy Tenders
Chipotle Lime Crispy Tenders
Beefless Ground
Meatless Meatballs
Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n
Lightly Breaded Turk’y Cutlets
Fishless Fillet
Crispy Chick’n Sliders
Beefless Tips
Crispy Golden Chick’N
Barbecue Wings
Chick’N Wings Spicy Gochujang Style
Crabless Cakes
Beyond Meat:
Beyond Beef Ground
Beyond Burgers
Beyond Mild Italian Sausage
Beyond Hot Italian Sausage
Daiya:
Shreds Mozzarella
Shreds Cheddar
Pizza Supreme
Pizza Fire Roasted Vegetable
Flatbread Mushroom Caramelized Onion
Block Cheddar
Block Feta
Salad Dressing Ranch
Salad Dressing Creamy Caesar
Cheesecake New York Style
Cheesecake Key Lime
Silk:
Almond For Coffee Vanilla
Almond For Coffee Hazelnut
Soy For Coffee Original
Oat For Coffee Vanilla
Almond Original
Almond Vanilla
Almond Dark Chocolate
Soy Original Unsweetened
Soy Vanilla
Creamy Cashew
Half & Half Coffee Creamer
Coconut Original
Almond Yogurt Vanilla
Coconut Yogurt
Coconut Yogurt Vanilla
Oat Yogurt Vanilla
Oat Yogurt Plain
Whipping Cream Alternative
Oat Original
Oat Vanilla
Violife:
Shreds Cheddar
Shreds Mozzarella=
Slices Mature Cheddar
Slices Cheddar
Slices Smoked Provolone
PC:
Butter Alternative Salted
Butter Alternative Unsalted
Salad Dressing Caesar
Cheddar Slices
Swiss Slices
Coconut Cream Cheese Style Spread
Mozzarella Sticks
– Beefless Undeniable Burgers
Vanilla Marshmallows
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
Peanut Butter Delights
As always, the above list is for the pre-made/faux vegan foods. I don’t list staple vegan products like fresh fruit and vegetables, grains, etc. because not only are those found at every store, including them would make these posts way too long.
Like this article? Check out more store crawls here!
This article was written 21.06.07, when COVID pre-cautions were still in place. Please excuse any reference that is no longer applicable
Similar to Metro’s store crawl, this crawl was also done online. While the restrictions are lifting a bit where I am, I still think it’s safest to not go to highly populated areas at the moment. Especially if I don’t absolutely have to go.
And running around a store writing down all the vegan food they offer isn’t on that list, so you’re getting another online edition. Actually, I was thinking of maybe making most of these online crawls instead. Lots of people would rather get groceries delivered, and, sometimes the online selection of products is better/has more variety than if you were to go in person.
Also, since we’re starting to get back into the cold weather, not having to brave the oncoming winter temperature’s seems like a good idea.
And with that little preamble out of the way, let’s see what vegan offerings** Loblaws has:
Yves:
Original Ground Round
Ham
Turkey Slices
Hot Dogs
Mexican Ground Round
Bologna
Pepperoni
Chick’N Burgers
Italian Ground Round
Lightlife:
Smart Dogs
Smart Tenders Plant-Based Chicken
Smart Bacon
Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips
Organic Original Tempeh
Plant Based Burgers*
Plant Based Ground*
*All other products said Certified Vegan on packaging, these products did not, however their ingredients appeared vegan when I read them
Gardein:
7 Grain Crispy Tenders
Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n
Beefless Ground
Crispy Fingers Chipotle Lime
Turk’y Cutlets
Golden Fishless Filets
Beefless Tips
Breakfast Spicy Sausages
Chick’n Sliders
BBQ Wings
Breakfast Maple Sausages
Earth Balance:
Soy Free Buttery Spread
Original Buttery Spread
Whipped Spread
Creamy Coconut Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter and Flax
Crunchy Coconut and Peanut Spread
Crunchy Peanut Butter with Flax
Silk:
Soy Original
Soy Original Unsweetened
Soy Vanilla
Soy Chocolate
Unsweetened Almond
Vanilla Almond
Dark Chocolate Almond
Almond Protein
Almond and Coconut
Coconut Unsweetened
Cashew Unsweetened
Oat Yeah Original
Oat Yeah Unsweetened
Oat Yeah Vanilla
Barista Soy
Barista Almond
Soy For Coffee
Vanilla Coffee Creamer
Hazelnut Coffee Creamer
Oat Yeah Coffee Creamer
Plain Coconut Yogurt
Vanilla Coconut Yogurt
Raspberry Yogurt
Blueberry Yogurt
Almond Strawberry Yogurt
Almond Peach Yogurt
Strawberry Banana Yogurt
Presidents Choice (PC):
Swiss Style Slices
Cheddar Style Slices
Mozzarella Style Slices
Cheddar Style Shreds
Mozzarella Shreds
Coconut Cream Cheese
Vegan Cheddar Puffs
Chickenless Strips
Onion and Chive Tofu Dip
Beefless Undeniable Burgers
Amy’s Kitchen
Alphabet Soup
Vegetable Barley Soup
Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable Soup
Light In Sodium Minestrone Soup
Lentil Vegetable Soup
Lentil Soup
Daiya:
Cheddar Block
Mozz Shreds
Cheddar Shreds
Cheddar Sauce
Alfredo Sauce
Cheddar Mac
Alfredo Mac
Cheeze Lovers Pizza
Margherita Pizza
Fire Roasted Veggie Pizza
Supreme Pizza
Vegetable Crust Meatless Pepperoni Pizza
Vegetable Crust Mediterranean Pizza
NY Style Cheesecake
Key Lime Cheesecake
Strawberry Cheesecake
Vanilla Ice Cream
Triple Fudge Ice Cream
Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream Bar
Salted Caramel Swirl Ice Cream Bar
Original Cream Cheese
Enjoy Life:
Mini Choc Chips
Mega Chunks
Plentil Dill and Sour Cream
Plentil Thai Chili Lime
Plentil Sea Salt
Cocoa Loco Baked Chewy Bars
Chocolate Chip Mini Crunchy Cookies
Soft Baked Mini Double Choc Brownie Cookies
Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies
Soft Baked Mini Snickerdoodle Cookies
Soft Baked Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Oat and Fruit Breakfast Ovals Choc Chip and Banana
Oat and Fruit Breakfast Ovals Fig and Maple
Oat and Fruit Breakfast Ovals Berry Medley
Gluten Free Crunchy Double Choc Cookies
Boom Choco Boom Candy Bar
Misc:
Mr. Noodle’s Vegetable
Habitant Garden Style Vegetable Soup
Lipton Cup-A-Soup Spring Vegetable Dry Mix
Knorr Vegetable Bouillon Cubes
Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast (Large Flake)
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
Oreo’s Original
Fudgee-O’s Original
Triscuits Original
Ritz Crackers Original
Kisko’s Mr. Freeze Jumbo Freezies
Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy Netflix and Chill’d
Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy Peanut Butter Half Baked
Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy Cherry Garcia
Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy P.B. and Cookies
Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Dandies Vanilla Marshmallows
**This is not counting of course fresh/frozen/canned fruit and vegetables, and staple dry ingredients like pastas and rices, this is also not including ‘obvious’ snack products (Lay’s Original chips, etc.)
Pepperoni pizzas are considered to be pretty basic, but just because a product isn’t overly complicated or a mash of six different flavours doesn’t mean it shouldn’t get just as much attention as the more exotic products out there!
Sometimes, you just need a simple meal to fill you, and that’s what this pizza does best.
I’ve only tried this pizza once – for some reason it’s really hard to find in Canada – and I ended up burning it a bit, so it was a bit more crunchy then I like, but even with that, it was pretty good!
The crust and cheese tasted the same as their other frozen pizzas. The pepperoni was more interesting. Now, the only other vegan pepperoni I’ve tried is Yves and the one that PizzaPizza uses (though they might use Yves, I can’t remember right now), and I don’t really remember what meat pepperoni tastes like, but I liked this one. It was actually pretty spicy, which I wasn’t expecting. It was about the same amount of spicy as the Beyond Meat Spicy Sausages. Which might not be that much for some of you, but for me it’s a lot.
Because they were spicy, they reminded me of what Hot Rods used to taste like. I don’t know how popular those are outside of Canada, but that’s pretty much what they tasted like. They were also pretty big in size, bigger than the pepperoni PizzaPizza uses, (I bought a pizza specifically to compare their sizes). Aside from the spicy aspect, they also had quite a strong smokey flavour.
I obviously would’ve liked them better if they weren’t spicy, and just smokey, but the smoke flavour did a good job of sort of ‘washing’ your mouth out when you swallowed so it didn’t feel like your throat was on fire.
This pizza is also the same price as the others (usually $10.99), which you could maybe argue for it being less because there’s only one thing on it. Other than that, there’s not really much to tell. It’s pretty basic, but it’s good.
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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.
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
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
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.
Since I did a chocolate review last year, I thought cheese would be a perfect pairing for this years’ Valentine’s Day.
Because let’s face it: everyone wants to try fondue at least once in their life, because it just seems pretty darn romantic! And what better day than to show off your romantic side than Valentine’s? (Daiya even has a dairy-free fondue recipe on their website!)
I want to start by saying this is my absolute favourite cheese, vegan or otherwise.
I honestly don’t know why Daiya gets such a bad wrap in the vegan community, yes it can be a little…. stronger than other cheeses, but that doesn’t make it bad!
This was the first vegan cheese I ever tried, and – after years of eating nothing but goat cheese – this was a very welcome break from that game-y taste. (If you’ve ever had goat cheese, you know what I’m talking about)
I also like the texture of the block – they’re perfect for cutting up into slices and eating cold! You could of course still shred them up and use them on pasta, hot sandwiches, or whatever else you put melted cheese on. My favourite way to eat any of the blocks though is by itself in cold sliced form. (Sometimes with crackers)
Speaking of the texture, I have noticed it’s changed. It’s almost the same, but I’ve noticed the last few times I’ve bought them, when I went to cut slices off the block, they’ve been sticking more to the knife, and seem more almost-melty. Like they used to get if you carried them home from the store in the summer and they got a bit melted but were still firm. I’m not sure if they changed the recipe, or if there was just a less stable batch or something that went out, but I have to say, I don’t like the new texture as much. I don’t want to have to peel off pieces of broken slices from my knife.
Now, I don’t know what ‘real’ Monterey Jack cheese tastes like, but this one has a pretty mild taste. I used to think Mozzarella was the ‘plainest’ cheese taste, but this beats it by a landslide. Mozzarella has a bit of a like, twang-y taste to it (yes I know ‘twang isn’t a flavour), that I don’t like too much. This one is the plainest of cheeses I’ve tasted – it’s a pretty neutral taste, which is why I think it’s the perfect flavour.
I don’t know all those typical cheese descriptions – nutty, earthy, etc. I don’t know what any of those mean, so the best description I can give it would be it’s like the water of cheese flavours: you can pair it with anything and it won’t be weird. (Unless you pair it with like, mints or something)
One thing I can say I definitely don’t like about this, and all the other blocks: They’re $5.99 each! With how small the blocks are, (I can usually finish a whole block in one day and a half [or less]) you’d think they wouldn’t be so expensive.
At one point, I was buying them in 4’s just so I’d have enough for 1 week – that’s $20 on cheese alone! Who has that kind of money?
I complain about this in a lot of my reviews of vegan products, but I’m gonna continue to complain until something changes. Either lower the price (even 4.99 would be better), or make the products bigger. How can we expect more people to go vegan when the ‘transition’ products are so anti-family sized and expensive? (Like the Beyond Burgers – 2 in a giant plastic container that could easily fit 4-6 for $20 – and that’s the raw ones!)
And I know, I know, I don’t know how much it takes to produce the blocks, and that may be as low of a price as they can make them for the company to make a profit, but guess what? If you drop the price, more people will buy them, because they’ll be actually affordable and it will (most likely) even out. I know I’d definitely buy way more of them if the price was lower (or they were bigger). Especially because you can put them in the freezer! You could go on a stock up trip and throw them in the freezer to keep on hand.
If you do put the blocks in the freezer though, I recommend you only use them to be melted or in a hot dish. Once they go in the freezer, the texture gets ‘snowy’ and they don’t work as well as cold slices for a snack. Once heated, they retain the flavour and melt-y/stretchy texture.
That’s pretty much all I think I can say about this block. It’s my favourite, even though it’s a bit on the expensive side and small. (But all the blocks are the same size/price)
If you haven’t tried it yet, I definitely recommend it, and I recommend trying it cold first before you throw it into a dish. Just so you get an untainted flavour of the cheese. If you don’t know what it tastes like by itself, how will you know what to put it in?
This is the last product review of 2019! (It’s also the last post)
Right now, my plan is to come back on January 17th (with the first Throw Away Fic of 2020) in which case the next product review won’t be until Feb. 13th and then continue on the pattern of the 13th of every month.
I hope you all have an awesome holiday season, get presents you actually want, and I’ll see you all in the New Year.
AI
Ah, Daiya. You’ve yet to disappoint me (with the exception of yogurt, but that isn’t your fault, I hate the consistency) and I’m so happy I get to finally review the mac n cheese you have!
Nothing was really stopping me before, I just try to pick the products I review so they go somewhat with the seasons – hence the burgers in the summer, and the soups and heartier foods in the winter. This particular product was hard to decide on though, since you can eat it any time. It’s kind of like Kraft Dinner, you can eat it at any time.
Technically, mac n cheese is a hearty food, so that’s why I decided to do the review in the winter.
Aaand that’s enough babbling – onto the review!
I can’t say taste-wise if it tastes like real cheese, but I can say it tastes like Daiya cheese. Which many people find to be… a bit strong. (To put it mildly) Let’s just say: if you like how powerful Daiya tastes, you’ll like this.
The box claims it makes 3 servings, but who are we kidding? 1 box = 1 bowl. It is very filling, the way mac n cheese should be. You know after you eat a bunch of food and then you’re ‘gross full’? It’s on the cusp of that and when you eat a bunch of vegetables where you feel full but not like you could vomit. (Maybe that’s why they say to eat it in multiple sittings?)
It also says on the box to just dump the cheese packet over the cooked pasta and mix. That is the gist of mac n cheese making, but if you follow those directions, it comes out very thick. What I like to do, is cook the pasta, drain it and then add it back into the pot/sauce pan and melt some butter and a bit of dairy-free milk and then add the sauce packet. I find this helps thin it out a bit and lessens the Daiya taste a smidge, too.
Overall, the dish is pretty basic – noodles + cheese pack – but I’m a fan of not over-complicated foods. It’s mac n cheese in a box, what do you expect?
If you want to jazz it up, you can add some salt and pepper, and (if you’re feeling even more adventurous) you can add some No Name Bacon Bits. Or, they have other versions of the mac n cheese, one I think comes with bacon bits, and the other comes with vegetable bits. (I don’t like the vegetable piece one as much as the others)
1 box is usually around $6, and in keeping with the vegan food prices? That’s not that bad at all. I definitely try to keep some of these on hand for a lazy meal – they’re super easy to throw together too! Maybe 10 minutes to cook and mix everything, and they’re filling.
This is one of the best vegan ‘convenience’ foods I’ve tried. I definitely recommend trying it out, especially for the long winter ahead. Time to stock up now!
Ah, Daiya. I don’t understand why so many people hate this company. I’ve had nothing but pleasant experiences with them. The only ‘issue’ I’ve ever had was one time I bought a block of their cheese from a store and it was mold-y. But, I sent them pictures, and they sent me coupons for compensation. How nice is that?
That said, this isn’t my favourite pizza from them. My favourite is the Supreme pizza, and I have a suspicion I would like their Meatless Lovers’ too, but I’ve yet to find it. Every store I’ve been to that sells their pizzas are either sold out of the Meatless Lovers’, or they just don’t carry that kind. I have no idea why, but it’s actually getting a little annoying. (Same as the Monterey Jack Blocks are getting harder and harder to find – they’re my favourite ones! I had to start buying them in 4’s!)
Most of the Daiya frozen pizzas taste the same, which makes sense because it’s the same company. It’s the same crust, sauce and cheese, they just change the toppings. The garlic bits on the pizza are a little much for my taste. I don’t really understand why they put bits of real garlic on the pizza, so you actually bite into hunks of garlic. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t find that part appetizing.
The rest of the pizza is not really overwhelming. It’s watery mushrooms on top of a frozen pizza crust. Not really something to write home about, but I have also had worse. It hits the spot, and isn’t as hard to find as the other kinds, but it’s also not their best.
As said before, there’s no real ‘wow!’ factor to it, it’s just… good. Will do in a pinch, and gets the job done of satisfying your hunger.
I know that’s not really an exciting review, especially after the in depth one of the Vegan Food and Drink Festival from last month, but there’s just not really too much to say about this pizza.
It’s good, but it’s not their best. If you haven’t tried any of them, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one, but if there is nothing else, it’ll get the job done.
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.
I can’t believe it’s already been another full year! It feels like just yesterday I was writing my 2nd Year Veganversary article – and now I’m already writing the next one? It’s crazy!
Again, it’s hard to know what to say in these posts – do I encourage you to go vegan with me? Do I talk about some of the hardships of going vegan?
Wait, I know. How about a quick food montage? Back before I was vegan, I basically ate the same three things over and over. But since I’ve been vegan? I’ve tried so many different kinds of foods, and even discovered some foods that I didn’t know existed before! (Like Nooch, seitan, oyster mushrooms and black salt)
I not only have expanded my taste buds by trying premade vegan products (like Daiya, Gardein and Tofurky), I also learned how to cook, and I’ve gotta say, I can make some pretty kick-ass things in the kitchen now, compared to the not knowing how to boil hot-dogs before.
Check out all the cool, new shit I learned how to make:
This is literally wheat gluten, water (or vegetable broth) and spices. It’s magic! And tastes awesome. I love getting to spice the food right from it’s conception – it gives it so much more flavour, instead of starting with a whole, plain slab of meat and then only putting the seasoning on the outside.
Also, you can turn this into any meat you want – the way you spice it gives it it’s flavour. And, because you’re hand shaping, you can also make it look like whatever you want.
You could even just leave it together and make a roast out of it, if you really wanted.
The possibilities with seitan are damn near endless.
And it’s got 62g of protein/1C. So, y’know you don’t have to worry about dying from protein deficiency.
Taquitos? I didn’t even know these were a thing before I discovered them at Good Rebel, and then learned how to make a homemade version.
Side note, if you live in Toronto, you should definitely check Good Rebel out. They’re small, but it’s like a vegan wonderland in there, they have so many products! Also, their egg and sausage breakfast sandwich is amazing.
Mozzarella sticks is something I never had before going vegan, let alone know how to make. This recipe I actually got from The Vegan Zombie.
There are a lot of different foods I never tried until I went vegan. Not even just ‘typical’ vegan foods – like seitan, or durian (which admittedly I still haven’t had) – but ‘normal’ foods, like garlic bread, poutine, milkshakes – pretty much anything that had milk in it, I never tried.
Uhm, hand-rolling sushi with no fish? Oh yeah, I did that, too. It was fun! And apparently because of my small hands, I was naturally good at rolling them.
These I made from my favourite vegan Youtuber, HotforFood. Lauren makes amazing vegan food videos, and makes a lot of ‘regular’ foods (ie burgers, wings, etc.) and not just salads. I highly, highly recommend you check out her channel, and that you buy her cookbook 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face. I was lucky enough to get her to sign it at this past years’ Vegandale festival and have made only a few things out of the book, (one of my favs is her Ranch dip) but am very excited to continue trying out more of her recipes.
I learned how to make chocolate cupcakes from scratch, and was pleasantly surprised that my vegan egg substitute of applesauce for eggs worked! The last time I had tried this switch, I was making brownies, and it didn’t exactly work out.
I also invented my own Cherry-Pie Cupcakes after learning how to make the cupcakes above. I’ve made these the past 2 years for my dads’ birthday and he absolutely loves them. (These pictures are a bit ‘foggy’ because I had icing on the camera)
It’s not even just the foods I’ve learned how to make, there’s also a whole world of restaurants and pre-made foods I never would’ve discovered had I not got into veganism!
Poutine! It’s always a win. Look at that deliciousness!
Globally Local I’m a fan of – and they’re not even available in Toronto yet! I had the great fortune of trying them at the festival both years, and neither was disappointing. (With the exception that they aren’t in Toronto!)
Hogtown Veganis in Toronto, and this thing is amazing, too. It’s giant, delicious, and was actually the first time I ever tried seitan – and that was even before I went vegan! It’s since become my ‘regular’ order when I go there. Some of my other favourites of theirs is their poutine, mac n cheese and chick’n burger. I highly recommend you check them out as well, if you’re ever in the neighbourhood.
These guys I only tried once, but again, was blown away. The sandwich was awesome, and it saddens me that they’re all the way in Texas. Also, those were oyster mushrooms? Whaaat?
Salted Caramel cupcakes are a must! I loved these so much and was very upset I was only able to buy one.
I won’t give you the total play-by-play, I’ll leave my food adventures on my Instagram. Also, if you want to check out the reviews I did of the above restaurant foods, you can find them here.
With all the awesome vegan restaurants opening, and all the new products that are becoming available, it’s becoming so easy to go vegan.
Also, if the food wasn’t enough to convince you, maybe this will:
Whether you’re thinking about going vegan for the animals, your health, or the environment, you can’t argue with numbers like these. 1,000+ animals saved in the 3 years I’ve been vegan by doing nothing else but changing my diet? Can I get a hell yeah?
Being vegan is one of the most passive ways to help save the planet and animals that I can think of. You don’t have to go out and protest, you don’t have to talk about it. You can be a quiet activist and vote with your dollar.
With so many great options available, and so many stats outlining the dangers of not going vegan, I’m truly baffled that some people haven’t gotten on board yet. I mean, I haven’t been vegan forever, but I don’t think I ever tried debating that animal agriculture was good for the environment, or that murdering innocent beings was right.
Seriously, how are there still people who think veganism isn’t the answer?
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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)
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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