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!
Now that we’re well into BBQ season, I thought it was time to review a newer cheese on the block, from a long-standing dairy alternative company: Silk!
If you’ve been around here a while, you’ll know I love Silk’s Chocolate Almond and most of their other flavours of plant-based milks. But did you know they also make cheese?
Yep, it’s true!
Before you get too excited, they only make two flavours that I’ve seen: cheddar and mozzarella. The good news though is that what they lack in flavour offerings, they more than make up for in availability!
I’ve seen their cheese slices in many ‘regular’ stores that stock their milks, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get your hands on some to try!
Also, I’m happy to report the same things I love about their milks, are some of the things that make their cheese great!
It’s hard to describe if you haven’t had them – or tried too many other plant-based cheeses – but their cheddar slices are creamy and soft. The texture was so different from what Daiya and VioLife slices are like, I actually thought the first pack I got might’ve gone bad! I (wrongly) assumed they were ‘slimy’.
Luckily a non-vegan friend told me that that texture was not only normal, but actually made them closer to feeling like real cheese? I’ve been vegan now for 8 years, and have been allergic to dairy for longer, so it’s been a long time since I had ‘real’ cheese, so I had to take their word for it. (This also means if you eat dairy cheese more regularly and decide they’re wrong, come for them, not me)
After learning they weren’t bad, I decided to try a slice by itself, before sticking it into a sandwich. I like to do this with all the products I can, so I can get a taste for the product itself, without it being masked by other flavours.
Again, it’s been a long time since I’ve had dairy cheese, but to me, these slices definitely tasted like cheddar. There was no doubt about what flavour they were supposed to be, unlike some of the VioLife slices. Don’t get me wrong, the VioLife slices I’ve tried all taste good, I just often don’t notice a difference in slice flavour, it’s all just kind of ‘cheese’ to me.
These Silk slices hold up great on their own, though I don’t know if I’d recommend eating them like that exclusively, and they hold up really well in a cold sandwich (deli slices, lettuce, etc.). They have enough taste to not disappear/become overshadowed by the other flavours, but aren’t super distinctive or overpowering enough to completely takeover.
Also, they melt really well if you want to put them on top of a burger! I don’t remember what they’re made out of, but they melt the fastest out of any vegan cheese I’ve tried thus far. One downside to melting these slices I’ve noticed is, sometimes, after they’re melted, if you bite into the burger (or whatever you melted it on), the whole slice will slide off into your mouth, instead of sticking to the burger. Understandably, that can be kind of annoying, but it doesn’t happen every time, so I’m not sure if it just means the slice wasn’t melted long enough, or if it’s only certain batches or what.
Another thing that we can put in the con column for these slices is trying to get them out of the package. They come in a pretty standard cheese pack, there’s 10 in one pack, but trying to peel the slices off/pull them apart can be difficult. Because they’re so soft, unless you’re extremely careful and/or use a knife to slide underneath, they usually end up breaking into a million pieces, instead of peeling off in one full slice.
This isn’t a problem if you say, want to melt them into something, but when you’re trying to make a sandwich, it can get frustrating.
If the don’t want to change the formula to give the slices slightly better structural integrity – which I would understand, because taste-wise, they’ve hit the nail on the head – maybe they should think about adding one of those wax paper separator things that some burgers come with?
If I, someone who has full range of motion/function have this much difficulty pulling their slices apart, sometimes I wonder how much harder would it be for people who have mobility issues?
It might not be considered a big deal for most people, but sometimes it’s annoying enough, it can mean the difference between choosing their slices, and choosing a different brand’s.
After trying the Beyond Meat Sausages, I’ve been a little more hesitant to try some of the newer/improved faux meat products that have come out in recent years. They have begun making some of them taste more like meat, and it’s too close for me to find enjoyable.
So when I heard of these Gardein Supreme Saus’ge Links, I wasn’t exactly jumping out the door to try them.
But working means not always doing things you’re looking forward to, so I finally sacked up and bought some to try. And, to my happy surprise, they weren’t that bad!
I first tried these sausages back in January, but decided to wait until the summer to review them because I figure you might be on the hunt for some new BBQ favourites.
These sausages came in the same sized box as their Supreme Burgers (which I don’t think I’ve reviewed yet), and they only came with four saus’ges in the box. They were what I like to call ‘proper’ sausage size – not too slim like the faux notdogs, and not weirdly long like some of the breakfast links – they were perfectly fat and short.
They also came in just one conjoined plastic sheet, which I liked because it’s less plastic than individually wrapping or packaging the links would’ve been. There is also clear seams on the plastic, so if you don’t want to cook all four links at once, you can just cut out the ones you want to use without inadvertently opening and needing to wrap up the remaining ones.
Because I’d never made them before, I decided to just cook them alone in a frying pan, which according to the box would take 19 to 25 minutes. When I took the links out of the plastic, they didn’t immediately smell like anything, but once they started to cook, there was a very strong sweet smell, that reminded me of maple syrup. The links also browned pretty fast, and I didn’t write down the exact time it took them to cook, but I did note it wasn’t as long as the box said. If I’m remembering correctly, I think I did 8 minutes on one side, then flipped and did another 6 minutes. (On my stove’s Medium setting)
One thing I did not like about these saus’ges was that they absolutely wrecked my pan!
I have no idea why, but they spit all over the place! I didn’t even add very much oil, and it’s not like I was constantly moving them around. All I did was flip them once. I noticed this is something that happens when I cook the Beyond Meat burgers/sausages as well, so I don’t know for sure, but it seems to be a weird by-product of the more realistic faux meats.
Luckily, it only looked like they killed my pan. Some water soaking in the pan immediately after cooking (once it was cooled down) and just a regular wash with a sponge and dish soap later, the pan was perfectly fine.
Once they were no longer cooking, the maple syrup/sweet smell dissipated, which I thought was a little odd. I initially thought the sweet scent was somehow activated during cooking, and once they were done, the links would continue to smell like that, but that turned out not to be the case. I don’t think they smelled specifically very ‘meat-y’ either, they just kind of had that done cooking smell. Or maybe I was just nose-blinded by the maple syrup, I didn’t notice.
These links had a great texture, and a good taste! As I said above, they weren’t super close to meat like the Beyond Meat products are, but they also definitely did have a meat-y taste. They also had what I described as an ‘undercurrent’ of flavour that I couldn’t quite place. My notes said ‘my best guess is mint, but not the toothpaste or candy cane mint flavour – it’s closer to when mint is in shampoo and has that ‘cooling’ effect, but in your mouth?’
This was actually a flavour I noticed in the Beyond Meat sausages, as well. At that time, I thought it might’ve been the fennel because they had the whole seeds/pods/whatever they’re called in them. But I’ve since been told fennel doesn’t have that cooling/mint effect, so I don’t know what else it could be.
I did read the ingredients, and there definitely is not any mint in the saus’ge links, so it might be just be a weird taste-bud thing.
I definitely wouldn’t let that odd description stop you from trying these saus’ges. Overall, they’re good! And I’m betting they’d be even better tasting if you cut them up and added them to something like a pasta or rice dish.
That said, they are on the slightly expensive side ($10.99 when I got them at Loblaws), so maybe best to keep them for those special BBQ summer occasions with family/friends.
Last year, I started taking a dance class. It’s been a lot of fun, but I wasn’t progressing as fast as I thought I should be, so at the beginning of this year – per the instructor’s advice – I started working out twice a week, and began drinking protein shakes/smoothies/whatever you want to call them on the same days.
And, to my surprise, I started seeing results!
Now, I’ll be honest: I’ve never attempted to build muscle seriously before, and due to my allergies, I’ve never tried ‘traditional’ protein powders.
This unfortunately means I can’t give you a comparison between this powder and another – non-vegan or otherwise – all I can give you is my experience with using the product.
Please keep that in mind as you read this review.
I’d also like you to keep in mind who is talking: I work a desk job and found normal working out (weight lifting, treadmills, other generic gym equipment, etc.) to be boring and often, hurt or felt like it wasn’t doing anything (though that’s a completely other post) so I stopped doing it. I still did stretches or some squats a few times a week, but for the most part, there wasn’t much body movement happening.
This also meant I had very little muscle going into the dance class. A running joke in my family was that I had ‘zero’ muscle – which isn’t true because I’d obviously not be able to walk around – but to put things into perspective, I had trouble lifting a regular sack of potatoes. Not carrying, lifting.
Okay, so now that I’ve painted you the accurate before picture of me, let’s get into the good stuff:
The first thing I noticed about this protein powder was it was listed online for $50 (Healthy Planet), and when it showed up, the container was a lot bigger than I thought it’d be.
Protein powder container compared to a Silk Oat tetra pack
The container also boasts all the good things about the powder in an easy-to-read format: 30g of Protein, 5g BCAA (explained as ‘Branched Chain Amino Acids’ in fine print at the bottom of the label), 5g of Glutamic Acid, 1 B/G CFU (Colony Forming Units) and Tart Cherries.
I don’t know exactly why they list Tart Cherries being in the product with all that other stuff, but I assume it’s somehow beneficial. Also on the subject of not knowing what all that means: you don’t have to!
If you turn the container around, it tells you why the things listed on the front are good things and what they do.
The label also says one container is supposed to last for about 19 portions, but my first container lasted for much longer. (I’m actually still using it! Looks like it will be done by Friday, though. Currently at about 37 portions [started January 6th], so by Friday it will have been 39 [April 18th])
I will admit, I don’t use the scoop that came with the powder, I use a Tablespoon, instead. I do this because I’ve been using a Magic Bullet, and the cup size is smaller than the amount of liquid the container tells you to use for 1 powder scoop. So after some quick mathing, I discovered 2 Tbs is the right amount for my cup.
If you’re using a bigger cup, or know what you’re doing, I would assume adjusting the portion to fit your needs would work, as well. Just keep in mind that that will change how long the container lasts.
“Ater,” you may be thinking, “all this is great, but how does it taste?” Good question!
This protein powder has a chalky taste when it’s alone (yes, I taste-tested it by itself for this review, you’re welcome), similar to what So Good Chocolate used to taste like. (I haven’t bought this brand in years, so can’t say if it’s still chalky) It’s more chalk than chocolate, but since you’re not supposed to ingest it that way, I wouldn’t hold that against it.
When it’s blended into a shake/smoothie/whatever though, it either disappears completely, or helps adds to the chocolate-y taste.
My shakes I like to keep simple, so they are just: banana, faux milk (used to be Silk Chocolate Almond but that has gotten harder to find lately, so recently I’ve started using Earth’s Own Oat Chocolate), the protein powder and some peanut butter.
Because I’m using faux chocolate milk, it’s hard to say if the chocolate taste is from the milk alone, or if the protein powder helps. With how strong the scent of chocolate is when you open the container though, I wouldn’t be surprised if it enhances the flavour when blended.
It also blends very easily, but my Magic Bullet is old (was bought around 2014/15) so sometimes the frozen banana makes it hard for the dying motor to get everything completely smooth.
But even when it’s lumpy, the taste is still good!
As for how much it helps with your actual muscle gains, as I said above, I haven’t tried other powders so I can’t compare to those. However, I do think it has helped on my growing muscle journey. I wish I could give you specifics, but I can’t. The only thing I can tell you is it does seem to help my muscles recover faster, and I have noticed a slightly dramatic increase in muscle mass during the three month time. (Though this might also be because I started to work out 3 times a week, as well)
All in all, I would recommend this product for people who want to start working out, switch from their other protein powder or if nothing else, want to make getting enough protein in their diet easier.
I believe this protein powder is doing good, I’m just too much of a newbie to properly explain the science for why.
I’m going to be honest, I knew Papa John’s was a pizza place, but I never went to them before I was vegan. There wasn’t any particular reason (that I remember), it just wasn’t my pizza place of choice.
So, that begs the question: why is my older brother obsessed with them? The last few years, any time we start talking about pizza places, he’s hailed Papa John’s as being the best pizza place ever!
Last July, I finally decided to humour him and we got it for lunch.
I was disappointed, to say the least.
The vegan options? Abysmally small! They have only a small selection of veggie toppings, 1 kind of dough that’s vegan (the gluten free crust is not it!) and they don’t even have vegan cheese!
It’s 2025!
I could maaaybe understand not having a faux meat option, but no cheese? Come on, Papa!
What the hell have you been doing over there?
Pizza
Hand-Tossed Original Dough (Thin, Original or New York Style Crust)
Signature/Original Pizza Sauce (Tomato)
BBQ Sauce
Onions
Jalapeno Peppers
Banana Peppers
Green Peppers
Mushrooms
Roma Tomatoes
Pineapple Tidbits
Spinach
Black Olives
Green Olives
Sides
Original Breadsticks
Dips
Signature Garlic Sauce (Lactic Acid)
Buffalo Sauce
BBQ Sauce
Pizza Sauce
Spicy Garlic Sauce (Lactic Acid)
Other
Whole Pepperoncinis
Crushed Red Pepper
Special Seasoning
Drinks
Pepsi
Diet Pepsi
Pepsi Zero Sugar
Mountain Dew (Yellow 5)
Aquafina
Starry
Starry Zero
Their website also makes it kind of hard to find the ingredient information, but once you find the page it includes very detailed descriptions and doesn’t appear to hide anything behind vague-sounding names.
For example, the Banana Peppers list sodium metabisulfite and then in brackets next to it, is the explanation, ‘a salt, maintains freshness‘.
The only iffy thing is the lactic acid. They don’t say whether it’s plant- or animal-based, so it’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to chance it.
Their Allergen Chart is also fairly straight forward to look through.
I will also say, despite their lack of vegan options, their Signature Garlic Sauce and Breadsticks were pretty good. I know this isn’t a product review, but it’d be the only thing from them I’d recommend trying. Unless you’re into sad no-cheese pizza that’s thin enough it feels like a tortilla and you have to fold it in half just to bite it.
They’re good for a snack/side, but definitely not for a filling vegan pizza meal.
At least, not at the moment.
Like this post? Check out more of the Vegan Fast Food series!
*If anyone from Papa John’s wants to reach out for more specific feedback, I’d be happy to share!
I’m pretty sure the last time I tried these deli slices was back in my very first year of being vegan (2016) and I don’t know if my taste buds have changed, or if they changed the formula/recipe (or if I’m even thinking of a different brand), but trying these deli slices now, I thought they were way better than I remembered!
I’m going to be honest, I bought these slices specifically so I’d have something to review. Usually, I buy the Yves deli slices (I like all three flavours now!) because they’re more widely available and cheaper in my area. Also, I know those ones are good.
These ones, despite what I ‘remembered’ pleasantly surprised me! They taste great, have a good texture and a decent amount come in 1 box. The slices themselves are more brown than pink/nude in colour and also have a small rind on them. The rind isn’t too thick though, and I think it adds an extra (very subtle) crunch to them.
One thing I found off-putting about these slices though was that after I opened the package, it smelled like dog food. That sort of… oldish gravy mixed with decaying meat? I even asked my non-vegan friend to smell it – because maybe that’s what ‘real’ lunch meat smells like and I just forgot – but they agreed, it smelled like dog food.
Absolutely does not taste like dog food, so I have no idea where that smell even came from, but yeah. Not exactly what you want to smell when making yourself lunch.
Luckily though, as I said, these slices have a great taste. They’re slightly smoky with an otherwise pretty generic ‘lunch meat’ flavour. I could not tell you if they’re supposed to be beef, chicken, pork, etc. replacements. They’re just kind of… lunch meat.
Which is is no way a bad thing! I actually love that they aren’t overpowering and don’t have a super distinct taste. It makes them perfect for their intended purpose, which is to blend into sandwiches! They add the texture you want, and zero problems!
If you can get past/through the weird smell – and hey, maybe it was just the box I got and not all of them? – I would definitely recommend giving these deli slices a try!
I first tried these truffles back in 2023. I’d been eyeing them for a while, but couldn’t find an excuse to buy them until then. (They were a joint Valentine’s/birthday present)
They were definitely worth the wait! Not only did they exceed my expectations, they also made me feel fancy. Due to my allergies, I hadn’t had truffles in a long time, and I forgot how much I used to like them. Opening the box and trying the different flavours. Sure, it came with a flavour guide, but it was still exciting!
I’m going to break this review into 5 parts, so each truffle gets equal billing. Unfortunately I didn’t completely love every flavour, but I would still say over-all these truffles were a hit! They’re also going to be listed in box order, not my order of preference.
Before we get into that, though, I want to tell you a little over-all about the box. I tried the 15 piece box, so there was only 3 of each kind of flavour. Also, despite knowing it was only 15 pieces total, when the box showed up, I was surprised at how small it was! I thought it was going to be bigger for whatever reason.
I also bought the box directly from NoWhey! which is unfortunately, a US based company. So, at the time I purchased the truffles (February 2023), this box was $29.50 USD and shipping to Canada was another $23.23 USD. Which means total Canadian, I paid $75.61.
Now, I don’t go around buying truffles very often, so maybe this is on par with other truffles, but to me, this seemed like a lot to pay for 1 box. They were delicious, as you’ll see below, but the shipping costing almost the same amount as the truffles isn’t something I loved.
Luckily though, I’ve since found these truffles at a few different Canadian vegan grocery stores, so when I buy them next, I’ll be sure to get them from there!
Milk Fudge
This truffle was definitely the ‘plainest’ one I tried, but that doesn’t mean it was bad!
This truffle, like all the others had a solid chocolate shell on the outside and a creamier/softer chocolate on the inside. Similar to the Lindt chocolates, but it’s been such a long time since I’ve had them, I’m not sure if that’s entirely a fair comparison.
It also just tasted like chocolate. No gimmicks, no tricks, nothing overly complicated. I hadn’t tried it at the time, but this Milk Fudge truffle reminds me of the Milkless bar they have for Halloween. I don’t know if it’s actually the same recipe, but if I had to guess, I’d say it is.
I would recommend this truffle to the less adventurous eaters out there. If you’re worried about liking the other flavours in the box, take solace in knowing there’s at least one you’ll enjoy!
Raspberry
This raspberry flavoured truffle had the smoothest inside out of all the truffles. I don’t know why it was the smoothest – it didn’t have jam inside, it was still solid chocolate – but it was a nice change of texture.
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of fruit in chocolate, but this one worked surprisingly well for me! I think because of the lack of jam, the raspberry flavour was a lot more subtle than I was expecting. I had tried the Strawberry Ganache Hearts at the same time and let’s just say I’d happily take these over those.
I also don’t remember what I meant, but in my original notes on the flavours, for this one, I wrote down, ‘no overtly raspberry flavour, more cooling’. So… take from that what you will.
Salted Caramel
This truffle was hands down my favourite, but I assumed that going in.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know salted caramel is one of my favourite flavourings, and this truffle did not disappoint!
It was salty, it was caramel-y… what more could you ask for?
The only thing I would say I didn’t like about this one – and this is just if I had to be nit-picky – was the salted flakes on the top. I don’t know if the ones we got were representative of all of them (the box I got only had 3) or if we got a couple less-than-perfect ones, but I felt there was a little bit too much salt on the outside. It reminded me of the salt flakes on that Sno Crunchy Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cone I tried. (Well technically, I since I tried the ice cream after the truffles, those salt flakes reminded me of these)
Grand Marnier
Do you know what ‘grand marnier’ means? Because I sure as hell didn’t. But it sounded fancy, so I thought it was going to be something like wine, or some other Grown Up Flavour… apparently it just means it’s orange.
Okay, technically it means it’s orange liqueur, but still. I was not expecting an orange flavour when I bit into the first truffle I tried out of the box – yes I tried it first because it sounded fanciest – and maybe I just didn’t eat enough of them, but it also didn’t get me buzzed. (I know that’s not necessarily a thing that happens with all liquor, especially in food)
The flavour was what you’d expect knowing it’s orange and chocolate. If you’ve ever had those chocolate oranges that are usually around at Christmas, it tasted like that, but a tad less orange-y.
This was my least favourite flavour out of the box, even after knowing what to expect. I wasn’t surprised by this though, because as I said above, I’m not that big a fan of fruit mixed with chocolate.
Coffee
And that brings us to the last but not least truffle of the box: coffee! This one was probably my second favourite flavour out of the box.
I know what you’re thinking, and I have the answer! I actually Live Chatted with an agent from No Whey! so that I would know whether or not they used decaf or regular coffee for the flavour. The agent told me they used regular coffee, but only used ‘a little bit’ and it was baked into the truffle directly, not added after or anything, so it shouldn’t have any coffee-like affects.
Which I was very glad to hear, because as you know if you’ve been around a while, my body is very sensitive to things like caffeine.
And I’m happy to report: I did not have any trouble with the caffeine from these truffles! So if you’re similarly affected, you can rest easy. Also I was glad to discover the agent didn’t lie about how much was used. (Which I’ve unfortunately experienced in the past)
The truffles tasted how you’d expect if you mixed coffee with chocolate. You could definitely taste the coffee, so if you’re not a fan of that, you’ll probably want to skip this one. The inside of this truffle was also more brownie consistency than the rest of them.
That’s not a complaint though, just an observation!
Overall, I would definitely recommend trying this box of truffles. Especially if you live in the US or find a place to buy them directly that’s less than $75.
The 15 piece box was also a great sample size box to write a review for. Since each flavour had only 3 truffles, there was one initial tester, a second to really think about the flavour and then the last was to be enjoyed like a regular person/non-food blogger. (Or given away to a friend if you didn’t like it)
If you’re not sure if you would seriously enjoy all the flavours, No Whey! also sells each of these flavours in alone, smaller boxes (I believe the single flavours come in a box of 6?), or they have a bigger box if you’re having a party, or know you’ll love them.
So, No Whey! Signature Truffles. Have you tried them? If you have, which flavour is your favourite? If you haven’t, which flavour do you think you’ll like most? Let me know in the comments below!
Important: This is the 4th last article of 2024! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 20th, 2025 with the first article of the new year!
Chocolate bark is one of the best snacks you can reach for and this Prana chocolate bark is no exception!
This bark is incredible. It’s the perfect ratio of chocolate to hazelnuts and rice, isn’t too thick and comes in a convenient resealable pouch, just in case you have enough self control to leave some of this delicious snack for later.
As the name suggests, they use a faux milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, which is great for not getting that drying-out-your-mouth feeling that dark chocolate tends to give.
This bark actually reminds me of those rice chocolate bunnies they used to sell for Easter. I don’t know how region specific that product is, but if you know what I’m talking about, and enjoyed those bunnies, you’ll definitely enjoy this bark!
I also found this chocolate bark at Shopper’s Drug Mart, so it’s definitely not even one of those specialty vegan-grocer-only snacks, either. Speaking of where to find it, it’s also got a competitive price ($5.79) and wasn’t even tucked into some dark back corner of the shop with other vegan-only products. I found it right there on the shelf next to the Reeces!
There is one bad thing about this product, and it’s a complaint you’ve heard from me before: there is not enough bark in the bag! I don’t know if I got a dud, but the bag I got was less than half full of bark. The rest was air, or that not-air stuff they seal in to help keep products fresh.
This is how much bark was in the bag as soon as I opened it
It was sad, because I love this product, and the bag isn’t even that big to begin with!
So while I recommend going out to try this product for yourself, be aware you’ll probably want to buy them in two’s.
Funny story about my discovery of this hot chocolate, I actually came onto the brand when I was looking for vegan cheese.
While the brand isn’t 100% vegan, they do have a line of vegan cheeses available – including some cheese cubes specifically for making poutine – and, as I was pleasantly surprised to find out, hot chocolate!
As far as I know, they only have the one kind of hot chocolate, but that’s really all you need!
This hot chocolate mix is pretty standard, in my opinion. It doesn’t have a specific flavour like the Castle Kitchen Caramel Hot Chocolate, or peppermint or anything crazy, it’s just… chocolate. And sugar.
And some Silk Chocolate Almond, but that’s me adding flavour, not what comes in the container. It also doesn’t have any of those dehydrated marshmallows that some other hit chocolate mixes have.
I would count that as a win though, because from what I remember, those marshmallows were always sort of rubbery or dusty tasting, and definitely didn’t replace plopping in your own fresh ones.
The container tells you to add 2 Tbsp of mix to a cup of hot water, but I’ve found that that’s way too much! I usually do 1 tsp or sometimes 1 1/2 tsp, but even sometimes that leaves bits of muddy, not-fully-dissolved mix in the bottom of my mug.
I don’t know if I happen to just have a smaller than average mug, or if someone misprinted those instructions, but I’d recommend starting out with a smaller amount, and upping the mix level each time, instead of starting with too much. Unless you actually like drinking that muddy leftover mix in the bottom of a cup.
The brand Farm Boy is also Canadian, and since they make ‘real’ food too, their products aren’t only found in specialty vegan stores! This means you have many more chances to get your hands on the product when doing your regular grocery shopping!
Another great thing about it, is that it’s a comparable price to ‘regular’ hot chocolate mixes. It’s listed as only $5.99 at Sobey’s, while the Compliments Hot Chocolate Mix is the same price, and the Tim Horton’s Hot Chocolate Smooth & Creamy is a dollar more.
This hot chocolate mix is enjoyable, and definitely gets the job done, and while I wouldn’t suggest you have to immediately run out and buy some, I would recommend checking it out this season.
If you’ve been around for a while – or even if you just happened to catch my Beyond Burger review – you’ll know I’m not that big of a fan of vegan burgers that taste overtly meaty.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t that big a fan of beef before going vegan, maybe it’s a psychological thing – I don’t know. All I do know, is that given the choice between a meaty burger or one that tastes like vegetables, I’m more likely to grab the veggie burger.
And these Sol Cuisine burgers are a great one to reach for!
There’s actually not much to be said about these burgers that you can’t figure out based on the name. Their taste is a great blend of mushrooms and rice and they have a great texture. They’re not too soft but aren’t too hard, either. You could pull them apart with your fingers if you so desired, but also definitely need to use your teeth to bite through them.
Four burgers come in one box and one thing I like that the company actually changed was before, the burgers used to come individually wrapped in plastic bags inside the box. The upside of this was obvious – you wouldn’t need to open all the burgers to just get one – but the downside was, of course, it meant they were using more plastic.
I’m not sure exactly when they changed, but I’m so glad they did! Less plastic is obviously always a win. That said, I do hope the company isn’t calling this a one and done deal – there’s still other steps they could take to reduce or even eliminate the plastic in their products! I’ve seen great things from other companies that use things like plant-based faux plastics, having products just be loose in cardboard, or even recycled plastic bags.
Another great thing about these burgers is that they aren’t one of those exclusive specialty vegan products, which means most ‘normal’ stores carry them! I’ve found these bad boys all over the place: Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Metro, Sobey’s – hell, one time I even found them at a No Frills!
Their price also makes them a great addition to your shopping list. At the time of writing (24.07.11) these burgers are listed at $6.99 and $7.29 at Wal-Mart and Metro, respectively.
These burgers are definitely a staple in my home, and I hope you take the time to try them out! I’ve never actually cooked them on a BBQ, but I bet they’d make a great addition to your summer meals!
Protein powder container compared to a Silk Oat tetra pack
This is how much bark was in the bag as soon as I opened it
