I don’t know very much about the NotCo brand – aside from their partnership with Kraft Dinner – so when I saw they had chicken burgers, I was obviously curious and had to try them.
These burgers were better than your standard veggie chicken burger for so many reasons, and I’m so happy I decided to try them! Their sizing, for one thing, was surprisingly good. They were, dare I say, slightly bigger than an actual burger!
Their breadcrumb coating was also nice. It had the classic texture of what I remember chicken burgers having, and they felt pretty solid when pulling them out of the bag. Like you could man-handle them a little without needing to fear they would break in your hand, y’know?
Speaking of the bag, I loved that it was purple. It also only had instructions for oven or grill cooking (usually, I cook burgers in a frying pan), so I cooked them in the oven. On the plus side, the instructions said they only need about 10 minutes total, with a flip in the middle before they’re done, so they weren’t a pain to cook at all.
A small pet peeve of mine is when cooking instructions say things like: Frying Pan: 10 minutes, Oven: 30 minutes.
They don’t really change colour when they’re done, and the first time I made mine, it did get a little softer/more breakable, so I didn’t think 10 minutes was enough. Luckily, more than one come in a bag, so I was able to experiment a few times after the tester I made for the review. I found 15-18 minutes was better for my oven. But of course, ovens vary, so I would recommend checking after the time on the bag, and then throwing them back in if they feel a little squishy.
Sometimes with vegan food, it’s hard to know if a food is supposed to remain squishy after it’s cooked, or if it’s supposed to firm up, so I always exercise caution when cooking vegan products.
Also luckily, these guys firmed up a little after longer cooking, so if yours come out a squishy, pop them back in!
I kept my tester burger simple, with just some lettuce and a mayo’d bun. I also cut out a piece of the burger to eat ‘plain’ on the side.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a ‘real’ chicken burger (at least 9 years), but these burgers had the flavour and texture of what I remember. They’re not eerily close like Beyond Meat products, but it’s enough to tell you’re not just eating breaded tofu.
Also, the cross-section of what the inside looks like showed off a great texture.
One thing that is not-so-awesome about these burgers is the fact only 4 come in a bag, and they were $7.49 (Metro), so I wouldn’t recommend making them a new staple. But, I can definitely recommend you try them at least once – especially if they’re on sale – as they’ll be a welcome addition to help you close out the summer.
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 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!
I first tried this new Gardein soup back in November of 2020. Yes, I’m that organized.
Since I only do 12 product reviews a year (one each month), it’s actually not hard to try more new foods than reviews to post. So instead of trying new foods and not reviewing them, I just write down what I think every time I try something new, and then I always have content. And, since I write the full review from my notes, it’s almost like not even doing work, since I’ve already done the hard part. (Thanks past me!) So yes, just like story WIP’s I also have a lot of vegan food reviews piled up/backlogged.
But, not to worry because you guys will get to see them all! Eventually.
Actually, one hard thing about keeping reviews for future years is the product I was planning on posting the review about is no longer around. Sometimes it’s been pulled from certain markets and is only available in specific countries or a few times, it had been discontinued all together.
Anyway, let’s get to the part you actually came here to read.
If you’ve been around for a while – or read some of my other Product Reviews – you’ll know I’m not that big on soup – but this one was actually pretty good!
It was a tomato based soup that had thick ring-shaped pasta, green beans, black beans, chickpeas and of course, faux sausage pieces. The can that I got was mostly pasta. It seemed to be lacking in beans and there were only 3 pieces of the faux sausage. Granted they were pretty big pieces – about the size of one of their Meatballs (notballs), if you cut it in half – but still. Since they put the word ‘sausage’ in the name, I think there should’ve been more than three. At least do five.
The soup in the pot
The piece of saus’ge, with a carefully placed ring-shaped pasta on top for size comparison
But, I know there’s not a worker sitting in the assembly line counting out pieces by hand (or at least, I hope that’s not happening), so maybe your can or if I buy another one, there’ll be a better mix of ingredients.
As I’ve said before, I have a pretty low spicy food tolerance, so I’m not sure if minestrone soup is supposed to be spicy, but mine was a little bit. It was enough to notice, but not enough to burn my throat/upset my stomach.
It also wasn’t very filling. It was pretty tasty, but I wouldn’t call it ‘hearty’. Though I’m not sure if that’s a soup thing or a this soup’s thing. So, take that with a grain of salt if you wish. If you wanted to stock up for winter, I’d keep a few cans on hand, but don’t max out your budget on them.
Speaking of budget, they also weren’t that expensive. The 425g can was $5.49, which is comparable to other soups and even the Daiya cheese blocks. (At the time of buying)
I’m not entirely sure if Gardein still makes this soup, to be honest. I checked Vegan Supply as I was writing this review (24.01.11, hello from the past!) to compare the 2020 price, but it didn’t come up. I also checked Gardein’s own website with the Store Finder and it crossed out Toronto, Canada and the closest that came up on the map were a bunch of stores in Detroit, USA.
I usually like to end my reviews by telling you to go try the product yourself, so Detroitians (is that what people who live in Detroit are called?) and probably other USA residents, feel free to check out this soup! People in Canada and other countries, see if you can find it. Just, don’t look too hard.
It was good, but not scour-the-Earth good.
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Gardein used to have a few kinds of ready-meal type products back when I first went vegan. There were pizza pockets, cans and even more faux meat selections available. They ended up having to cut a lot of their line in Canada for some reason, which sucks because I would gladly be eating their pizza pockets if they were still available.
It’s been a few years now and they’ve thankfully slowly begun expanding their product line again. Though I’m not sure how far off they are from bringing back their pizza pockets, I was excited to try this ready-meal bowl once they crossed the border.
This Chick’N Teriyaki Style Bowl is the first of it’s kind I’ve tried. I’ve never had another ready-meal version of this, so keep in mind I don’t really have anything to compare this too.
Usually, not having anything to compare a new product to is great, because then you’re not sub-or-consciously keeping tabs on things it does different than the other product.
That said, even without anything to compare it to, this product wasn’t my favourite thing from Gardein.
For starters, it came in a black plastic container that I think was supposed to look like a faux takeout container. Not only have I been trying to stay away from plastic (and I believe the black takeout container plastic is one of the harder kinds to recycle), it was a lot smaller than I was expecting.
And I know I say that basically every time – you’d think for someone who’s tried as many vegan products as I have, I’d expect things to be on the smaller side by now. But for a product that’s supposed to be an entire meal, it was very small. This could maybe be an appetizer to tide you over before the main course – like having a light soup before the entrée at a fancy restaurant – but if you’re planning on eating just this for dinner? Prepare to stay hungry.
This product also said to microwave it, which I didn’t because I try to avoid using them as much as I can. It actually cooked in the same amount of time on the stove in a pan (about 5-6 minutes) as the cooking instructions said it would.
It was also a lot more apparent just how small this portion was once I had it in the pan and out of the container it came in. It was maybe a half bowl’s worth of rice.
The taste was also not that great. Now, I’m not sure if there’s different ways to make teriyaki sauce, but every food I’ve had that said it was “teriyaki” was some sort of soy sauce concoction. This product however, tasted more like plum sauce.
If you enjoy plum sauce, that’d be a plus, but unfortunately I don’t like it. This made the dish weirdly sweet and it somehow also had a kick to it? I guess it’s the definition of “sweet and spicy”, but I wasn’t expecting that (and wouldn’t have ordered it) from a product that was labelled “teriyaki”.
The plus side of this dish, was that despite it being small, it came with about 10 pieces of chick’n strips. The strips I don’t think were anything special, though. They just tasted like their regular bagged ones.
If I remember correctly, this bowl was either more or about the same price as their chick’n strips bag. (I tried to find the price for this article, but Good Rebel, VeganSupply and Loblaws were either sold out or no longer carry the product)
Honestly, you could probably make a much better version of what this dish is supposed to be if you just bought their chick’n strips separately and combined everything yourself.
Again, if you enjoy plum sauce, spiciness and small portions, you might love this dish! But as for me, while I wouldn’t count this product as “bad” I definitely wouldn’t buy it again – unless it was my only option.
I’ll be taking the last half of this month and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back Jan. 13th 2023, (9am, ET) with the first short story (and product review) of the new year!
Hope you all enjoy the upcoming holiday season, and get well rested for 2023!
Now that the winter weather is in full swing, I thought what better product to review than a soup?
Now, I’m going to be honest, I’m not that big of a fan of soup. I hardly ever eat it (Mr. Noodles not included). I think it’s a little weird as a food. It’s practically just juice with chunks in it.
I’m a much bigger fan of stew. Food should be solid, or fork-able. If I wanted to drink something, I would just get myself a beverage.
That said, I decided to take a chance on this soup, because I’m a big fan of most of Gardein’s other products. And let me tell you, I’m very glad I took the chance!
This soup had big chunks of chick’n (the pieces were roughly the same size as their Meatballs), had pretty big pieces of carrot and celery, and there was a decent amount of noodles, too. My can only had 6 pieces of chick’n total, which I guess I could let slide since they were pretty big, but for a soup that is called Chick’N Noodle, you’d think there would be more. That could entirely vary by can, though, so don’t let that be a reason you write this soup off before even trying it.
The can also made a full bowl, which I was admittedly impressed with – I was half expecting it to be a little under, if anything. The can itself is pretty small, it’s the same size as the Amy’s Kitchen soup cans.
Because I don’t eat soup all that often, I don’t really have much to say in terms of how good it is specifically as a soup, but compared to the Chunky Soup Hearty Chicken I used to eat before going vegan, it definitely stacks up!
One thing I didn’t like about this soup – or any soup that has noodles in it – is how soft the noodles are. I understand that’s what happens when noodles are left soaking in liquid for a long time, they get super soft. And I’m not sure if that’s something others would say is a plus in their soup, but as for me, I like my pasta to have a little bit of a bite to it.
This soup definitely gave me classic chicken noodle soup vibes, and even though I’m not that big a fan of soup in general, I could definitely see myself enjoying this during the cold winter months.
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
The soup in the pot
The piece of saus’ge, with a carefully placed ring-shaped pasta on top for size comparison
