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Gardein Chick’N Teriyaki Style Bowl Review

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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.

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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.


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Gardein Chick’n Noodl’ Soup Review

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This is the last post of 2022!

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?

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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.

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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.

On occasion.


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So Delicious Vanilla Bean Coconutmilk Frozen Dessert Review

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Vanilla gets a bad wrap as being a ‘boring’ flavour, but, without a solid foundation, you can’t build ice creams that are more complex. Also, sometimes you just want a ‘boring’ flavour, or maybe someone doesn’t like a weird combo of flavours – whatever your reasoning, vanilla is a great basic flavour to keep stocked in the freezer.

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That said, this means the review of a plain-er flavour won’t be as long, because there’s not as much to talk about flavour-wise. But again, I don’t think that should influence someone’s decision to buy it!

Okay, that’s enough defending, let’s get down to the review.

I’m going to be honest, this ice cream didn’t actually taste like vanilla. It tasted like coconut, which is fine, since it’s a coconut-based ice cream. And it wasn’t an overpowering coconut flavour like some other things I’ve tried. It was actually a much more subtle flavour than I thought it’d be. I don’t know if they added vanilla, and that’s what muted the coconut, or if that’s just what plain coconut ice cream tastes like, but it was nice, even though it’s not the flavour that’s advertised on the label.

The ice cream was also very ‘light’ and refreshing, unlike some more complex flavours which feel ‘heavier’ when eating them. This ice cream was a perfect, light snack. It actually kind of reminded me of summer, in the same way that eating watermelon does.

It was also pretty soft. I don’t know if it’s because it was coconut based or not, but I actually loved how soft it was! I could take it right out of the freezer and eat it, unlike with (as an example) Ben and Jerry’s, where you have to leave it on the counter for 5-10 minutes just to get a spoon in it.

A downside to this, and so far all vegan ice cream, is unfortunately it still came in the small pint containers, like the Ben and Jerry’s ice creams. I don’t know why there’s no family sized vegan ice cream out there, but I wish someone would start making it! Sure, for one person, this size would last maybe a week (if you ate a little every day), but what should you do if you have a celebration, like a birthday? You could buy multiple pints, but the amount you’d need to feed everyone, coupled with the high price, makes it not worth the effort.

I’m going to try to restrain myself from launching into a whole rant about the sizing thing – if you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know how much the smaller size thing irks me.

That’s really everything I had to cover for this ice cream: nice, light, coconut-y flavour, and a small container. Not much else I can say about it, except tell you to buy it if you like mellow flavoured ice creams.


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Switching to a Zero Waste Toilet Paper (Who Gives a Crap Review)

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On my journey into living a more zero waste lifestyle, I discovered a pretty startling fact about toilet paper. Though I’ve said it a few times already in other posts, it really belongs at the start of this one: We cut down 27,000 trees everyday to make toilet paper.

This is such an outrageous stat, that even though I learned it last year, it still partially breaks my brain whenever I think about it.

Seriously, think about it: it takes a long time for a tree to fully grow. Sometimes it takes 40, 50 or hell, even 100 years – an entire lifetime for them to reach their peaks, and what do we do with them? Cut them down, only to use them in something we use 1 time, and then immediately discard.

Call me crazy, but if I worked 40 years (or longer) on something, and then had to watch someone tear it down just to turn it into something they immediately threw away, I’d be pretty upset.

So, what are we to do? The obvious answer would be to just stop making toilet paper. But then there’s the issue of what we use instead. Sure, bidets are a thing, but I don’t think they’re for everybody.

And what other solutions are there, if someone doesn’t want to try a bidet? They could shower after every time they use the bathroom, so that they’re clean, but that would be highly impractical, and, not to mention, a huge waste in water.

So, what else is there to do?

The other solution is to start making toilet paper out of something else.

Sounds crazy, right? Well, thankfully, it’s not! Some companies are already doing this. Like the company I’m going to be talking about today: Who Gives a Crap.

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Aptly named for a company who’s main focus is toilet paper, they have an amazing solution to our paper-y woes. Their toilet paper is made either out of bamboo, or recycled paper.

But Ater, isn’t cutting down bamboo just as bad as cutting down a tree?” That’s a great question! It wouldn’t be much of a solution if we were just depleting something else, would it? Well, thankfully, bamboo is a type of grass, so it grows back quickly – much more quickly than a tree would, which makes it a great substitute to regular paper tp.

I know what you must be thinking, how in the heck would bamboo toilet paper even work? Isn’t bamboo just for aesthetic looking wood furniture? Nope, it’s not. It can be turned into paper, and other materials, too!

It does have a different feel than paper toilet paper, but it’s nothing too jarring, I promise!

Take a look here:

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Here is a roll of WGAC’s bamboo toilet paper (on the left), next to a roll of Charmin Extra Strong. (Charmin was the toilet paper I was using before switching)

As you can see, the bamboo roll is slightly bigger in size, and the cardboard roll it comes on is smaller, so you get more toilet paper per roll. You may also be able to tell, that the bamboo roll looks firmer/stiffer than the regular paper one.

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This is a close-up of the bamboo’s texture. It is pretty comparable to a paper towel, one side is bumpy and slightly rough, and the other is softer, but still firm. The firmness makes it great at, erm… doing what toilet paper is meant to do, and it doesn’t disintegrate as you use it, unlike some other softer products.

This is actually something I noticed that happened with their recycled paper toilet paper. It still has one rough-ish side, and one softer side, but the softer side is way softer than the bamboo – it’s actually the same softness as the Charmin roll. Which makes sense, since the recycled one is still made out of paper. For me, personally, I value structural integrity over super softness, so I’ll be sticking with their bamboo paper from now on. (Once I finish the recycled rolls, of course)

If you’re still undecided, you can always get a box of both, and see which one you like better. They only sell their toilet paper in boxes of 24 or 48 rolls, so unfortunately if you end up not liking one of them, you’ll have a lot of them to get through.

But, you could always gift some of the rolls to people you know, or use them as emergency rolls if you run out of the other kind.

Switching was also super easy. Like, ridiculously so. I just placed my order online and waited for it to show up. Then, once it got here (and I sprayed it with isopropyl alcohol to sanitize), I found a spot to put the box, and used as normal.

If you’re thinking of switching (which I highly recommend), I would warn you to order before you’re in desperate need of replacement toilet paper. Both my orders (bamboo and recycled) arrived in 14 days. So, y’know, make sure you have enough toilet paper to cover that waiting period, or longer, depending on where you’re located.

My first order, which was the 24 box of the bamboo rolls, was $55.79 CAD ($42 USD) because I had to get it from the US site. (Their Canadian site didn’t exist then) When I placed my order for the recycled paper (another 24 box), it was only $47.46 CAD, because I was able to get it from the Canadian site.

That may seem like a pretty steep price to some people, but it’s definitely worth the bit of extra cost in my eyes. Not only are you buying a premium, non-tree-killing toilet paper, but 50% of their profits go to help build toilets for people in need.

How cool is that?

You’re helping make someone else’s life more hygienic and better, just by simply buying an essential!

Also, if you only need to buy toilet paper twice a year, the price is actually less all together than it would be if you were, say, buying it every month. It’s a bigger price at once, but over-all it should actually be cheaper.

Unless you’re getting your toilet paper from Dollarama or something, in which case I beg you to stop doing that to yourself and test out these guys. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Not only is this company helping to save the planet, and help people in need, but they also individually wrap their rolls, so that they are also plastic free!

This is the wrapping on the bamboo rolls.

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These are the wrappers on the recycled paper rolls.

Not only does the wrapping make the rolls pretty to look at, but you can also re-use it for crafts, projects, or even to wrap presents!

Who Gives a Crap is hands down one of the best companies I’ve ever found, and I seriously cannot recommend them enough!

If your toilet paper situation is fine, or you still have reservations about going paperless, they do sell a few other paperless replacements, like tissues or paper towels. You could always try testing those out first, and then move on to the more ‘intimate’ product later.


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Main Vegan Deli Smoked Applewood Cheese Wedge Review

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Usually, I like sticking to cheese that has a pretty mild/tame flavour. I’ve seen some cheeses that have blueberries, and other odd things in them. While I’m not quite at that stage of trying new things, I did want to try branching out from my usual Daiya (and now Violife) cheese and see if I could be satisfied with a wilder flavour.

Enter: Main Vegan Deli’s Smoked Applewood Cheese Wedge.

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I decided to go with Main Vegan Deli because I remembered liking their cheese sample at one of the Vegandale festivals I went to, so I thought they would be a safer choice. (Instead of picking a completely new company) Also, their cheese is made out of cashews, and I haven’t tried very many cashew based cheeses, so I figured two birds.

Now, this cheese definitely has a… let’s say ‘bold’ flavour. Upon first taste test (done cold, right out of the fridge), it had the texture of soft tofu, and didn’t really have much of a taste, until you got to the red dust that was along one side. Once you got there, that’s when the flavour became apparent. It’s kind of hard to describe the flavour, but one thing I can say for sure, is that it made the back of my throat tingle after swallowing it.

I found out later, that it apparently has whisky in it, so I’m not sure if that would’ve been that flavour (I’m pretty sensitive to alcohol’s), or if it was something else, but it definitely didn’t make it fun to swallow.

That said, I had my (non-vegan) friend try it as well, and they absolutely loved it! They said, and I quote, “It’s as close as you can get without dairy. It melted the same and tasted great on burgers and sandwiches.

I also tried it in a cold sandwich, and it was definitely better when not eating alone, although I couldn’t tell if that was because it was disguised with other flavours or not. And, it still tingled my throat. I didn’t get a chance to try it melted, although I did smell it melted, and similar to a few other things, the flavour just seemed to intensify when it was heated.

I figured since I didn’t really like the flavour, I probably wasn’t gonna like it with an intensified flavour.

While this cheese wasn’t my cup of tea, I would still say it was good, and if you’re someone who looks for bold flavoured cheeses, I’d definitely recommend you try it out!

Another good thing about this wedge, is that it was a lot bigger than I thought it’d be! It’s actually the size I thought the Violife Parm Wedge was going to be. Since I tried the Violife wedge first, I had lowered my expectations on size when I bought this one, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Especially because it was listed at $15.

If I had ended up liking the flavour, I would’ve been over the moon at how big of a wedge it came with. I ended up giving it to my friend, who was really happy with it’s size. Though they did agree with me that $15 still seemed a bit too steep. We both thought if it was closer to $10-12 it would’ve been better.

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here, when I say ‘big’, I don’t mean it was ‘big’, I mean it was bigger than the Violife wedge, but was still relatively small. The whole wedge was roughly the size of my hand.

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The wedge went from the tip of my middle finger, to my wrist, making it about 6 inches long. It was also about 2 inches wide (pointer to ring finger).

Definitely not big enough to be $15 in my eyes. But! I want to say thank-you to Main Vegan Deli for not making it ridiculously small.

If their other cheeses are the same size, I definitely can’t wait to try one of their tamer flavours!

Have you tried Main Vegan Deli’s Applewood Smoked Wedge? Let me know what you think about it in the comments below!


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Sneak Peeks of Posts for 2022

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Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all had a relaxing break and are ready to get back to it.

This year, I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of jumping right into a brand new article on the first day, I thought instead, I could do a post that would show you what’s to come.

I figured this would be good for two reasons:

  1. It gives you guys adequate time to get excited for what’s to come, and
  2. It gives me an extra week to get some posts scheduled.

I’m (mostly) kidding on that second point. But, I have been doing lots of research in my time off from posting and, apparently, people like to feel like insiders, and like to see teasers of what’s coming up, so they can build the anticipation for the thing, have time to prepare, etc.

And while my blog doesn’t put out heart-stopping excitement, I still thought it might be cool to try out.

So, below, you’ll see some previews of posts to come.

Enjoy! (And get ready)

AterImber.com - Writing Tips - Photoshop Tutorial Series - Puddles (PHSH Effect 19) - Puddles Example Pic - phsh tutorial, photoshop, tutorial, indie author, writing tips, book covers, book cover tips, photo manipPuddles (PHSH Effect #19, Coming Apr. 4th)

AterImber.com - Writing - Throw Away Fics - Make It Count - SPN Fanfiction, Supernatural, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Crowley, Bobby Singer, Crobby, fluff, indie author, reading, reading material, Patreon, short storiesMake It Count (Unlearning Series Fic #9, Coming May 9th)

Lens Flares (PHSH Effect #21, Coming July 25th)

AterImber.com - The Veg Life - Vegan Tips - Vegan Fast Food KFC Edition - KFC Preview - veganism, vegan tips, vegan fast food, food blogger, food reviewer, KFC, plant-based, meat-freeVegan Fast Food: KFC (Coming Aug. 22nd)

Curses (Coming Oct. 14th)

Who Gives a Crap Review (Coming Mar. 28th)

AterImber.com - Writing - Throw Away Fics - The Long One - SPN Fanfiction, Supernatural, Marvel, crossover, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Thor, Loki, indie author, reading, reading material, Patreon, short storiesThe Long One (A SPN x Marvel crossover, Coming Sept. 2nd)


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Gardein Chick’N Scallopini Review

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I don’t know what a ‘scallopini’ is supposed to be, honestly I think a better name would’ve been a ‘cutlet’ (like their breaded turk’y cutlets) so this review may not be the most accurate.

Call that a disclaimer or warning, whatever floats your boat, but yeah. If I miss something that has to do with it being called a scallopini I apologize in advanced.

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I want to start this review off by saying there’s only four that comes in a bag, similar to the Chick’N Burgers.

Also similar to the Chick’N Burgers and nuggets (and tenders) is the flavour of the chick’n minus the breading. They’re also similar in size to the cutlets which I like. They’re not too small or too big. They’re roughly the size of a chicken breast (I think) albeit they’re not nearly as thick as a non-vegan breast. They’re actually about the size of my palm, which is about 3in x 3in. (Yes, I did just measure that)

They’re a good texture too. They’re not too squishy like some tofu nuggets I’ve had, they have a good bite to them, and you have to put some pressure to the knife if you want to cut them.

The first way I tried one was just pan fried (no oil) and I topped it with some Daiya shreds and put it on a sandwich.

My dad even tried a piece and said he liked it!

Taste-wise there’s not really anything new – if you like their other chick’n products, you’ll probably like this too. Also, the texture is pretty much the same as all their other chicken products. It’s that firm-soft texture that uncooked meat has. (If you remember that)

I think the best way to cook these is in a pan. I think the instructions on the back say to cook them in the oven, but that just takes way too long. Why would I put them in the oven and wait 20 minutes, when I could pan fry and have them done in 10? Also, if it’s a tad under-cooked, it’s still fine, because it’s not actually raw meat, so you don’t need to worry about getting sick. (I’m not a doctor, so don’t quote me on that)

One of the things I’ve actually noticed since going vegan is that most of the premade stuff takes so much less time to cook, it’s insane! That’s definitely another bonus of these, and a lot of the other Gardein products, too.

All in all, these are pretty much their Chick’N burgers, if they were naked instead of being breaded. I like them a lot, and similar to the Chick’N Burgers, I wish they put more than 4 in one bag!


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Vegan Rob’s Cheddar Puffs Review

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These things are amazing!

I’m not entirely sure if they’re supposed to be a straight up replacement for Cheeto’s or something, but I know these are definitely worth trying/buying all the time!

The bag they come in is somewhat small, which I don’t like, but that’s pretty much the only thing I don’t like about these!

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The puffs themselves are pretty big in size, and have a great amount of cheese-y dust on them, that gives them a great flavour. It doesn’t taste like nooch to me, which is good news for all you nooch haters.

They do get pretty dusty, so make sure you have some napkins handy, because that dust gets pretty much everywhere. Also, be sure to have water, because they will dry out your mouth. But, they’re delicious, so it’s definitely an okay trade off!

They have a good crunch to them, too. Again, I’m not sure how the crunch of other puffs compare, but these have a great one-bite crunch to them. It actually kind of reminds me of the consistency/crunchiness of Corn Pops. They have an initial hard crunch, and then almost basically dissolve in your mouth.

There’s really not too much more I can say about these, other than I hope you run out and buy them, because they’re awesome!

This Vegan Rob’s company makes a few different kinds of puffs, not just these Cheddar ones, but I’ve only tried these and the beet ones, and those were…. Well, they tasted like beets, and as someone who doesn’t like beets I did not like them. (They were given to me as a gift, btw) So, I can’t personally recommend checking out their other flavours, because I haven’t yet, but I definitely recommend trying out these Cheddar Puffs, and supporting this company!


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Gardein 7 Grain Crispy Tenders Review

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These are some of the very first things from Gardein I ever tried.

I’m not gonna lie, like most of the other chick’n Gardein products, you probably already know what these taste like, so if you like those, you’ll like these.

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One thing I actually don’t like about these, is the fact they only come 10 to a bag. I know from personal experience you can fit 20 into the bag. And, while 20 did slightly overfill the bag, you could definitely put more than 10. Even 15 would be better. I really don’t understand the obsession with vegan companies not making foods in family sizes.

I don’t know about other people, but I don’t want to go shopping every week, and like to buy the biggest quantity of something I can, so I’m not constantly running out to the store for supplies. (And, in light of COVID happening, I think it’s more important than ever to buy things in bulk to limit your amount of outings)

Aside from the lack of food, these are as I said above, not very spectacular. But that’s okay! I actually really enjoy these, they’re pretty fast to make in a pan, and can be eaten by themselves as nuggets, or you can add them to other dishes, like pastas or rice.

The 7 grain breading on them is pretty good, too. While I can’t really describe it – I don’t actually taste 7 different grains, for example – but I can say it’s definitely different than the breading on the Mandarin Orange Nuggets. One thing I can tell you though, is that this breading is way more crumby than the other. It’s not really a big deal, but even after washing my hands I still feel like the crumbs are on me, so be wary of that.

As for the innerds – as I said, it tastes the same as their other faux chicken products. The texture is a bit tougher than the nuggets, though. It’s closer to the texture of the faux chick’n burgers.

Another thing I’d like to mention, I recently noticed that the Gardein bags have changed texture, they don’t feel quite so ‘plastic-y’ anymore. So I did some recon, and discovered they changed their bags to be made out of ____ which is awesome, because this means that while they still come in packaging, they’re more recyclable, and – as someone who recently started getting into the zero waste lifestyle – this is awesome! So while I try to move away from pre-packaged foods, I will still continue to support Gardein.

I feel like the Beyond Burger (and Impossible Burger and the like) are more of the flashy/Instagram-y side of veganism, trying to seem interesting and enticing – while Gardein is more like an old friend who’s always there.

If you haven’t tried their products yet, please go out and support them!


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Breyers Non-Dairy Vanilla Peanut Butter Ice Cream Review

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I am very saddened to be posting this review in lieu of the annual Vegandale Festival review. Unfortunately, this year the corona virus caused all kinds of havoc and due to safety concerns, the festival was cancelled/postponed until next year.

This is the first year pretty much since I went vegan where I wasn’t able to attend the festival. Yes, I’m bummed but the show must go on, so please accept this still summer-y review of Breyers Non-Dairy Vanilla Peanut Butter Ice Cream.

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This is actually the second Breyers non-dairy ice cream I’ve tried, but I apparently didn’t post the Cookies and Crème review I did, so I’m gonna be doing this backwards. That review will come some time next year, (most likely in the summer).

This ice cream is hard for me to describe, because most of the ice creams I’ve had in my life are ‘hard’. Like, the Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy line – how you have to chip away at them to get them out of the container? Like that. This ice cream however, is a lot softer, and doesn’t ‘chip’ – you can actually scoop it right out of the freezer without breaking your wrist. I would say maybe the best word to describe the consistency is ‘smooth’ and ‘softer’ than the others. (Or, dare I say… creamier?)

Another thing I like about this ice cream is how big the container is.

Seriously.

This ice cream comes in a 1,660ml container, which is over 3x the size of the Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy ice creams (500ml). Also, the Breyers was $5.98 at the Real Canadian Superstore, while Ben and Jerry’s is $7.28. At other stores though, (Loblaws, Metro and Shopper’s), the Ben and Jerry’s is usually around $9.98.

So not only is it 3x the size, but it’s also cheaper.

The size alone makes this ice cream a must try for me, but the flavour itself is great, too. The ice cream is basic ‘smooth’ vanilla, and it has bits of peanut butter throughout. The peanut butter is in these sort-of-weird drizzled lines. They’re not in chunked pieces like they are in the Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter ice cream. It’s actually kind of hard to explain. It looked like they drizzled liquid peanut butter and layered it in with the ice cream, allowing the ice cream to freeze it. I’m not sure if that’s actually how they get it in there, but that’s what it looks like. The peanut butter parts of the ice cream were ‘hard’. I’m tempted to akin it to peanut brittle, but they’re not that hard. And when I say ‘hard’ I don’t mean ‘crunchy’, I mean like how ice is hard – it’s like that.

Because of this, you have to be careful when excavating the peanut butter parts out of the ice cream. Too much strength, and you risk flinging ice cream all over yourself. (I totally don’t know this from first-hand experience) Not that the hardness of the peanut butter is jarring (… no pun intended?) – it melts as soon as it hits your tongue – but it is something to watch out for. I feel like, not that they need a warning on the label, but if people were at least aware of that going in, it might up their experience.

All in all, this ice cream is definitely decent for the price and size that it is, and if you haven’t tried it yet, I’d definitely recommend that you do, if for no other reason than to laugh at the comparison of size.


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