If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that I’m not exactly a fan of spicy food. It lights my mouth on fire, burns up my tongue, makes me sweat and isn’t easy going out, either. So, it might surprise you that I decided to try something with the words ‘Nashville hot’ in the name voluntarily.
It might also surprise you to hear, I actually liked them!
I first tried these tenders back in January 2023, and have had them a few times since, and I have to say, they’ve been slowly growing on me!
These tenders are slightly longer than the 7 Grain Crispy Tenders, and a little thicker, which might explain why they only come 8 to a bag. But what these tenders lack in quantity, they make up for with flavour!
They’re not overtly spicy like I had assumed they’d be – when you open the bag, there’s no puff of spice to sting your nostrils – and when you’re eating them, you don’t get any heat until the after-burn on the swallow. If we ignore the spice factor, they taste the same as their other faux chicken products and they have a pretty interesting breadcrumb coating.
If they had a non-spicy version of these tenders with the exact same breading, I would definitely add them to my weekly shopping list!
Another thing I appreciated about these tenders is that you can easily cut them up and add them to things like rice or pasta, and they won’t overpower the dish at all. The flavour of the tenders is great at seeping out and permeating the rest of the dish, so if you, for example, add them to pasta, I would recommend not adding additional spices if you want to avoid a tongue-burning-disaster when you go to eat.
If you’re not too big into spice, like I am, but are still curious to try them, I’d recommend eating them on their own, with some kind of dip to cool off your mouth. I chose a fairly easy homemade ranch, but I’d imagine any non-spicy dip would do the trick.
As I said earlier, they only come 8 to a bag, but I actually don’t mind that with these. Between their bigger size and their spice, I think 8 is a good number to get you through the week.
Also, they aren’t any more expensive than Gardein’s other faux chicken products, so the only deciding factor in whether or not you should add them to your grocery haul would be whether or not you feel like getting a new batch of taste buds.
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.
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 last article of 2024! I’ll be taking the rest of December and the first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 20th, 2025 with the first article of the new year! (Technically I’ll be back Jan. 17th but that will be a short story)
I want to start this review out by saying I’ve only tried these perogies once, and it was somewhere around 2015-2016. I tried to find them again so I could re-try them for this review, but it seems they’ve fallen off the face of the Earth. (At least, in Canada)
I checked regular grocers (Loblaws, Shopper’s, Metro, etc.) and dedicated vegan grocers (Good Rebel and VeganSupply.ca) and could not find them. I don’t know if they’re just no longer available in Canada, have changed their company name, or are discontinued, but I unfortunately could not get my hands on them again.
This means that I will be basing this review on what I remember. And what I remember, I hate to say, isn’t that great.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love eating perogies, and used to eat the frozen No Name potato and onion ones all the time. (They changed the recipe a few years ago to now include milk) This was also just after I had decided to go vegan, so when I was in Good Rebel all those years ago and saw vegan cheddar perogies, I was pretty excited!
I bought a bag despite the higher price (they were around $10-something and the bag was not big enough to justify that) and brought them home.
These perogies… they weren’t ‘bad’ as in ‘gross’, they were just kind of underwhelming. They tasted exactly like the frozen perogies I was used to, with a very, very mild hint of cheddar.
I honestly felt a little cheated. The higher price, smaller bag, and being bought from a specific vegan grocer made me think these would be somehow special perogies.
Yes, I know that’s my own fault. But as I said, this was just after I went vegan, so I was still mind-blown over the whole new world of food that had opened before me, and had rose-coloured-glasses on for a lot of vegan foods I tried. Back then, if the food didn’t completely blow my mind, I would say it was ‘bad’.
But what I really meant was it was a let-down because of how hyped I was to be trying so many new foods. Some were just… basic, staple foods. Which are very important to having a good food foundation to build the rest of your diet on! Unfortunately back then, I didn’t realize that.
So, are these perogies mind-blowing? No. (Unless they’ve since changed the recipe)
Should you still go out and buy them? Sure, but I’d recommend waiting until they go on sale. The size of the bag is definitely not worth the double-digit price tag. I know perogies are filling, but still.
So, Stella’s Perogies, have you tried them? If yes, did you like them? Do they even still exist? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, since this is the last article of 2024, I want to say a big thank-you to everyone who continues to read these articles and support the site! It means a lot to know I’m not just talking into a void. Lol
If you’d like to support the site more directly, consider signing up for my Patreon. You’ll get access to all my short stories, insider book knowledge, and/or the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping keep the lights on around here. Tiers start at just $1, too, so no need to worry about breaking the bank!
Have a great holiday season (if you celebrate), and if not, I hope you still find time to relax over the next month, and I’ll see you all in 2025!
When I first went vegan back in 2016, these wonderful pockets of joy seemed to be everywhere!
Unfortunately now, they no longer exist.
Admittedly, when I was a kid, I didn’t eat a lot of the ‘regular’ pizza pockets (allergies), but from what I remembered, these were spot on!
Not only were they the right shape (looking at you, Tofurky Pizza Pockets [which are also sadly discontinued]) but they also tasted how I remembered! The marinara sauce, the pepperoni, the mozzarella… even not waiting long enough to bite into one and burning the shit out of your tongue.
Don’t get me wrong, they definitely aren’t five star cuisine or anything, but you don’t want that from a pizza pocket anyway, right? Or at least, I know I don’t. Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good, y’know? They scratched the nostalgia itch, made a delightful small meal, or a hearty snack and used to be pretty easy to find.
They also used to come 4 pockets per box, so it was a winning product all around!
I’m definitely sad I can no longer buy them, but luckily you might be able to!
A few years after I stopped seeing them, I did some research and apparently, the company had discontinued all of their products in Canada, and then slowly began re-releasing them. I believe the reason at the time was something about operating costs since they had branched into the US market. (Which doesn’t make sense to me, considering Gardein is a Candian company) The thing that really got me annoyed though, is that on the US Gardein website, they have more product variety than the Canadian one!
I understand the US is a big market, but what I don’t understand, is why you would bare-bones the product line in the country you started in/are from? That just doesn’t make sense! If anything, they should’ve released a few products to the US to ease into the waters or whatever.
… Sorry about that mini-rant. I’m clearly not over this senseless betrayal. That’s how much I loved their pizza pockets! I haven’t eaten a non-homemade pizza pocket since 2016. That’s too long!
Anyway, if you’re in the US, you should have no problems finding this product to test, enjoy and hoard for yourself. I’m not sure if it’s available in other countries markets, but you can check using the Product Locator on their website.
Oh, and if anyone from Gardein is reading this: please, please, please bring your pizza pockets back to Canada!
So, have you tried Gardein’s pizza pockets? Have you found a different brand of vegan pizza pockets you love more? Or started eating to fill the pizza pocket shaped hole Gardein left when they disappeared? Let me know in the comments!
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 little bit, you may remember the Yves Bologna review I did back in 2019. And if you remember that, you might also remember me saying their other two deli slice options were not my favourites, to put it mildly.
Well, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that never happened. But I will tell you, that over time, the other two faux deli slices Yves offers had grown on me and, now, I regularly eat all three!
These deli slices were originally the ones I thought I liked the least. It turns out, however, that that super smokey flavour I attributed to these guys was actually from the Yves Ham slices. I found that out a few months after the review came out, and I actually briefly thought about adding an edit to it. But I knew I hadn’t yet done the other two slice options, so I figured I’d just set the record straight in those, instead.
Which brings us to today.
These faux turkey slices are definitely a mild flavour when cold – they’re almost magical in their ability to blend into the background of whatever cold sandwich you put them in. In some sandwiches, I swear all they add is the texture. This actually makes them the most versatile of the three deli slices Yves has to offer. Sandwiches, wraps, charcuterie boards, these babies go great in a variety of foods!
When heated, they take on a slightly more pronounced flavour, but it’s still mild enough to not steal the show from the dishes star ingredient.
Obviously, I can’t speak to their accuracy of turkey taste – I’ve been vegan way too long to remember now (8 years at the time of writing 24.08.06), however out of what I remember, they definitely can’t be anything other than faux poultry. You could maybe say they’re faux chicken, but I don’t really think that matters, unless you’re going for nostalgia or Thanksgiving accuracy.
They definitely don’t taste like the ocean, so that rules out fish, and they don’t have that earthy/clove-y ‘deep’ flavour that beef has, but they also aren’t overtly sage and thyme-y like some other more potent faux poultry I’ve had.
Whatever you want to compare them to, they are definitely tasty, and I’d definitely recommend trying them for yourself!
Also, one thing these slices do better than the Bologna is how many slices come in a pack. The Bologna only comes with 10 slices, whereas these come with easily double that, if not more. (I’ve never actually counted them)
The only difference is that the Bologna slices are much thicker. I’d say maybe double the thickness of the Turkey (and Ham). I’m not sure why they didn’t just make them all the same thickness, but all the slices are also the same price, so if you’re looking to get the most product for an equal amount of money, I’d definitely recommend the Turkey.
