Tag Archives: product reviews

Product Review, The Veg Life

Silk Cheddar Style Dairy-Free Slices Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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.

Like this product review? Check out more here!

I post new product reviews on the 13th of every month!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Supreme Saus’ge Links Bratwurst Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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.

Like this review? Check out more here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Tofurky Hickory Smoked Deli Slices Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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!

Want to read more reviews? Check them out here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

No Whey! Foods Signature Truffles 15 Piece Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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!

Like this review? Check out more here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Stella’s Cheddar Cheese Perogies Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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!

Like this product review? Check out more here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Pepperoni Pizza Pockets Review

Leave a comment

Loading

Does anyone else remember these things?

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!

Like this product review? Check out more here!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Farm Boy Chocolate Truffle Hot Cocoa Mix Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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.

Like this review? Check out more product reviews!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Yves Veggie Turkey Slices Review

1 Comment

Loading

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.

Like this product review? Check out more here!

I post new product reviews on the 13th of every month!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Sol Cuisine Mushroom and Wild Rice Burger Review

Leave a comment

Loading

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!

Like this review? Check out more here!

I post new product reviews on the 13th of EVERY month!

Product Review, The Veg Life

Kraft Dinner Plant-Based Original Review

Leave a comment

Loading

Isn’t living in the future great? Kraft Dinner now makes a vegan option! I’ll admit I didn’t eat Kraft Dinner all that much before I went vegan, but as a Canadian, it still fills me with joy to see a vegan option now available.

For those who don’t know, Kraft Dinner is a boxed mac n cheese. The box comes with dried pasta noodles and a powdered flavour packet. It’s very simple to make: boil the pasta, add the flavour packet and/or some milk (or water) and butter then mix.

Similar to Mr. Noodles, it’s a cheap, fast meal to throw together.

I’m happy to report the vegan one follows the exact same steps and as far as I could tell, didn’t take any longer. (Though again, I haven’t made Kraft Dinner for at least 10+ years) The box was the same size and shape as the non-vegan counterpart, and it even had a comparable price!

You can see the box is only slightly skinnier than the non-vegan

At Wal-Mart, the Original (non-vegan) Kraft Dinner was $2.27 and the Plant-Based is listed at $2.67 – and that’s not a sales price!

$2.67! That is the cheapest price for a vegan alternative I’ve seen, ever. Usually when I buy Daiya Mac, it’s around $5.67.

Despite the cheaper price and the box being the same size, the vegan one didn’t quite make a full bowl of mac n cheese. I would say it was a little more than half. However, I tested it mostly by itself. Usually when I make Daiya mac, I’ll add peas and some sort of protein (sometimes notdogs, sometimes a Gardein nugget). This time, I just added a Gardein Original Breakfast Sausage patty, cut up. If you add a few extras, it’ll probably end up being a full bowl of mac n cheese.

I also noticed the flavour packet, the powder inside was white, instead of the classic yellow colour that Kraft Dinner is known for. They do make a White Cheddar vegan one, but my box said Original, so I was a little confused.

That is, until I poured the powdered onto the noodles and stirred. The pot quickly became that classic Kraft Dinner yellow before my eyes, almost like magic. I’m not sure why the powder is white, and it turns yellow, but it was a happy surprise.

As far as taste goes, it was a little almond-y, but that may have been my fault because my hand twitched when I added the milk. (It was Silk Unsweetened Almond, if you’re curious) Other than that, it tasted like cheddar mac n cheese. You could definitely tell it wasn’t Daiya’s – as I’ve said in the past, Daiya has a very specific flavour – but it definitely wasn’t bad at all.

I also noticed the noodles were a little… doughier than the Daiya noodles. Like if you get thick crust pizza, the amount of chewing required was surprising. Whenever I make the Daiya Mac, the noodles are always very soft. You can flatten them on your tongue and swallow them whole. At first, I thought maybe I overcooked them, but no matter how little or long I leave the noodles boiling, they’re the same consistency.

The Daiya Mac is also gluten-free, and the Kraft Dinner isn’t, so that may be why. Obviously I can’t say for sure, but that’s my current best (only) guess for why the noodles are such a different texture.

Again though, I wouldn’t say this was a negative, it just surprised me because I wasn’t expecting it.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to ask a non-vegan friend to taste test it to see how it compares with it’s non-vegan counterpart, but I would definitely recommend trying it if you haven’t yet.

Especially because it’s only $2.67!

Like this review? Check out more here! I post new reviews on the 13th of every month.

Enjoying the website? Show your support on my Patreon! Tiers start at $1!