Tag Archives: the veg life

Product Review, The Veg Life

Stella’s Cheddar Cheese Perogies Review

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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!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Ways to Spice Up Your Mr. Noodles

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Important: This is the 3rd last article of 2024. I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 20th, 2025 with the first article of the new year!

It’s time to address the elephant in the room.

You lived on them in college, you’ve seen the studies about how high in sodium their seasoning packets are, and are in a better financial situation now. But you can’t help yourself. Mr. Noodles just hit the spot for some reason.

It’s okay, you’re not in trouble! I eat Mr. Noodles, too! I love them and am sick of all the Mr. Noodle hate I’ve been seeing. I put it in the same category of stupid as when people argue that cake isn’t healthy.

That’s the whole point!

If I wanted to eat something healthy, I’d eat an apple. Carrot and fruit cakes are an abomination and can be left out under a snowbank. (Sorry, Mom)

So, you like Mr. Noodles. Congrats on finally admitting it! But now you find yourself in a bit of a rut. You boil the noodles, add the seasoning and eat… what more could you possibly do?

Well, as it turns out, there’s actually a lot of different ways you can add a little pizzazz to your Mr. Noodles.

Some people add a soft-boiled egg and chives, to make it that classic anime ramen, you can add frozen veggies (my personal favourite is adding peas), cheese shreds and garlic to make a delectable food abomination that scratches a garlic bread itch, but with noodles, or make what I’ve cleverly named Mr. Noodle Stir Fry.

AterImber.com - The Veg Life - Product Reviews - Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausages Review - Beyond Meat Sausages In Mr. Noodles - food reviews, product reviews, food reviewer, sausages, vegan, vegan food, vegan meat, meat alternativesMr. Noodle stir fry with peas and Beyond Meat Italian Sausage

Mr. Noodle Stir Fry is a mix of different veggies (usually peas, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms) and some sort of faux meat (if you’re into the super meaty taste, the Beyond Meat sausages work really well, or Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’N [sans the sauce] if you want a more mild flavour) stirred together with the flavour packets and sometimes a splash of soy sauce. Broth or water would work, too.

Mr. Noodles are a great base for many dinners because unlike actual pasta noodles, they cook super fast and are way more versatile! They’re also usually something crazy like 60 cents (yes, that’s including inflation. They used to be 25 cents!) and come in a range of flavours and are shelf-stable and stackable, which make stocking up on them for winter a breeze!

Keep in mind that the only vegan options are the Vegetable and Mushroom flavours. Though if you just plan on using the noodles as a base for something and not the flavour packet, you can buy whatever flavours are available, regardless.

Next time you go to indulge, try adding something new to them. Even if it’s not as elaborate as Mr. Noodle Stir Fry, you can change the monotony of your Mr. Noodle routine with a dash of creative thinking.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Prana No Mylk’n Hazelnuts & Crispy Rice Chocolate Bark Review

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Important: This is the 4th last article of 2024! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 20th, 2025 with the first article of the new year!

Chocolate bark is one of the best snacks you can reach for and this Prana chocolate bark is no exception!

This bark is incredible. It’s the perfect ratio of chocolate to hazelnuts and rice, isn’t too thick and comes in a convenient resealable pouch, just in case you have enough self control to leave some of this delicious snack for later.

As the name suggests, they use a faux milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, which is great for not getting that drying-out-your-mouth feeling that dark chocolate tends to give.

This bark actually reminds me of those rice chocolate bunnies they used to sell for Easter. I don’t know how region specific that product is, but if you know what I’m talking about, and enjoyed those bunnies, you’ll definitely enjoy this bark!

I also found this chocolate bark at Shopper’s Drug Mart, so it’s definitely not even one of those specialty vegan-grocer-only snacks, either. Speaking of where to find it, it’s also got a competitive price ($5.79) and wasn’t even tucked into some dark back corner of the shop with other vegan-only products. I found it right there on the shelf next to the Reeces!

There is one bad thing about this product, and it’s a complaint you’ve heard from me before: there is not enough bark in the bag! I don’t know if I got a dud, but the bag I got was less than half full of bark. The rest was air, or that not-air stuff they seal in to help keep products fresh.

This is how much bark was in the bag as soon as I opened it

It was sad, because I love this product, and the bag isn’t even that big to begin with!

So while I recommend going out to try this product for yourself, be aware you’ll probably want to buy them in two’s.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Gardein Pepperoni Pizza Pockets Review

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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!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Where Do Vegans Get Their Potassium?

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You’ve probably heard of potassium as that health thing/nutrient in bananas that’s good for you, right? But do you know what potassium actually is?

Don’t feel bad if you don’t, I didn’t know what it was until I did this article! And since I’m the bringer of knowledge – both because that’s what this series is for and because I’m an Aquarius – let’s take a quick walk down What The Heck Is Potassium, Anyway? Avenue.

Potassium is a mineral that helps maintains your body’s nerves, muscles, kidneys and heart functions. It’s said that when people eat diets rich in potassium, they can lower their blood pressure, reduce their risk of kidney stones and potentially regulate their blood sugar levels.

Adults need 4,700mg of potassium daily and while that may sound like a lot, with how abundant it is in foods, you really don’t need to worry. (Like most other nutrients in this series)

Starting in the top left-hand corner, and moving clockwise:

  • Dried Apricots (1,510mg)
  • Prunes (1,270mg)
  • Raisins (1,200mg)
  • Durian (1,059mg)
  • Swiss Chard (961mg)
  • 1 Med Baked Potato (929mg)
  • Yams (912mg)
  • Spinach (830mg)
  • Lentils (731mg)
  •  Avocado (728mg)
  • Guava (688mg)
  • 1 Whole Pomegranate (666mg)
  • 2 Slices Watermelon (640mg)
  •  Kidney Beans (607mg)
  •  Coconut Water (600mg)
  • Butternut Squash (582mg)
  • 1 Med Sweet Potato (542mg)
  •  Beets (518mg)
  • 1 Banana (451mg)

I don’t know about you, but I was surprised to learn that not only so many other foods have more potassium than bananas, but that bananas have so little in comparison, that they’re at the bottom of the list!

Did this list shock you? Do you know of any potassium-rich foods I missed? (With equal values to the above) Let me know in the comments!

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Farm Boy Chocolate Truffle Hot Cocoa Mix Review

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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.

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Yves Veggie Turkey Slices Review

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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.

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

The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: Wendy’s Edition

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I’ll be honest, I was expecting more from Wendy’s in terms of vegan offerings. Their whole thing is ‘better ingredients’ for a fast food place, and I assumed that translated to the new wave of places adopting at least some sort of vegan product. (Seriously, even KFC has vegan chick’n now!)

Unfortunately, Wendy’s either missed the train or decided to not hop on board, so the vegan offerings aren’t that impressive.

  • Cobb Salad (remove: shredded cheese, egg yolks, grilled chicken, bacon and get ranch dressing on the side)
  • Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (remove: grilled chicken, three cheese blend, croutons, bacon and get dressing on the side)
  • Table Syrup (comes with the Homestyle French Toast Sticks)
  • Seasoned Potatoes (website says they’re cooked in the same oil as products that contain milk, egg, etc.)
  • French Fries (website says they’re cooked in same oil as products that contain milk, egg, etc.)
  • Plain Baked Potato
  • Original Lemonade
  • Strawberry Lemonade
  • Coke
  • Coke Zero
  • Diet Coke
  • Sprite
  • Barq’s Root Beer
  • Fanta Orange
  • Nestea
  • Strawberry Passion Fruitopia
  • Dasani Bottled Water
  • Hot Coffee, Black (website says adding the sugar or zero calorie sweetener may result in contact with milk containing ingredients, but they also have individual packets available upon request)
  • Hot Tea (doesn’t say what kinds are offered)
  • Honest Kids Apple Juice
  • Honest Kids Fruit Punch Juice
  • Simply Orange Juice
  • Simply Apple Juice

I don’t actually know if they’ll let you customize the salads, but I thought it would be worth mentioning. Maybe you’ll get pleasantly surprised and they’ll be able to veganize them! But even if they won’t, at least you know you won’t go thirsty!

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Product Review, The Veg Life

Sol Cuisine Mushroom and Wild Rice Burger Review

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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!

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

Product Review, The Veg Life

Sno Crunchy Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cone Review

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Sno is a relatively new ice cream company, at least to me. If you saw my other review, you’ll know I only tried them because I saw an Instagram add for their Pine Tree Mint ice creams.

I mentioned I was happy to learn they had a few other vegan offerings, but at the time, they were sold out.

I finally got my hands on one of their other flavours, which brings us to the reason for this review!

I first tried these cones just in March of this year, so this might be the newest product review I’ve written.

Only 3 cones come in a box, and while that sucks, they are relatively big – or at least, are comparable to other frozen ice cream cones I’ve seen. According to the box, the cones are supposed to be, Creamy caramel frozen dessert swirled with a salted caramel ribbon, a caramel center and topped with crunchy caramel bites.

The first cone out of my box had a lot of the crunchy caramel bites on the top. To the point if I had tipped the cone, they would’ve fallen off easily because there was so many they weren’t stuck in the ice cream. Honestly, I felt a little sick after eating them all, and that was before I even got to the rest of the cone!

Those small circle-things are the ‘crunchy bites’

The rest of the cone was pretty lack-luster, I won’t lie. The caramel on the top of the cone was weirdly warm (the ice cream was still cold so it wasn’t because it was out of the freezer), it was also very thick and goopy. It tasted good, but the texture was just very… off, in my opinion.

The ice cream itself just tasted like plain vanilla, and unfortunately, it was just on the top of the cone. The cone itself was empty/hallow, but did have chocolate coating the inside.

As far as first impressions went, this was a miss. Which sucked, because I really wanted to like this ice cream!

Luckily though, 3 cones come in 1 box, so the next time I went for a cone, I was pleasantly surprised! I swear to God, the difference between the first and second cone was night and day.

The second cone had a (thankfully) modest amount of crunchy bites on the top, the caramel was cold, not as weirdly thick, and though the rest of the ice cream I’m pretty sure was still just vanilla, it went all the way down into the tip of the cone!

The tie-breaking last cone was thankfully like the second, which leads me to think I somehow got a reject cone my first time around. I don’t know how it passed inspection, or maybe the equipment had a weird malfunction, but the other two cones in the box completely saved this product from getting written off.

While I think 3 cones for $5.97 (Wal-Mart) is a little steep, they’re less expensive than those Magnum bars or a pint of Ben & Jerry’s – and a potential of 2/3 being good – I still think this product is worth not only trying but also adding to your summer shopping list!

Have you tried these bars? What did you think of them? Did you happen to get any reject cones like I did? Let me know in the comments!

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