Skip to main content

Veganuary: Product Reviews

My final product reviews article for Veganuary is here, and I tried out some really tasty new products that I hope you'll give a try! Enjoy x

Pukka Pie Vegan Chicken and Mushroom Pie (£1 for one pie)

I've been getting a bit bored of not having many veggie/ vegan options when having fish and chips, so when I saw this for sale in Sainsbury's I knew I had to pick one up ready to go in the freezer. The pastry was just as good as a meaty Pukka Pie, and the sauce inside was really tasty. Considering how many great chicken style pieces you can get nowadays, I was a little disappointed in the ones in here. They were quite soft and chewy rather than meaty- quite similar to the mushroom pieces. This meant I couldn't really differentiate between the chicken and mushroom. However, it was still very tasty, and even better once doused in gravy.

ASDA Plant Based Wraps (£2.50 each)

We've started going food shopping in the evenings so it's quiet, and this means there's often some great deals in the reduced section. I managed to get these two wraps for 10p each, which was great considering I'd spent about 10 minutes deciding whether to buy one full price before I spotted these! The onion bhaji wrap was very tasty, and the flavours complimented each other really well. It included onion bhajis, sweet potato puree, spiced peppers, cucumber, spinach, and mango chutney so it definitely wasn't lacking in filling. The spiced wrap was also a nice touch and I would happily eat this again.

Next up I tried the hoisin duckless wrap, and not to be dramatic but this was a dream come true. I used to love duck to the point I tried to convince myself I could eat it when I was a pescatarian (because they swim), but my conscience won that round. I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between this and a real duck wrap, and the hoisin sauce was the perfect accompaniment. My only criticisms would be that it would have been tastier with some spring onion in, and it could have done with a little more filling. Regardless, it was still delicious!

Gu Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecakes (£2 for 2)

I love a Gu pudding, but only buy them when they're on offer as they're not the cheapest. These cheesecakes were reduced from £3.50 to £2, so it seemed like the perfect excuse to give them a try. These are made with coconut cream so I thought that flavour would come through, but you couldn't taste it at all over the chocolate and vanilla. I wouldn't have known any difference to a normal cheesecake in fact! The biscuit base was quite dry and crumbly for my liking, but had a good chocolate flavour. Overall, I was very impressed.

Innocent Bolt From the Blue (£2 for 1 bottle)

Although technically not a new, plant-based product for Veganuary, but after hearing Grackle (my favourite YouTuber, go check her out) rave about it so much I knew I had to give it a try. The only way I could describe this is what I think the ocean would taste like in a cartoon world (and yes, I am aware that the colour may be having a big impact on this description). Basically, it's a very delicious drink and I'll definitely be trying more flavours Innocent offer. As a bonus, it's a great way to make sure you're getting lots of essential vitamins that can sometimes be lacking from a plant-based diet, especially if you're used to eating a lot of animal products. 

Labels:

Comments

  1. caitlinggodfrey18 January 2021 at 04:42

    I’m going to HAVE to try the vegan pukka pie! Not a new release but the Fry’s mushroom pie is EXTRAORDINARY!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lockdown Baking Series: The 5th and final bake- Cinnamon rolls

As lockdown measures start to ease and we begin to return to some form of 'normal' life, it felt right to bring the Lockdown Baking Series to a close. But I wanted to end it on a (sugar) high, and what better way to do that than with cinnamon rolls? For years I've been using the excuse that recipes that use enriched dough (a classic bread dough with ingredients such as butter added) can't be made vegan and be just as good, because they wouldn't have the same richness that dairy and eggs bring. However, when I discovered these cinnamon rolls, I was proven wrong.    I first discovered this recipe when I had a craving for cinnamon rolls during Veganuary, and I haven't looked back since. They're just as soft and light, and even with plant-based margarine, they still taste surprisingly buttery. Now I know that a lot of people think the only suitably topping for cinnamon rolls is cream cheese frosting, which of course makes them more difficult to make vegan. Howev
2 comments
Read more

Almond milk: more harm than good?

Is your morning coffee costing the lives of billions of bees? There's no denying it- plant-based milk is everywhere. In 2018, there was uproar in the US as a shortage of the popular oat milk brand 'Oatly' broke out, due to sales growing faster than even the company expected.  Demand for cow's milk is falling as people begin to choose alternative milks such as coconut, soya and even pea. However, this isn't without causing some controversy, of course. One plant milk in particular has come under fire recently, due to claims that its production is causing the deaths of billions of honey bees. Now, I'm not saying that we should just give up and switch back to drinking cow's milk. The 2018 University of Oxford study shows that dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gasses than any milk alternative available.   So whichever plant milk you choose, it's still so much better for the environment than dairy. But if you're an almond milk lo
3 comments
Read more

DIY Plant milk seedling trays

Now the weather has warmed up, it's the perfect time to get gardening. Here's a simple idea for germinating seeds using materials you might already have in the home! Slowly but surely, I've been convincing my family to swap to plant milk. However, this means we're also throwing out a lot more cartons. Due to the mixed materials, cartons have to be recycled at a specific centre, which currently we only have one of- in Yorkshire. This plant is capable of recycling up to 40% of the cartons produced here in the UK, but an article by The Times found that only 10% are actually recycled. Considering many people swap to plant milk for environmental reasons, it's ridiculous that most of the time the cartons end up in landfill, slowly breaking down and releasing greenhouse gasses. You can make plant milk at home, and it's a great option if you've got a zero-waste shop nearby because then you can make it entirely waste free. I have tried making my own oat milk
3 comments
Read more