Great Balls of Soya. Redwood Meatballs review

If you're looking for a hearty meal there's nothing more filling than meatballs. Redwood's meat free meatballs come in a king size pack too and don't have a serving size indicated...but there's enough for 3 or 4 servings in the pack. The meatballs are based on soya rather than gluten as we had anticipated. We cooked them up with spaghetti and tomato sauce to see how they tasted.

Quinoa Qurd: vegan soft cheese from quinoa

You can culture quinoa milk just like soya milk (and dairy milk) to make quinoa yoghurt. If you strain and press that yoghurt, you get quinoa qurd - a vegan soft cheese made of nothing but quinoa. Full article coming shortly over at our sister site plantfoods.org

Review: Marks & Spencer Dairy Free Sunflower Spread

Supermarket margarines are a minefield of whey powder, milk fat and other dairy ingredients...often in trace amounts and usually unnecessary. In Germany you can pick up 'Rein Pflanzlich' (pure plant) margarine in any small supermarket, but not so here in the UK. Brands like Pure and Vitalite are usually only found in the bigger branches. It's great to have another vegan option and Marks and Spencer's Simply M&S range includes a dairy-free sunflower spread. We picked up a tub for review.....but can it replace our old favourite Vitalite in our hearts (and fridges)?

Shoparound: M&S Bakery Iced Buns, Fruit Loaf and more

Marks and Spencer have an official vegan list but we like to shop off-piste. If you've any doubt about our review policy read the how vegan is vegan post. Armed with a smartphone to check additives we took a visit to M&S's in-store bakery on a rumour that there were vegan iced buns to be had. Sure enough the buns were animal-free and we picked up a basket full of similar goodies too.

Baked Frittata made with The Vegg

We're still busy reviewing The Vegg vegan egg yolk....but had to wait for our second pack to arrive after using up the first in our experiments. We've now made baked potato frittata four times and we've given up trying to get it to set!

We used 6 tablespoons of arrowroot in the latest attempt...and we're now arrowroot converts...it sets really smooth and is not at all floury like cornflour (cornstarch). We're actually happy with the way this has turned out, with a soft-set creamy texture so we'll post the recipe with our review.

UPDATE: Our review of The Vegg is now live...with the recipe for this frittata.

Taste Test: Best Vegan Parmesan

Now that Redwood have launched a vegan parmesan cheese we can run a taste test...against the only other vegan parmesan available in the UK...Parmazano from Life Free From. They're very different interpretations of parmesan...one a carton of cheese sprinkles, the other a block of faux vegan cheese. We took them both to the kitchen to see if either of them were worthy parmesan substitutes.

Review: Taiko Vegan Sushi at Waitrose

Many vegetarian sushi sets have egg in so it's great to see a vegan option at Waitrose. The small vegetarian sushi set from Taiko Sushi (exclusive to Waitrose) is currently egg free...but check before you buy as these things change all the time. Waitrose are even selling pots of salted edamame with their sushi range now....if you fancy a salty lunchtime hit. Is their vegan sushi good enough for your midday sushi fix though?

Popcorn Lickin'. Review: Frys Vegan Pops

There's a place in every diet for a little junk food. We mean junk in the affectionate sense of fast and tasty...and not quite as healthy a quinoa salad. Fry's have a great range of vegan convenience foods but the one which will catch your eye in the freezer section is their vegan version of popcorn chicken....Fry's Pops. The cute and colourful little box holds 200g (8oz) of frozen breaded mini-nuggets. They even come with fruit chutney sprinkles. If you haven't already tried them...should you give them a go?

Vegan Pizza Day. Review: Redwood Vegan Pizzas

What better review for #VeganPizzaDay than Redwood's meat and dairy free frozen pizzas? The pizzas which launched earlier this year come in three varieties, Cheezly & Tomato, Meatless Feast and Ham Style & Pineapple. We first sampled them at VegFest Bristol and today we're reviewing the Meatless Feast and Ham & Pineapple pizzas. Are they worthy of a place at the dinner table on Vegan Pizza Day?

Salad Days. Review: Granovita Salad Cream

Salad Cream...the salad dressing of 1970s Britain....and now vegans can reminisce too. Salad cream is different to mayo...thinner, sweeter and more tangy. Granovita produce both a vegan mayo and a vegan salad cream for the UK market. We grabbed a squeezy bottle of the Salad Cream for our review....but will it take you back to your salad days?

Delamere Delicious. Review: Delamere Dairy Soya Milk

Dairy companies can sometimes make the best non-dairy alternatives too. Vitalite made by Dairycrest is about the best tasting vegan margarine for example. We reviewed Delamere Dairy's soya shakes earlier this week and thought they were pretty good, so we sought out their soya milk too. We've never quite understood the attraction of 'fresh' soya milk and most of them taste worse than their UHT versions...so how does Delamere's version fare?

Review: 'Wholesome Pots' from The Food Doctor

We were going to start this review with a gag about vegans and 'wholesome pot' but it sort of writes itself...

New on the market from The Food Doctor "The UK's leading nutrition consultancy"(what a mouthful) are Pot Noodle style vegan snack pots. The instant hot lunch pots come in three varieties, one based on couscous and two on a mix of bulgar and quinoa. We took the couscous and lentil pot for a lunchtime spin.

Review: New Alpro Yoghurts Blackberry Raspberry

Alpro have added a new flavour to their range of fruity soya yoghurts with a new Blackberry flavour joining Raspberry in a four pack. You get two raspberry and two blackberry yoghurts in each pack. Alpro's yoghurts are usually great, so how does the new Blackberry flavour compare?

Review: Choc/Vanilla Soya Shakes from Delamere Dairy

The soya shake market gets bigger by the day. Delamere Dairy have secured a place in the Free From aisle at Tesco with their new drinkable chocolate and vanilla shakes. We haven't come across Delamere before but they appear to produce soya milk and soya desserts too. We grabbed one each of their soya shakes to see how they taste.

Review: Redwood Gourmet Vegan Gravy Powder

Redwood have launched an instant gravy powder in what could be their quest to fill every untapped niche in the vegan foods market. This isn't the first instant vegan gravy as many of the vegetarian gravy granules available in supermarkets are suitable for vegans. Perhaps that's why Redwood added 'Gourmet' to the label as a selling point....although we suspect vegan gourmets are capable of making their own gravy... So what are Redwood bringing to the table with their new gravy?

Review: Provamel Orange & Rooibos Yoghurt

Provamel's latest fruity yoghurt is Orange & Rooibos. The organic soya yoghurt is available in large 500g pots from wholefood shops. Rooibos or redbush is a type of herbal tea originally from South Africa which has been growing in popularity in the UK over the last ten years...but isn't to everyone's taste. So if you're not a Rooibos lover...should you give this yoghurt a miss?

Diary Date: Aug 11th - Leicester Vegan Fair

Returning for the sixth year with a brand new venue for 2012 is Leicester Vegan Fair. The event takes place on Saturday August 11th at Avenue Primary School, just behind the University. Stalls confirmed so far are Currant Affairs catering, All About Daisy, Animal Aid, Animal Equality, Athene Skincare, Bo's Kitchen, Bohemian Chic Minerals, Chocs That Rock, Create a Goodlife, Green and Pleasant, Leicester Vegetarian and Vegan Group and the Ethics and Health Foundation. The event runs from 10:30am until 3:30pm. Full flyer after the break...

Weird Science: The Apricots and Soya Milk Trick

Dried Apricots + Soya Milk + 8 Hours = Creamy Dessert. 

This is weird and we don't know how it works, but it does. It tastes great too. Here's how to do it:

Review: Moo Free Faux Milk Choc Pralines

Dairy-free pralines are not uncommon, but are usually based on dark chocolate. Moo Free have taken a different route with their caramelised hazelnut pralines which are covered instead in their popular faux-milk chocolate. The pralines are sold in an attractive gift box, but are they worthy of being gifted to that special vegan friend?

Review: Sheese Melty 'Red Cheddar' vegan cheese

There are twice as many vegan cheeses on the market in the UK as this time two years ago, but the two 'big cheeses' are still Redwood's Cheezly and Bute Island's Sheese. Bute Island have recently joined in the 'melty' cheese revolution with their new line Sheese Melty. We put the red cheddar style Sheese to the test to see how it fares against the competition..

Review: Tofutti 'Better than Ricotta Cheese'

'Better' than Ricotta Cheese is quite some pledge. Of course, anything vegan is better than something for which animals have suffered, but you know what we mean. Tofutti is something of a dairy-free specialist with everything from cheese to ice cream in their product range. The faux Ricotta has been available in the US since last year and recently launched here in the UK, but at a price (a fiver a tub)...that means it had 'better' be good! Is it?

Vegan Ricotta Bruschetta made with Tofutti Ricotta

We're currently reviewing Tofutti 'Better Than Ricotta Cheese' and just made some herby ricotta bruschetta with dill, chives, spring onions (scallions) and garlic... Yep lots of the allium family in the seasoning but for good reason...this vegan ricotta is pretty bland on its own. Full review coming once when we've made some tagliatelle sauce for pasta with it.

Vegan Sunday Brunch - Vegg 'n' Bacon English Muffin

More experimenting with The Vegg vegan egg yolk. Runny Vegg yolk and a Vegg egg patty, with crispy tofu rashers, all on a toasted english muffin. Vegan brunch heaven. Read on for what we did and what we might do better next time.

Taste Test: Best Vegan Cream...for Strawberries

It's Wimbledon...strawberries and cream season is upon us. We've taste tested 6 vegan creams to see which should have the honour of topping our great British strawberries. We trailed this Taste Test two weeks ago and frankly we've been waiting for the sunshine to return ever since! At the first sign of a blue sky we grabbed some kentish strawberries and our 6 dairy-free creams...but which will take the title of Cream of the Crop?

Mango, Banana & Brazil Cereal Bars from Doves Farm

Doves Farm have a decent range of vegan offerings and the latest is Banana, Mango and Brazil nut cereal bars. Arriving in boxes of five, they offer a flavour not seen before in a cereal bar. The bars are pretty substantial at 40g each and will keep your hunger at bay. You're unlikely to get bored half way through like you can with some bland cereal bars though...these have a tasty tropical fruity flavour. They're also nice and moist, quite chewy and not too sweet.

Free From: Soya Shakes from Tesco...in multipacks!

Five packs of soya shakes from Tesco? What's the vegan-friendly world coming to?...we're not sure, but we like it. The latest addition to the Free From aisle at the UK's biggest supermarket shows how far dairy-free alternatives have come lately...forget niche markets...we're into the multi-buy age. These 5 packs of shakes are cute little 65ml tetrapaks...more of a shot than a drink, in fact they're labelled as "dessert shakes". How do they taste?

French Toast made with The VEGG

We're currently working our way through a review of The VEGG vegan egg yolk and wanted to share this picture of the great French Toast we made from the recipe here. It really is an improvement on tofu-based recipes with its golden colour and pancake-like taste. When you make up the VEGG with water you'll be amazed by the eggy smell which stems from the Black Sea Salt which is high in Sulfur (old spelling: Sulphur). French Toast (or Eggy Bread as some Brits call it) is simply bread dipped in an eggy mix and shallow fried. The eggy-sulfur taste of the VEGG is lost a little in the cooking but the flavour is really rounded and fulfilling and this is great French Toast.

We're currently perfecting a better potato Frittata recipe using The Vegg.

A toast to: Vegan Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is normally based on eggs and this is the first time we've seen a vegan version on sale. You won't find it in stores however as this is an artisan product on sale at UK festivals only. Made by Nottinghamshire producer My Cupcakes, it appears in one of their vegan cupcakes and is sold by the jar in three sizes. Great for afternoon tea, or on your breakfast toast.

Free From: Vegan Creme Caramel pots from Tesco

 

The Free From sections of the big supermarkets are getting better for vegans. Tesco has recently added several non-dairy options that are vegan friendly including these Creme Caramel desserts. Sold in packs of four individual pots and clearly labelled as vegan, they promise a new easy dessert option...but do they deliver?

Something Fishy? Redwood's Fish Free range.

Redwood's ever expanding range of meat and dairy-free foods now includes a fish-free selection. Under the 'Making Waves' banner the company offers fish-less fishcakes, fish fingers and fish steaks. The idea of replicating fish flesh may seem odd for some vegans, but once you've eaten your first veggie sausage this is where it will end... Most vegans are not born that way and will have eaten and perhaps miss the taste and textures of animal foods...so why not do it the cruelty-free way? 

So on with the review...have Redwood created the perfect fish-less fish?