I recently posted my Veganuary grocery haul full of new products/ things I’d never tried before, but it’s taste test time and I’m here to report my vegan grocery haul hits and skips. Spoiler: I’ve already bought one of these products again.
Of course, we all have different taste buds and preferences. Just because I loved something doesn’t necessarily mean that you will. And please don’t be offended if my biggest skip is one of your favourites.
I wasn’t sure whether to do this diary style and take you on the journey of trying new stuff with me, or whether to literally do two lists of good and not so good. In the end, I opted for diary style, because sometimes part of the enjoyment of something is based on how much you didn’t enjoy yesterday. And sometimes you spend a whole week disappointed because the first night was so good you’re pretty sure it’s nothing but downhill from here.
Night 1 – Gosh Beetroot Burgers
Yes, sometimes you think the first night is so good that it’s downhill from here. And sometimes you’re 100% correct. As someone who doesn’t eat meat alternatives, I love the options from Gosh as they’re all legume and vegetable based. These burgers had a fairly good texture, flavours were excellent – fresh, the mint is very prominent. Thoroughly recommend; this is the thing that I’ve already bought again.
Night 2 – Bol Katsu Curry
Forgive the randomness of this meal. I’d originally ordered some chickpea rice to serve with this but that item was missing from my food order, and in the spirit of wanting to try something new still, I had this with some M&S gluten free vegetable samosas and spring rolls. Not the best combination, I know, but we don’t need to pay attention to that.
This dish was an interesting one. First, it looked nothing like the photo on the packaging. And I know ready meals rarely look like the box, but this looked really different. This meal isn’t exactly a hit or a skip. If I need something quick and I see this on the supermarket shelf, I’d get it again, but at the same time I’d never intentionally pick this up and have it again as a first choice meal. It’s very mildly flavoured, but the flavours that are present are quite pleasant. And Bol gets a bonus point for making vegan meals that are good for you, contain a couple of your 5-a-day, a reasonable amount of protein and doing it at a price point that isn’t completely ridiculous.
Night 3 – Schar Veggie Pizza
This was potentially the worst meal I’ve ever had in my life. I only ate about a third of my half of the pizza. The base is bad, the cheese isn’t good, it didn’t melt all that well and the toppings were limp at best. If you want a gluten free and vegan pizza from a supermarket, get one of the White Rabbit ones.
Night 4 – Gosh Sweet Potato Pakora Bites & Do Goodly Dips (with other dipping components)
Not a lot to say about this as the majority of the meal was composed of ingredients that weren’t in the haul, but both of the dips are delicious! I wasn’t sure if I’d be a fan of the Nacho Cheese but that was surprisingly very good. The Gosh bites are okay – not my favourite thing from the brand (see burger from night 1) but I would eat them again.
Night 5 – Bol Soup & Roasted Chickpeas
Not a lot to say about this one, the flavours are quite mild, but pleasant. I like how fresh they are, and actually good for you rather than full of salt/ sugar/ preservatives. As far as premade soups go, it’s good. Would definitely eat again.
Night 6 – Schar Veggie Burger
Before we begin, I got my period this night. Not that that’s going to change anything massively, but you’ll notice the complete lack of effort when it comes to making my food look presentable from this point on.
After the disaster that was the Schar pizza, my expectations for this meal were very low, and I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t know if that’s because my expectations were so low, or because they’re actually nice, but I still enjoyed this. And, yes, my original plan was to serve this with a large salad and some sauces. But I had literally a plain burger in a bun. Life is like that sometimes.
Compared to the Gosh burgers from night one, these aren’t my favourites. But there’s two in a box and they take up very little room in the freezer. So, if I think of this more of a something to have in to have in a pinch rather than a planned meal, they’re good. They’re extremely convenient and the texture is quite good. Veggie filled burgers like this are always on the softer side, but these are nowhere near as mushy as some that I’ve tried.
Night 7 – Renourish Soup
If you remember from the grocery haul post, I picked up two of these and I tried them both on day 7. Let’s start with the red pepper and lentil – this soup is nice but thinner than I would like. Not too watery, but not the best either. I think if you’re looking for a lighter lunch option/ something that’s very easy to pack and take to work, then this one could work. It’s got a good amount of protein and vitamins. I have nothing particularly negative to say, but I would prefer something thicker. If you like/ don’t mind a thinner soup, this could be great for you.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the kale one. It’s like green water; as if you had a kale smoothie that was literally kale and water. It tastes very green, there’s a barely there teeny tiny hint of the turmeric. But it tastes like a green ‘health’ smoothie, a very bad one at that. This one doesn’t have the protein content of the other flavour and while the greens do provide some goodness, this one is a hard pass.
Have you tried any of these dishes?
Until next time,
Sophie
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