Almond Dream: Ice Cream (Min Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel, Praline Crunch)

Recently Waitrose started selling this non-dairy ice cream by Almond Dream, and so, as good vegan ice cream is still hard to come by in variety and in amount in store, I had to try it! One flavour I've missed out is Vanilla, I've tried quite a few vanilla flavours from different brands, and I will get round to buying the almond dream one, but with these three more interesting choices and limited freezer space it will have to wait!
So I'll begin with a brief overview of them all, as they share the same base ingredients. I have to say it's a good base and considering it's price point it's a good quality worth the money. It's rich, creamy and consistent. It also refreezes well. The flavours:
Salted Caramel: This is a winner, one of my favourites. It's smooth, and if you're wondering no it doesn't taste like salt. This one has little aftertaste, in a good way. Out of the three it might be the most moreish! It's one of those foods you could eat until you feel really sick! The balance of flavours is spot on, I really like it and will definitely be buying it again. One improvement could be better with more caramel, as its like a sauce and would hit it with more flavour and sweetness. Be warned its very sticky too! 5/5
Praline Crunch: This one is similar to the salted caramel, and if you like to eat ice cream with two scoops of flavours I think the salted caramel would be the one to pair it with. The one thing this has over the salted caramel is two-textures, even if it's just small soft nut pieces it's nice to have them. I initially thought it had a little caramel in it but it's not on the ingredients list, so some other sweetness it must be. The amount of praline in it is just right as well, it's hard to fault this one, I again found it very moreish and delicious. Perhaps it can be improved some how but I can't what, so I'll give it 5/5 also.
Mint Chocolate Chip: I was probably most excited about trying this as it was one of my favourites as a child. Unlike typical ones marketed at children there is no green dye in it, but that's probably for the best. The chocolate chips are dark chocolate, which is fine, but... the mint flavouring in the ice cream I did feel was a little strong. The flavour is similar to an after dinner mint, which don't get me wrong, I like and enjoy, but for a whole tub of ice cream makes it very rich. So 1/3 in I felt much more need to stop eating than I did with the other two which I ate just over 1/2 (although could easily have eaten the whole tub on a fat day). I still like this ice cream, and I might buy it again, but I wasn't as impressed in comparison to the other flavours, as I didn't think the balance of flavours was as good. I'm sure other people will disagree! So the mint only gets 3/5.

Amy's: Chinese Noodles & Veggies

Tonight, I took a break from making fresh food to try this ready meal from Amy's. I had heard this was vegan and it said so on the ingredients list...which I should have read as it contains mushrooms which I'm really not a fan of. That being said, I barely noticed them. That's partly because there are quite a few different veggies in this, carrots, beans, broccoli, and onions, plus cashews, sesame seeds and tofu! One thing this got right is the balance of wet/dry, and I was surprised it that it tasted slightly fresher and richer than I had expected. The sauce has a good balance of flavours, it's worth stirring it up as much of my sauce seemed to be at the base so initially I thought it was quite plain. One thing though that might stop me from buying it again was that experience you sometimes get with a meal, where it starts off really nice and enjoyable, but then for no apparent reason you don't want anymore. That was how I felt after I had finished, and it wasn't a big portion. Again, I'm not sure why this was, I did enjoy it and there was nothing wrong with it. Perhaps it was the mushrooms, they really do gross me out, which sucks because I wish I liked all vegetables (yes they're fungi). So...I'd say given it's a frozen ready meal, maybe a 3/5, it would definitely be a solid 4 if it weren't for those mushrooms, but that's just me!

Food Battle: the Toastie

The other I decided I really wanted a cheese toastie so I went and bought a toastie maker... but wasn't happy with the cheese I used. In the fridge I had the cheddar style slices by Violife. These are nice and I eat them uncooked in sandwiches, or on top of a burger. This is because they have a firm texture and non-offensive mild taste - sort of like a posh american style cheese slice or a cheap cheddar. However...in a toastie it wasn't that great, the cheese melts (which I suppose is a good thing) but it turns into a thick orange liquid, like nacho cheese, rather than any kind of dairy cheddar... not stringy or firm as it should be. And the texture had a kind of slimy feel. I did manage to eat it all, but this is likely due to having sausages in it too, because I really wasn't that impressed with the cheese. Put it this way, I won't be making it in a toastie again. So I bought a couple of different cheeses to try. I got one that I've had before and liked which is Cheezly White Cheddar Style, and Violife for Pizza. I decided on getting another Violife one because I had only ever had their Cheddar slices and thought it might be different; looking at the picture on the packet it looks like mmozzarella.. it's pale and the lifted pizza slice is stringy! What followed was much disappointment...

I folded a slice of bread to make a tester of each cheese, as you can see from the picture at the end (the Violife one is on the left). I tested it against the Cheezly as I knew I liked the Cheezly one (though it's not perfect) and didn't want to do it from memory as I haven't had it in ages. The Cheezly one was good. Not stringy but the flavour was alright and nothing really bad about it (some people say it's a bit chalky, but this is more when it's uncooked). The Violife one? Nothing like the packet... it went into a yellow liquid, that picture on the front can't be right! I will try using it again on a pizza... just to see if maybe it needs to cooked with ventilation but I'm not holding my breath. It was maybe a bit better than their other one, but it had the same slimy texture... like PVA glue. So yeah, I'm still holding out for a decent vegan cheese that has some stringy-ness, be it like a cheddar style or a mozzarella style. If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments! Many vegan cheeses I've bought don't get finished because I don't like them, so I'm hesitant about wasting money/food, especially as I don't like strong cheese smells or flavours.

For toasties only - I'm giving Violife 2/5, and Cheezly 4/5. (But remember I still like Violife uncooked).