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.

Shambhu's: Mint Choc Chip Cheesecake

Ok another top thing you need to go out and buy, this cheesecake. Possibly the best cheesecake I've eaten. There's a nice texture to the smooth biscuit base, and just the right ratio of 'cheese' to biscuit. Plus is has chocolate chips on top! And the mint flavour is dead on (I'm not explaining this very well) its just well balanced and sweet. Really, really moorish! I want to eat this again, I just want moarh! 5/5

Tesco: Raspberry Sorbet

Haven't been on the blog for a while now, lazy, but here's something to get your taste-buds going. This is one of my favourite frozen things in a tub, it's just so good. The raspberry flavour is really nice and strong, the texture is light and fluffy, and I can't really say anything bad about it. There's no bits, in case you were wondering, and it leaves a clean aftertaste. I like it best when it's starting to melt - try it for yourself. This is 5/5 for me!

Blue Dragon: Won Ton Soup

One of the more interesting soups I've had lately - probably one the nicest too. On the can and on the website it does say "Suitable for Vegans", though you may notice a strange ingredient listed...'Chicken Flavouring'. I also checked the website again when I bit into one of the parcels... kind of meaty. But I think it was some soy protein (I hope). Most of the soup is watery, but in a nice way. Really nice, strong balanced flavour, and a smidgen of vegetables. Then are about 4 parcels with some veg and this mince style stuff. These are also really good. And overall the soup tastes quite fresh. Though when you open the can it smells a bit pet food... slightly. But don't let that put you off, it's really nice. Maybe as small meal or shared with some other bits. 5/5

Redwood: Beef Style Pasties

I was surprised how much I enjoyed these. Everything just seemed well balanced, although I probably had quite a low expectation... I thought they might be like the Frys Pepper Steak pies which I didn't much like. The filling is nice, beef style things are ok and you get a good amount of potato cubes. And the pastry is good too for a frozen item. They are also a good size, and as they aren't boxed you can size them up in store. The ratio of filling and pasty too is good, everything is good - nice seasoning, size, not too dry or moist. It's hard to fault to I'll stop, say 5/5 and let you know if anything changes! Thanks

Wheaty: Spacebar Chorizo Sausage

These are awesome. The texture is good, and the flavour is really strong (won't do your breath much good). It's quite hard to find a mock meat that you can just eat on it's own and still taste nice, and these are really moorish. Not sure how healthy they are but I don't really care. It's basically a vegan version of a popular meat snack. Packaging on these can be annoying, the plastic has little slits to tear but they sometimes just bend, so sharp teeth or scissors might be needed. They are also housed in a small amount of oil so plan on eating it near a bin. And finally, make sure you eat it fridge cold. At room temp they're only half as good, they go a bit soft and it's odd. I haven't tried the other styles of Spacebar yet, as I doubt they will be as nice as this one but reviews will be up some point in the future. Another 5/5, one of them days.

Dragonfly: Organic Beany Tomato Burger

The organic Beany comes in a pack of two burgers, inside a plastic sheet because they are protected in oil. These, as the picture and name suggests aren't meant to be mock meats, rather a proper vegetable burger. I'm reviewing the tomato one, though I have to say it tasted just like lots of vegetable's rather than distinctly tomato. It was very nice though, and that's I'd give it 5/5. It tastes homemade, in a good way, like fresh and flavoursome. Texture is nice, quite consistent not too hard or anything (like a potato). These can hold their own, what I mean is that they would be enjoyable to eat by themselves unlike some other burgers which need buns and sauces etc. And they work really well on a bbq too!

Rice Dream: Hazelnut Almond Milk

Original Rice Dream isn't really for me, it's ok and I prefer it in tea/coffee to soya, but it's kind of watery and flavourless. But their hazelnut almond milk is good stuff. Probably not for everyone, by that anyone who doesn't like the taste of nuts. I think the flavour is just right, not too strong or bitter, it's creamy and refreshing. I can happily have a glass (kind of like a mild milkshake), or it makes a great addition to cereal and hot drinks. Once I found a bit of something in it, but i think it was just a nut skin or some kind of something. But don't let put you off, it's a nice fairly sweet drink with flavour.
It also lasts a long time - I had one open for over two weeks before it curdled in my coffee so bonus points for shelf life.
5/5

Swedish Glace: Juicy Raspberry

If you like raspberry ripple ice-cream, this is it. I cannot fault this, it's simply amazing. Swedish Glace do an amazing job, this is basically a vanilla ice-cream with raspberry sauce running through it (no bits in case you were wondering) which sounds kind of... simple, but it's perfection. It's the kind of thing you don't stop eating until you feel sick because you've eaten too much. And this guy is 750ml, so probably not a good idea to try and eat it all. Texture is rich and creamy, and the flavour is sweet in a creamy and fruity way (much different to the Tofutti one which tasted artificial).

5/5

Fry's Vegetarian: Vegan Pops

Fry's make some of the best mock meat style products around, especially the 'chicken-style' ones. Today I'll just be writing a quick review of their popcorn style version with chutney. Firstly, it does state on the back that you can microwave them - DON'T. The best way to cook these is shallow fry with a small amount of oil, this blends the powder in nicely and they go nice and golden brown. If you microwave them they go soggy and weird. I've only eaten them as a snack, but they would be great for BBQ's or when you are trying to recreate your own vegan fast food chain with chips and other unhealthy delights.

For what they taste like alone, I would rate them 4/5, but I will rate them 5/5 because in terms of what they are trying to be I'm not sure they could be improved.

Nakd: Raw Fruit and Nut Bars

In this review I'll be covering all 7 editions of the nakd bar. All of them have a similar texture but the taste varies a lot even though the ingredients are fairly consistent with dates and cashews etc. These bars are cold pressed and despite the small size each one counts as 1 of the '5 a day'. Overall I'll give them a 5/5 but I like some of them a lot more than others.

Cocoa Delight - This bar is really nice, just a chocolate flavour with fruit? I managed to convince two people it was a brownie so it's worth trying even if you don't like dates or that dried fruit taste. 5/5

Ginger Bread - This one is quite nice, it's less chewy than the others, but the ginger doesn't overpower it luckily. The nuts go well with the flavour. 5/5

Berry Delight - Berry has a really fruity flavour, well like berries. It's a nice contrast the others which all have a non-fruit flavour. 5/5

Cashew Cookie - This one is ok but not my favourite, for me the other ones are just better. I'm not sure the flavour works as well or is as moreish. 3/5

Cocoa Orange - The Orange just as good as the cocoa one, and if you like an orange zing its even nicer. Just adds that extra dimension to it. 5/5

Pecan Pie - Pecan flavour is quite nice, it works well texture of the bar. But it's less moreish, and I'm not sure why (personal taste perhaps?) 4/5

Cocoa Mint - The Mint and the Orange are my favourites, the mint is different in that it takes the cocoa and tastes more healthy (even though that makes no sense). If you're not sure about chocolate and mint combo, I would still recommend it as its not a dark chocolate taste with strong mint, its toned down and quite sweet (in a non sugar way). 5/5

Redwood: Super Melting Cheddar Slices

Also - I've finally tried to cheddar style slices from Redwood. So in response to my review of their mozzarella slices... yes these too taste like cheddar (when cooked - I'm not eating them raw they look wrong). But I didn't try them at the same time so I can't really tell the difference. Maybe these ones were a little more yellow? They might have been less mushy too but it's only marginal I think. Next time I make a pizza I will probably pick these ones now, but like I said I couldn't really tell them apart so I wouldn't mind. 5/5 again.

Against The Grain: Chocolate & Orange Cookies

A quick review now of Against The Grain's chocolate orange cookies. These cookies are more of the top end in terms of packaging and price, but there isn't a great deal to chose from in the vegan biscuit arena so I decided to buy them. And I'm glad I did. These are... amazing. The flavour is really packed in, a strong but not overpowering chocolate orange taste. Texture is hard and crispy, so not soft cookie type, that said next time I will try and microwave them and see what happens. Hard is the wrong word actually, they break very easily, brittle perhaps well I mean they're not soft.

The only bad thing is there's only 9 in a box :/

5/5

Koko: Dairy Free Chocolate + Calcium (Coconut Milk) (Formerly Kara)

I''ve decided to start this blog with a review of one my favourite drinks. At the time I'm writing this, it is definitely the best tasting chocolate milk I've tasted. It's really creamy, and chocolately but not too coconutty. If you've tried Kara's coconut milk before you will know that too doesn't really taste that much of coconut. To get the best taste make sure it's very cold before serving and if the carton is new, open it first to let in some air, then tighten the lid up and shake it for least 30 seconds. I had a glass that wasn't that shaken at first and it wasn't half as nice as the chocolate tends to form a layer at the base. And then shake vigorously each time you want another glass to make sure its consistent.

I can't fault this drink so it's 5/5 from me.

*2013 Update - Brand name changed to Koko Dairy Free.