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

Food Battle: Taifun Tofu-Wiener VS Wheaty Veganwurst ToRo

I've decided to start a new comparative review called food battle which will look at two similar products by different brands. In this battle I'm comparing Taifun's Tofu-Wiener with Wheaty's Veganwurst ToRo, they are both frankfurter type sausages and come in packs of 4. Below I've included another image so you can see the size difference. I'm also basing this review on eating the products cooked (shallow fried).

The Taifun sausages are about an inch or two longer which is good, and they might need a bit less time to cook. Once cooked the inside is quite soft, with a contrasting skin that's quite crisp although not as much as the Wheaty. The flavour is a little meaty and has a more smoked flavour. As well as a soft inside it tastes a little more oily, and like I said there is more difference between the skin and the inside.

The Wheaty one is more chewy (or not mushy) and it skin is better as crisping up. The flavour I think is a bit more succulent and for me is really moorish, it's richer and a bit meatier. It's also one of those rare foods which you think you could eat any time and not get bored of it. I couldn't say the same for the Taifun one because I was getting a bit bored of it. Having said that I know someone who prefers them over the Wheaty so it may be down to personal taste (and less of clear cut winner). I enjoyed them both but the Wheaty ToRo wins this battle - but I do wish they were bigger.

*Update 30/08/14 - I have since become much more a fan of the Tofu-Weiner sausages, buying them quite a lot. I think because you can eat them raw and also I haven't seen the others for sale in a while.

Amy's: Organic Bowls - Brown Rice, Black-Eyed Peas & Veggies

Ok, so out the box you get a fairly small portion, I would have liked a bit really it's almost like a child portion. Anyway, I quite enjoyed this, I took the mushrooms out because they're not my thing but what you gonna do. Once it's cooked it looks a little watery but it tastes good, I'd recommend stirring all up before you eat it because some of the bits are clumped together and the top layer needs to mixed in the watery base. I'm not too sure what the overriding flavour was, quite veggie and earthy, and certainly quite moorish. I think it had a little coriander but it was just right. And the texture of the dish was good too. I mentioned the base being watery but mix up it's a bit juicy but in a nice way (tastes nicer than it looks). 4/5

Wheaty: Spacebar Pumpkin Seed Sausage

I suppose the idea of pumpkin seed sausage is quite weird. This bar is quite nice though. It has an essence of the chorizo one, by that I mean you can tell it's made by the same people - it has a similar meaty texture and a similar, although toned down flavour. I was expecting it to be disappointing in comparison to the chorizo, but honestly it's really good. The flavour is broader, like a herb sausage served cold. There is some texture differences, namely seeds, but don't get the idea that this is like eating seeds, they seem to be far between and blended in. I'd buy them again, perhaps a nicer alternative if you didn't want to destroy your breathe with chorizo. 4/5

Amy's: Black Bean Vegetable Enchilada

From the frozen box you get 2 enchilada's in a tray that you can microwave or cook in an oven. I microwaved them for timing reasons but they still good. One of those foods where it doesn't really matter how you cook them they taste about the same. But anyway, how were they? Good, and nicer than I anticipated. I haven't had enchilada's before, so they could be bad enchilada's, but after reading about them and knowing these are a ready meal they're pretty tasty. The filling is good because there's lots going on, it's rich and it all kind of goes together really nicely. The sauce too is nice, its rich and flavoursome, and for someone who doesn't really like hot food that much for me this has a nice kick without overpowering the dish. You could probably tell when served that they weren't cooked fresh, but they're quite close and I think for 5 mins waiting they're worth it. 4/5

Biona Organic: Spelt Tortellini

As  fresh pasta is usually egg pasta there isn't a great deal of choice for vegans, almost no choice. And here is that choice. Green spelt and vegetable tortellini from Biona. Out the packet, smells like bread crusts, but I'm not complaining. It's a difficult to review to make, because there isn't much to compare it to, I'm not sure I've eaten much spelt pasta before and so I'm not sure how good this is in terms of how good it could be. It is nice, I had it with quite a rich sauce because on their own, while nice, they aren't oozing with flavour. Texture of the parcel is little rough and harder than you might expect but it tastes healthy, inside some veg which make it more dynamic and interesting than just eating dry pasta. So I will be eating it again, as it's nice to have filled pasta and I'm not the master chef. Taste wise for a fresh pasta, I'd say around 3 because it could taste nicer; I think 1 mark is for the filling and the other for the parcel. Maybe a low 4 though because changing the pasta part probably wouldn't make it green spelt (I hope that's right). 4/5

Natural Cool: Chili non Carne

Pleasantly surprised by this one. Wasn't sure it was going to be for me but it was actually really nice. Pain that it takes 40 minutes but if you're not cooking I suppose. The only other downside is that it's quite small. The tray itself is filed just under half way, so a small dinner maybe in need of an accompaniment blah blah. Taste wise really nice and fresh, strong flavour with some kick (I think spiced just right). It doesn't look like the picture on the box, there's more sauce, but you can taste all the veg and with the beans and sweetcorn it's a nice texture too because it doesn't get boring. 4/5

Meridian: Korma Cooking Sauce

Not seen any other vegan korma sauces yet, but I have had this Meridian one a few times so should be able to make a good review. The jar is enough for 2 if you've got some other bits to eat, and slightly more than a normal portion if it's just you. If you make this with just some rice and mock chicken then it's not too bad, tastes like a shop ready meal. Taste is quite nice, its got some flavour, with a range of different mild spices and a slight sweet taste to it. It's also got a few small pieces of blitzed veg in there like onion I think. It's quite thick too which is nice until the end of the meal. What I mean is that it doesn't taste as good cold/luke warm. And it seems to taste the same cooked in a pan or microwaved, though I'd pan it if you cooking mock chicken etc that way. It's also less good at the end because it's one of those foods that taste's nice at the start but after you've eaten a lot of it kind of tastes less appealing, a bit sweet sicky (though this one isn't that bad). That's why I'd recommend having just half a portion and making some other bits like samosa's. One of the main problems is that it does taste shop bought and not fresh at all. So mixed feelings really, it's not something I want to have every week, but I'll buy again at some point. High 3, low 4? 4/5

Forest Foods: Middle Eastern Style Filo Wrap

I didn't read the description of this before I ate it so it was different to how I though it would taste. It's description is "Soya mince seasoned with cinnamon, chillis and lemon in filo pastry".  Which makes more sense than the samosa type thing I was expecting. And it's very nice too. Not that hot, the mince does take a substantial amount of the filling, but it's a good tasting one and is seasoned really well. The filo is quite fragile, much of mine was broken as I put in the oven, but I don't mind picking up the broken bits. It's hard to say what it tastes like though, you can taste the cinnamon a bit, which may not sound nice with mince but it is. It's not sweet, and it's balanced with other spices I think. Nice to try something different. 4/5

Biona Organic: Mini Spring Rolls

It's about time I reviewed these, lost count now how many times I've had them. These are amazing, I'm really not sure how they could be improved. Biona also sell a packet of two larger spring rolls, which taste the same, but I prefer these because mathematically you get more crispy skin to vegetable mix! I usually oven cook these - which I don't think it gives instructions for on the pack but about 10 minutes at 220 is right. And they still taste nice and oily when they've been oven cooked too, just wait until they start brown up. Both the filling and wrap, if cooked properly, are just awesome. It's got a really nice, really strong flavour. A nice balance of texture, and they taste like takeaway food. 5/5

Primal Strips: Texas BBQ

One last extension to the previous review as this is the only other flavour I have, but there are 3 others - Mesquite Lime, Hot & Spicy and Hickory Smoked. So here goes... I'd recommend using scissors, they're pretty easy to open but it can go a bit to one side... It's quite good, I think a little bit more to it than the teriyaki one but actually not quite as full on as the thai. I should have reviewed them all together really - next time. So yeah kind of the same, definitely has a nice BBQ taste, texture is same too maybe a little harder. 4/5

Fry's Vegetarian: Hearty Vegetarian Cottage Pie

I need to write some more Fry's reviews, so here's another. Tonight I'm having this ready meal, their cottage pie, as I try to save time for an essay I'm writing. So yes, ready meals aren't bad, it's nice to have the option to not cook your dinner at home. But how good is this one? Well first thing I have to say is that it's quite small, if I was serving myself up a portion of homemade cottage pie this would be about half that size so bear that in mind - get some garlic bread or something. But you have the choice of oven or microwave which is cool, and this time microwaving it still tastes fine. The mash is ok, there isn't really any praise for the mash it alone doesn't have much flavour or taste creamy or anything. The flavour all comes underneath in the mince layer, which is just thinner than the mash (the mash being about 1cm high - so its pretty flat). The mince has a strong peppery taste, and includes carrots and peas etc, with their mince which if you haven't tried tastes much the same as their burgers. The texture is good too, and really helps that the vegetables are there with the veggie mince. So rating wise, in terms of how it tastes against how good I think it could taste its probably about 3.5/5, but the small size (like a kids meal) means there is another element for improvement. The mash should be a bit creamier to counter the pepper taste (the pepper taste is nice btw). So it's 3/5 (but I would still recommend this for when you just want an easy hot meal that isn't soup)

Primal Strips: Teriyaki

Here's my review of the Thai Peanut version which this one is just going to comment on. It's the same texture pretty much, but I don't think this one is quite as good as the peanut one. It tastes fairly similar, without any hint of peanut obviously, but the flavour isn't quite as strong. Which means it tastes a bit less meaty and once you've almost finished chewing the flavour runs out a bit faster. I'd still have to give it 4 stars though, it is really nice, but slightly short on the thai peanut. 4/5

Swedish Glace: Pearl

I was both very exciting about trying these and disappointed. Swedish Glace, as far as I'm concerned at this moment, probably make the best vegan ice cream (at least the raspberry tub anyway). And last time I was ordering these were out of stock so I bought the Peak cones instead. Finally I got hold of a box today! And you get 5 in the box. BUT... they are tiny lollies and that makes me sad. Going purely on taste these are great. The ice cream inside isn't like the tub variety, it's smooth without any sauce (which is a bit of a shame) but its very tasty and creamy still and this one is strawberry too. And then it's covered in a thin layer of chocolate like a posh choc-ice with some fruity little pieces on the outside (just like hundreds and thousands but a bit nicer). Together it's great, a really tasty sweet lolly that nobody would suspect is vegan. But it's not enough - it's like one scoop worth and it needs to be at least 2! As you can see below it makes my hand look some giants hand. 4/5

Forest Foods: Smokey Vegetable Burrito

This burrito has some good points, I decided to heat mine in the oven for a crispy tortilla which was nice as it tasted quite fresh and homemade. But the filling was quite what I expected, though I'm probably just being very fussy. I liked the cooked beans and occasional BBQ taste, but there was a lot of coriander in it, and some of the vegetables were a bit hard (and crunchy which you might like). It was also a bit too hot for me, the main overriding flavour was hot/coriander, like a vegetable curry and I was kind of hoping for BBQ beans. Which makes me think that some people will really like this because it is well made, flavoured etc. Maybe a change of description would suit it. I finished it, but I think this ones not for me so 2.5 - 3/5

Just Wholefoods: Strawberry Flavoured Jelly Crystals

This is delicious and highly recommended vegan jelly mix. All you need is to mix the powder in boiling water and leave to set. The result is a jelly with both a sweet and strong flavour but also one that tastes quite natural. Which is good. The density and flavour though will depend on how much water you use. I use just a tiny bit less than recommended to concentrate it up a bit. And it works with large jelly moulds too. They also sell lemon, raspberry and tropical jelly. I haven't tried lemon as I don't think I'd care for it, but I've the other two and raspberry is just a nice, with the tropical I didn't enjoy it quite as much I think the flavour was a bit weaker or less sweet.
4/5

Primal Strips: Thai Peanut

These are essentially a vegan jerky, that come in a range of flavours, and today I'm eating the Thai Peanut (others to come later in the week). I haven't tried these before and I'm going for the peanut one as I think it will be my least favourite. Once you open the packet the strip feels very bendy but fear not they aren't that soft. You can see the strip on the rear side and it looks like braised tofu, the smell is like peanut butter and spices I think (I can't really breathe through my nose at the moment), and the taste is... much nicer than I had anticipated. It has a nice strong flavour which is spicy but not too hot at all, with a subtle hint of peanut. Texture wise this thing is really strange. By that I mean tastes very much like meat, not quite in a way that some beef jerky does but its tough like some overcooked chicken might be or beef (sorry for that description) but quite juicy. And it takes some chewing, but you get after a short while. I think I would like to see it a bit harder so that the bar lasts a bit longer but other than that I would have to recommend them and I can't wait to try the others. 4/5

Lovemore: Jammy Wheels

These dodger type biscuits are a great deal more fun that most of the other shop biscuits you can buy which are vegan friendly, usually the plainest ones. I never ate too many jammy biscuits before I went vegan, but tbh they taste... really good. They are sweet, have a nice smooth texture which is crisp but melts in the mouth. So the biscuit part alone is good, then the rich jam flavour just makes them even more moreish. You get 8 in a pack, and can get them at Waitrose and some online stores so far as I know there are probably others. So get some. 4/5

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.

Green People: Peppermint Toothpaste

Time for a non-food product, this is the tooth paste I usually buy. It's quite a friendly make, I think some of the profits go to charity, and the tooth paste itself is organic and has no fluoride. I'm not really a fan of peppermint, but this has quite a mild flavour to it. Which is good if you don't like strong toothpastes, but bad if you're breath is kicking. Texture is quite chalky (in a good way), so I would recommend it. Maybe 4/5