Can you recommend some veggie products?

slinks

dolly_day_dream wrote:

Haven't bought quorn for ages since I found out that the protein comes from two different sources, mushrooms (which was what I thought it was made from) and battery chicken eggs (which I didn't know). That was enough to put off my then veggie daughter. Not sure where the egg protein comes from now as I think that they may have changed it, but check the packet. I am now vegan so no Quorn for me at all. Some of my fave convenience foods are Sos mix which I can add things to, to make sausages and sausage rolls, and a tin of chickpeas which can be turned into sooo many different things. But I agree that Couldron foods can usually be relied upon.

"All Quorn products contain mycoprotein. Mycoprotein is a nutritious member of the fungi family, as are mushrooms and truffles."

"...by 2004 all Quorn products sold in the UK were produced without battery eggs, earning the seal of approval of the UK branch of the Vegetarian Society."

Just to add for other vegans, not all Cauldron foods are vegan. There's a list on their website:

http://www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/product_search.php?t=vegan

Marmiter

Realeat do a roast with stuffing in the middle. That's really tasty.And since I'm the only veggie I know, I have the whole roll to myself!! So I save some to have in sandwiches at lunch. It's really filling!!You can get it in Waitrose, and I think Holland & Barrett do it as well.I also love veggie toad in the hole from Tesco, and I always stock up on Quorn and Cauldron sausages for the freezer. Although I get a bit miffed cos the packs only ever have 5 in, so do I eat 3 and leave 2 or eat 2 and leave 3??? Why don't they do them in packs of 6??!I have discovered in Farmfoods they have packs of 10 plain Quorn sausages, but they seem a bit smaller then the bangers you get in the chiller at Tesco.Tesco are currently doing their own brand Cauliflower Cheese grills for £1 per pack, so now my freezer is full!! When I became a veggie 10 years ago, there was hardly anything out there to choose from. The varieties now are so much better.I remember TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) which was disgusting, like sawdust in clumps. YUCK!!

dniester007

I would agree that the Realeat vegemince is the best "mince substitute". It really expands during cooking, and takes on loads of flavour.

The Quorn burgers and mince are very disappinting! Quorn burgers are a bit bland and dry. Linda McCartney burgers try to replicate the greasy feel of a "meat" burger and are quite nice. I think the Tesco vegetarian burgers are the best.

Birds Eye used to do the best vegetarian sausages, but I can't find them anymore.

If you go in Holland and Barrett, they have a huge range of vegetarian food. They have most of Quorn and Realeats products, including delicacies such as artificial lamb (!).

dolly_day_dream

slinks wrote:

"...by 2004 all Quorn products sold in the UK were produced without battery eggs, earning the seal of approval of the UK branch of the Vegetarian Society."

Just to add for other vegans, not all Cauldron foods are vegan. There's a list on their website:

http://www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/product_search.php?t=vegan

Thanks Slinks I wasn't sure if they still used battery eggs or not. I use the falafel and pates from Cauldron foods but really there are very few vegan convenience foods available. I have to take packed lunches with me because I can never be sure of being able to buy food when out. However the plus side to this is that it makes me cook from scratch unless I have frozen previously cooked food. But one convenience food I do eat is good old beans on toast! but not too often in this weather lol

slinks

dolly_day_dream wrote:

Thanks Slinks I wasn't sure if they still used battery eggs or not. I use the falafel and pates from Cauldron foods but really there are very few vegan convenience foods available. I have to take packed lunches with me because I can never be sure of being able to buy food when out. However the plus side to this is that it makes me cook from scratch unless I have frozen previously cooked food. But one convenience food I do eat is good old beans on toast! but not too often in this weather lol

so glad they don't use battery eggs anymore... it's just not right!!!

would love to be vegan. hope to be in the future. been a veggie for 17 years and would love to make the change one day.

how easy is it???!!

Trow

Thats excellent.

I emailed them about their use of hydrogenated veg oil late last year and got quite an unsatisfactory response stating that they need it is for the 'mouth feel' of the foods.

They certainly didn't say they were eliminating it, thats great.

slinks wrote:

not anymore in the sausage rolls and hopefully not in the sausages soon:

"At Linda McCartney it is our aim not to use ingredients containing trans fatty acid (TFA) in our products.

Over the last 24 months we have carried our extensive development work to eliminate the use of hydrogenated vegetable oil without compromising the great taste that Linda McCartney consumers expect. This has been successfully completed for products including Linda McCartney Deep Country Pies, Linda McCartney Country Slices, Linda McCartney Cocktail Sausage Rolls and Linda McCartney Sausage Rolls.

We are continuing to take steps with the aim of eliminating hydrogenated fat from a couple of remaining recipes where taste and technical challenges need to be overcome. Hence our chefs are working very hard to replace the hydrogenated fat in Linda McCartney sausages with out compromising on the taste and texture of the product and we hope to make the change to non hydrogenated fat in the near future ."

dolly_day_dream

slinks wrote:

so glad they don't use battery eggs anymore... it's just not right!!!

would love to be vegan. hope to be in the future. been a veggie for 17 years and would love to make the change one day.

how easy is it???!!

To be honest Slinks it is dead easy. I changed from onmivore to vegan overnight which is unusual. I had happily eaten veggie food within my diet for most of my adult life and have a daughter who has had episodes of being veggie and vegan but I had no intention of changing. Then I went on the London to Aldermaston anti-nuclear march at Easter 2004 and the food was vegan. I can do that for 4 days I thought. I felt so great that I thought that I would keep it up until it was too difficult.:rolleyes:

It has been over 2 years and I am pretty sure I won't go back. Once you get used to what you can cook and what to substitute you truly don't feel deprived. I try to get most of my diet from 'natural foods' and not substitutes. I prepare the next nights meal while the current one is cooking so that the only thing I have to do when I get in is start the cooking. I know that I am doing the same amount of work but somehow this way round is easier. Yes I know that vegetables will lose nutrients from being prepared in advance but I can't help but feel that food made from real vegetables with only herbs and spices for flavouring instead of an Enumber will be better for me in the long run.

Certainly my doctor is very happy with me and no one could say that I looked like I was suffering!!LOL (cuddly is how my class describe me!)

I try and cook beans in bulk and then freeze them, this way I avoid the added salt, sugar and environment problems with creating a can. I have never had such a varied diet and a plus is that I can look through a vegan cookbook and rarely does a recipe cost too much for me to try.

If you do want to become vegan one piece of advice I heard was to say that you will be vegan for 1 day a week only, then increase to 2 days and so on until you are fully vegan.

This may make you laugh - a child in my class went home and told his grandmother I had become a virgin! :rotfl: Knowing that I have 3 children she asked how I had managed that - "Oh she just stopped eating anything from an animal!":laugh:

Chell

Bleurgh, I'm a veggie who hates Quorn or foods that try to be meat. The only meart type products I use are Linda Mc sausages as they aren't too meaty and Sosmix mixed with sage and onion stuffing to make sausage rolls.

Asda have a range made by Grassingtons, they do nice bean burgers, sweet potato waffles (kids like those) etc. I love Birdseye vegetable fingers, complete junk food but heaven with chilli sauce or mayo.

Near the pulses in Asda they sell a Nutroast mix, its lovely but TMI, it gives you wind!

I tend to make most things myself rather than buy prepacked stuff. Don't forget good old veggie quiche or pizza. Asda sell Spinch and Ricotta slices in the chiller counter which are nice.

Boomdocker

Well, I have been trying a few bits.

Had some Cauldron Glamorgan Sausages - bleugh, did not like them at all!

I really love the Grassingtons Cauliflower Grills especially in a buttered bread roll. Also llike the Grassingtons Vegetable quarter pounders this way too.

Bought some LM Sausage Rolls that seem highly recommended on here. Haven't tried them yet but I hope they are as good as you say.

Oh, those sausages. I didnt like them the minute I opened them but I persevered, cooked, them and ate them in a french stick as I would regular sausages. As first I thought 'not too bad' but I didn't like that tofu/plasticeny texture and then the taste hit me.

Never mind, if you don't try you never know eh?

Look forward to trying some more of the recommendations.

Thanks everyone.

Benny24

Check out this little book "No meat for me please" by Jan Arkless

a fantastic little book with single recepies for someone who doesn't fancy meat. My mum bought it back in the late 80's when I went through a "sixth former, i'm going vegie" phase.
The thought of cooking meat for the family and none for one was a nightmare for her but this book was a godsend.
The vege gravy made with red wine and the nut and lentil roasts are to die for!

I'm a meat eater now thanks to some one whafting a smoke bacon buttie under my nose during a hangove at Uni! But I still go back to this book for some great vegge recepies.

You can get it through Amazon for about £1.00!