The Ordinary Vegan - Toby Carvery

Now I know what you're thinking, why would a vegan blogger be reviewing a carvery? Well, yesterday I went out for my Sunday Roast at Toby Carvery and was very pleasantly surprised to find out they have a vegetarian menu of which two of the main courses are vegan and labelled so on the menu. 

In addition to these two vegan main courses - Shepherd's Pie and Nut Roast Wellington, most of the carvery vegetable options are vegan too - excluding the mash potato, Yorkshire pudding and cauliflower cheese. For example, yesterday I had peas, carrot, red cabbage, onion, roast potatoes, leeks, stuffing, gravy and mint sauce along with my Nut Roast Wellington. The veggies are unlimited as is the gravy and sauces and they come in with the price of your vegan main meal. I checked with the chef and all of the veg options apart from the exceptions above are vegan, and they even brought my Nut Roast to the table so as not to cross contaminate.

The prices are good value with the vegan options priced at £5.99 on a weekday and at £8.49 on a Sunday. They also have a weekday 'Meat-free Carvery' option for £4.49 which is just the unlimited veg.

Yesterday I had the Nut Roast Wellington and Mr Vox had the Shepherd's Pie so I could try both options. They were both delicious! The Wellington had a mildly spicy nut roast mix on top of a puff pastry base and the Shepherd's Pie was root vegetables with a bubble and squeak mash on top. Really tasty and they know about veganism and had knowledgeable staff. For those who are vegetarian or like me have a vegetarian family member, there are five main vegetarian options on the menu and all of the desserts are vegetarian too, although sadly none of the desserts are vegan.

It is great to see a chain restaurant start to make positive changes to include a variety of vegan options on their menus and as there are many Toby Carvery restaurants dotted around the country, it is useful to know if you are away from home and looking for a meal option. It also makes a good compromise if you are dining out in a large group which includes omnivores, vegetarians and vegans as you can all eat together with choices and options for everyone.

If home cooking is more your style, pop back tomorrow for another Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Recipe of the Week - Vegan Vox Organic Shepherd's Pie

Now the nights are a little darker and cooler, we start to crave warm, satisfying, comfort food. What could be more comforting than a piping hot, super Vegan Vox Shepherd's Pie? I made this pie using the veggies from my regular Organic Riverford Veg Box delivery which I reviewed here.

Here is my recipe, serves 4.

Ingredients:

6-7 medium potatoes

3 medium carrots

1 onion

5-6 green beans/French beans

1 small cup of frozen peas

1 packet of Vegan Mince (or a 400g can of organic green lentils, drained)

4 tsp vegan gravy granules

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic salt

A pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire Sauce or Henderson's Relish

Salt and pepper, to taste

Organic soy milk, unsweetened - 3 tbsp

Organic olive oil spread - 1 tbsp

Nutritional Yeast Flakes - 2 tbsp

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Vegan cheese of choice, grated (optional)

Method:

Wash, peel and chop all of the vegetables.

In one saucepan place the chopped carrots, cover with cold water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Let them simmer for 10 minutes, then add the chopped green beans. After a further 10 minutes of simmering, add the frozen peas and simmer for another 5 minutes. Drain and set to one side.

In another large saucepan place the chopped potatoes into salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until very soft and then drain. Set aside.

In a frying pan saute the chopped onions in the olive oil for a couple of minutes then add the vegan mince (or lentils) and Worcestershire Sauce and saute for a few minutes until soft. Add the vegetables from earlier and stir into the mince mixture.

In a jug place the gravy granules and boiling water to make up 3/4 pint (480ml) of gravy and stir. 

Pour the mince mixture into a casserole dish and pour over the gravy and stir through.

Take the saucepan of drained potatoes and add the soy milk, olive oil spread, cayenne, garlic salt, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and mash until combined well. Spoon this mixture all over the top of your pie filling and smooth over with a fork. If you like, you can grate some vegan cheese over the top of the potato.

Place in the oven at 180C for around 20 minutes until the potato has gone golden brown.

Eat and enjoy!

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Falafel

This week, The Ordinary Vegan is all about falafel. This Middle Eastern dish , originally from Egypt is sold in the Middle East as street food and is popular throughout Lent and Ramadan when some people give up meat, therefore it is a perfect ordinary vegan food. Now this dish has become popular in the UK at street markets, food vans, restaurants, take-aways, ready-to eat and even 'make your own' packets in supermarkets. Many of the street vendors actually have 'vegan' written on the side of the stall or van or on a board nearby, but some do not advertise it as vegan so just ask. Every street vendor I have seen selling falafel has been vegan. Falafel is usually made from chickpeas and flour with herbs and spices, which are then shaped into balls and deep fried in vegetable oil. It is often served in a pitta bread with salad and sauces or just with salad, on even just eaten alone. They make a tasty on-the-go snack and are great for sandwiches and picnics. Falafel is great value too, at around £1-1.50 per box mix. Click on the product pictures for product information and links. They can be purchased from most major supermarkets and health food shops.

You can buy packets such as these to make at home in around 10 minutes:

Or you can buy them from the supermarket ready to eat such as these:

There are a few of the new flavoured varieties which contain milk/milk powder so please check the packets before buying. Even better you can make them yourself from scratch. If cooking from scratch is more your thing, come back tomorrow for the Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Vegan Cheeses

One of the first questions people ask me when they find out that I am vegan is what I substitute for cheese, and as those of you who have read 'My Vegan Journey' know, I have been on a cheese mission since becoming vegan. So this week I wanted to review the cheeses I have tried so far and give you my opinions on them. The thing with vegan cheese is that you need to choose the right cheese for each type of dish that you want, there is not a 'one cheese fits all' in the vegan world. So I have categorised the cheeses by type and will give you a review of taste, smell, texture, ingredients, availability and usability. I have deliberately not included any homemade cheeses in this list, as I would like to cover them in a future post. All professional product photos are from the company websites and you can click on them to visit the websites. All food photos are mine.

Category 1: Mozzarella Style/Pizza Cheeses

MozzaRisella - I tried this on a pizza at the V Delicious Show in London, and it was amazing, light mozzarella taste, it's made with rice milk, it has no soya which is great for those who are allergic or just trying to cut down. It is a healthy option and as well as being organic and vegan it contains no gluten, preservatives, colourings or GMO. It melts perfectly and tastes creamy, it smells fresh, no strong smell. Currently there are no stockists in the Midlands :-( but it is available at stores in London, Sussex, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Surrey. It is also available at some London restaurants and to order online. Perfect pizza cheese. Just wish I could buy it locally. 4/5

Cheezly Mozzarella Style - This is my go-to cheese of choice, mainly because it is sold at Holland & Barrett, of which there is a branch walking distance from my house, but also because it melts well and is versatile. I have had this cheese on pizza, lasagne, grated over pasta, on top of a shepherd's pie, a pasta bake and in a sandwich. It is better as a melting cheese than unmelted. There is little taste but the texture is good and once it is melted into your pizza, it takes on the flavours of the sauce and veggies. It is also gluten-free and free from artificial colours and preservatives. It does contain soya, yeast and vegetable fats but is palm oil free. It is available at most health food shops, and in some branches of Morrisons, so it rates highly for versatility and availability but lacking in flavour. 4/5

Tofutti Creamy-Smooth Mozarella-style grated bag - This was awful! It had no taste, texture of cardboard, and it did not melt! It was very chalky and dry. Although it does last longer once opened than the previous two cheeses, that does not make up for all of its faults. It is gluten-free but full of not so good ingredients like preservatives, soy and palm oil. This is available at Holland & Barrett and works out cheaper than the Cheezly, as well as online vegan shops but was a huge disappointment. 1/5

Tofutti Mozarella burger slices - Despite my loathing for the above Tofutti product, these slices are great! I use these on vegan burgers, on toast, sandwiches and salads. It isn't a great melt, but it goes soft sort of like burger cheese slices for omnivores. They have a long shelf life and are individually wrapped so they are great to keep in the fridge and perfect for BBQs. These contain soybean oil, and soya but no palm oil. They have a nice mellow cheese slice taste too.They are available from Holland & Barrett as well as online vegan shops. 4/5

Veganic Pizza Cheese - Now, I was so excited to see this for sale at V Revolution on my recent trip to Manchester, which you can read about here. I had heard such good things about this cheese and yet I was disappointed. I'm not sure if its the way I cooked the cheese, on top of a pizza in the oven at 200C and on top of a lasagne in the oven at 180C but it didn't really melt properly. It kind of congealed together a little but still in distinct grated cheese shreds and I felt that the flavour was average and there was no strong smell, maybe I should have tried grilling this cheese, but if it says its a pizza cheese, most people would cook in an oven. It is GMO free, gluten free, contains no soy or palm oil and has a long shelf life, as well as being good value for the quantity you get in the bag. It is currently not available at many retailers, with Swindon, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Cornwall, Leicester, Colchester and Newcastle having a stockist each. It is available online and served at some restaurants and take-aways including two in the West Midlands, so maybe I will give it another try on a take-away vegan pizza! 3/5

Category Winners - Mozzarisella and Cheezly Mozzarella-Style

Category 2: Cream Cheese Alternatives

Tofutti Creamy Smooth Cream Cheese - Garlic & Herbs - This is without a doubt the best vegan cream cheese I have tasted, it reminds me of Boursin (from my cow's cheese eating days). It smells garlicky and cheesy, but not too overpowering, it is smooth and creamy and spreads nice and thick on sandwiches, crackers and bagels. Now the bad news, it does contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and a few nasty preservatives including sugar, however it is gluten-free and has a great shelf-life. An open tub can last a fortnight after opening in my fridge. It is available online and from Holland & Barrett as well as most health food stores. 4.5/5

Tofutti Creamy Smooth Cream Cheese - Herbs & Chives - This is very similar to the product above but in a different flavour. The flavour is milder than the garlic one, still very nice but not as flavoursome as the one above. For ingredients and availability see the above product. 3/5

Tesco Free From Dairy Spread - This was the first vegan cream cheese I tried after becoming vegan, and no word of a lie, I almost cried. It was awful! It was stodgy and claggy, had an artificial sweet overpowering aroma and taste and made me feel sick. Mr Vox walked in the kitchen and said "what is that awful smell?" when I said it was my cream cheese, he couldn't believe it. I am so glad I persevered and tried more cheeses as this was close to sending me back to eating dairy! It is gluten free and made with a combination of coconut and soya, it contains no palm oil. It is available from large Tesco stores and at Tesco.com. You have been warned! 0/5

Sheese Creamy Original - This is the company that made the Tesco Cream Cheese above. I did not know this until last week. This was the second cream cheese I tried after the Tesco one, and surprise surprise, it tastes exactly the same! I though just all vegan cheese was rubbish at this point. I have since been proven wrong, I am glad to report. You can buy this at Holland & Barrett and online. Therefore my review is the same as above. 0/5

Category Winner - Tofutti Creamy Smooth Cream Cheese - Garlic & Herbs

Category 3: Hard Cheeses for Sandwiches

Sheese Medium Cheddar - This was a yellow block of something which resembled Plasticine. It tasted about as good too! Vile smell and flavour, overpowering, too sweet. Rubbery texture, didn't melt on cheese on toast and tasted horrible straight from the packet. Me and Sheese don't get on, as you can tell. It contains soya and various thickeners and preservatives. It does not in any way taste like cheddar cheese. They also make the Tesco Free From Medium Cheese. Avoid! 0/5

Vegusto No-Moo Piquante - This cheese made me smile and jump for joy at the V Delicious Show! Finally, someone who understood what the taste and texture of cheese is supposed to be like, and then made it vegan! Yay! I loved this cheese. It was perfect for sandwiches and burgers and on crackers. Spicy and tangy, great cheese texture. It doesn't melt, but then that's not the point of this cheese. The main problem with Vegusto is getting hold of it. They are available from their website and from independent wholefood stores. They do sell it in Birmingham but its a 25 mile round trip from home for me to get some. Also it is almost twice the price of Cheezly. This saddens me as I would like to buy it every week, but £5 for a small block of cheese is expensive. It is soy free and gluten free and contains no palm oil, but does contain nut butter. I tried a few of their cheeses at the show and they were all lovely, but this was my favourite. 4/5

Category Winner: Vegusto

Category 4: Specialty Cheeses

Cheezly Pepperjack - This is not sold in as many places as the Mozzarella Style Cheezly, I got some from an independent wholefoods store, but it is around 15 miles from me, so I don't get to have it often. You can buy it online as well. This cheese has a spicy peppery tangy taste and a crumbly texture, it goes great in slices on a vegan burger, with BBQ food, on Mexican dishes like tacos and fajitas and on crackers. This is gluten-free, contains no hydrogenated fats and no artificial colours or preservatives, it contains soya but no palm oil. 4/5

Cherub Dairy Free Dried Parmesan-Style - I bought this from the Birmingham Vegan Fair and found out it is from a New Zealand company, I wish I had bought more as it was lovely sprinkled on top of pasta, pizzas and lasagnes as well as an ingredient for pesto. I can't find it for sale anywhere except on Amazon and with shipping costs its really expensive so alas, I have not bought any more. But if I find it at a show again, I will bulk buy. 4/5

Category winners - Cheezly and Cherub

I realise there are many more vegan cheeses available but hey, I've tried a fair few in the last 9 months! Let me know your favourite vegan cheeses in the comments below. Do you agree with my reviews or are you a Sheese lover? (why?) ;-) And yes , American readers, I know Daiya is the King of Vegan Cheeses but as at the time of writing they do not stock anywhere in the UK yet :-(

Big (Cheesy) Vegan Love,

VVx