buy / don't buy

[darkoshi]

Note to self (Buy/Try): TCBY has vegan non-dairy frozen yogurt. Several flavors, in fact: almond nog, chocolate almond, coconut, vanilla almond.


Note to self (Don't Buy): Target has a "Simply Balanced" brand of vegan meatless chicken/turkey in the freezer section. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across it, and bought 2 flavors - smoky chipotle (chicken) and mushroom miso (turkey). The first one I microwaved, and it was very unpalatable. The 2nd one I pan-fried, and it was ok (because I like most anything that has a crispy/chewy fried exterior and is vegan), but still not very good. So don't buy this brand again.

The few reviews I've seen praising the product all mention the Korean Barbeque flavor. So maybe that one is better. But it's probably not worth me trying, as I suspect the base product is the same for all the flavors, and only the sauce packet is different.

By the way, for anyone else reading this, the above is an anomaly. Most other vegan meat substitutes available taste very good to me. For example, Gardein, Kroger's "Simple Truth" brand, Beyond Meat, and Tofurky. That's why I was rather surprised about how bad the "Simply Balanced" one was in comparison.

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

Man, the whole 'simple truth' line irritates me just based on the name. I shouldn't use that to judge.
Have you tried Quorn?

[darkoshi]

Heh. For the most part, I ignore the names and focus on the ingredients.

I haven't had Quorn, as most of their products include egg so they aren't vegan. From looking at their Wikipedia page, they do have some vegan items, but I haven't come across them yet. Now I'm curious to try them. I thought Quorn was just another soy-based product - didn't realize it was fungal/mycoprotein based. That sounds interestingly different.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

It also appears to have differing content per country: some of the original stuff wasn't allowed in the US, apparently.