My Favourite Supermarket Vegan Food

I became an almost-vegan about three and a half years ago.  I stopped eating meat and most animal products overnight, which was very difficult at first—I ate little more than bread, hummus, vegetables and potatoes for the first week.  My problem is that I'm not interested in cooking.  Breakfast is usually fruit with yogurt, muesli or toast, lunch is anything I can put together in five minutes, and dinner is something I can bung in the oven and eat with a ton of vegetables.

About six months after I made the change, veganism became the in thing, and supermarket vegan offerings went from a few meagre shelves that looked as if they were embarrassed to be there, to vast ranges of stuff that actually appeared edible.  Guess what?  Some of it is!  

I've tried so many different items, and arrived at those I do like via a lot of trial, error and chucking away.  The following is by no means a comprehensive list - this is just personal taste, based on the stuff that I buy over and over again.  I hope it will be of use to any other newly converted, cooking-shy vegan!

A few items are soya free, too.

You might be interested in this book, Finally A Vegan by Stephanie Jane, which gives loads of information in a very readable fashion.

 

Alpro Single Soya

Non-dairy single cream - I use it in my coffee every day.  Even nicer if you whisk it with an egg whisk once it's poured in.

 

Asda Free From Single Soya

I didn't think much at first but then I discovered that if you give it a good shake before use it comes out nice and thick, nearly as good as the alpro stuff.

Alpro Soya Strawberry pretend milk

Comes in a pack of three small individual cartons.  It's nice on its own, but I use it on muesli.  Even better if you add a bit of the cream alternative!

 

Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend

Just discovered, from Sainsbury's - great on cereal and nice on its own too :)

Tesco free from Jalapeno and Chilli Cheese

This was my favourite for a long time - love it!  I've tried the other flavours in the range, though, and think they're all horrible.  Like, chuck-them-straight-in-the-bin horrible.

 

Violife Epic Mature Cheddar

My current favourite - great on its own or in sandwiches.  Good texture.

 

Violife Just Like Feta

I adored this when I first tried it, couldn't leave it alone, but then I went off it.  However, I'm still including it in this list, because my change in favour might have because I went OTT with it!

Violife Cheese Slices

They're pretty much like Edam - that sort of texture and taste.  Good on the meat-type vegan burgers (see below), or in sandwiches.

***PS - just discovered the 'mature cheddar flavour' ones, which are much nicer!***

Note: I can't vouch for any of these cheeses cooking-wise - I've only used them 'raw'.

 

Linda McCartney Vegetable 1/4 lb Burgers

My favourite from Day One.  I have one for dinner with vegetables about four times a week (told you I wasn't interested in cooking!).  Best if you put a bit of soy sauce on them; I recommend Morrisons' Tamarin Soy Sauce, which is the best I've tried.

 

Linda McCartney Meatballs

These are nice, but need a bit of soy sauce.  I have them with salad for lunch sometimes.  Also work with a tomato type sauce and pasta/spaghetti (cook them on their own first).  About a hundred times better than the Birds Eye frozen vegan meatballs, which I threw away as soon as I tried one.  Literally, off the dinner plate, and the whole bag gone.  My feelings were echoed by many on the Asda website.

Linda McCartney Rosemary and Onion Sausages 

These are much better than the plain ones, which are too cereal-ish and tasteless, and I don't like the other flavours, either.  My sister makes a fabulous sausage casserole with them (basically, fried onions, tinned chopped tomatoes, potatoes and carrots, with lemon juice and basil). 

 

Richmond meat-free sausages

Someone recommended these to me, and I much prefer them to the Linda McCartney ones.

Morrisons Mushroom Wellington

These are gorgeous.  Again, best cut open, with a bit of soy sauce on the mushroomy bit.  And lots of broccoli and asparagus!

 

Sainsbury's Love Your Veg vegan burger

These are the vegetable type of burger rather than the meat alternative type, but unlike most of them, which tend towards the mushy and tasteless, these are more substantial and quite heavily spiced.

 

Morrisons V Taste Vegetable Korma

The best of their ready meals, I think.  I went off most of the others pretty quickly.  Downside is that it's pretty fattening, over nearly 600 calories, and it's quite small.  

 

Morrisons V Taste Butternut Squash Curry

Butternut Squash is, of course, completely tasteless, and is just 'some stuff' until you put other ingredients with it.  The first time I tried this I thought it was WAY too bland, but a spoonful of mango chutney makes all the difference.  It's a bit stodgy, but quite nice.

Sainsbury's Love Your Veg Very Veggie Curry

Great with peas :)

Meatless Farm Co Mince

By far the best mince alternative I've found.  Makes a great bolognese sauce with the Lloyd Grosman tomato and sweet red pepper sauce; much nicer than the tomato and basil.

 

Goodfellas Falafel Pizza

The best vegan pizza I've tried.  Not fabulous (I haven't had one for some time), and best if you stick some more stuff on it, but it's okay.  I tried putting some of the Violife grated cheese on it, which made it a bit more like pizza!

 

Morrisons V Taste Chicken Pieces

Much nicer than the Quorn ones.  Drier and actually taste nice on their own.  I've had them with those packets of Bird's Eye Steam and Serve rice and vegetable that you put in the microwave for 3 minutes.

 

Like Meat - Like Chicken

I've eaten these with those Birds Eye rice and vegetable things too - again, requires soy sauce!  They need to be fried, and for longer than it says.  The instructions say 6 minutes, I did them for 10.  I haven't tried anything else in the range.

 

Marks & Spencer Plant Kitchen Nutty Wholefood Salad

I've found the M&S vegan range very disappointing - it all looks a lot nicer than it is.  This is good, though; it's also more fattening than it looks!

 

Eat Real Cheezie Straws

Love these!  The rest of the range - veggie straws, hummus chips, etc - are all a bit bland, apart from the quinoa puffs which are WAY too hot, but these are great.

 

Flora Dairy Free Spread

By far the best of all the dairy free spreads I've tried.  I wouldn't buy it at first because of the palm oil thing, but it now claims to use only that which is responsibly sourced.  There is a buttery one which I find a bit sickly; I get the light one which tastes about the same as the original, and is not so fattening

....and just discovered this.... glorious!  Flora Plant Butter. 

 

Soreen Lunchbox Loaves

Less than 100 calories each, come in original flavour, apple, banana and strawberry, and they're GORGEOUS!  Five in a pack.
 

Alpro Pistachio Mousse.

 ~Glorious.  Truly glorious. ~

Coconut Collaborative Choc pots

These are tiny but very rich, and great for when you've got that chocolate craving thing, as they're only 100 calories each!  The banoffee ones are about the same, but the salted caramel are over 120 cals each, and they're TINY.  Of course, the salted caramel ones are the best, but that's just the way it goes!

Asda Free From Strawberry Yogurt

Great taste and texture.  The lemon one is nice too, but this is the best.

I don't think this one (below) is available anymore - haven't been able to get it from Morrisons for ages.

Koko Peach and Passionfruit Yogurt

One of the best - much better than the alpro ones.  I have some over a bowl of blueberries, grapes, strawberries and mango most days, either for breakfast or as 'afters'.

I do like the alpro mango one, though - it's only available in larger pots.

Andros Yogurt

This is nice - just the peach one, the strawberry one tastes too plasticky.  Got it from Morrisons.

Alpro Greek Style Yogurt

I'm pretty underwhelmed by the ordinary alpro yogurts, but these ones are much nicer - good thick white stuff and fruit underneath!

Sainsbury's Strawberry Mousse

Gorgeous!  I could eat this until it came out of my ears, and it's only 111 calories a pot.

 

Morrisons Salted Caramel Crunch

I think this is much nicer than any of the other vegan ice cream I've tried, including a couple of the Ben & Jerry's ones.  I've only got it a couple of times because it's hard to resist once you've got it in the freezer!

 

Nakd Bars 

Good old stand-by, for me.  I only have the Blueberry Muffin (my favourite) and the Berry Delight ones.  I actually get them from Amazon, not the supermarket, because they're much cheaper.

 

Finally - my sister says this is the best spread she's found.  You can get it from Sainsburys.

I will add more if I come across anything else that's particularly nice :)

Eat your profiteroles with confidence....

Away with friends last weekend, we visited the excellent Viva restaurant in Matlock, at which the food was drool-makingly glorious.  We all feasted well throughout our time away, casting off various dietary restraints (look, I only claim to be ninety-five per cent vegan).  

Shelley was anxious to justify her demolishing of Viva's fine profiteroles, two nights running ~ yes, they were covered in chocolate sauce, and came with a side helping of fresh cream, but were made from the lightest of light choux pastry.

Indeed, as she explained to Cathy, underneath all that chocolate sauce ....

'It's basically just air'

A triumphy of confectionery, indeed!

At the risk of doing that Facebook thing, I must just show you some of the delights we ate....the 'vegetariano' pasta (fettucini) was amayyyzing!

Cathy with her salmon risotto, 

Shelley with her pizza with everything, and an egg 😃

If I owned a restaurant I would....

  

If I owned a restaurant I would....

• train my staff to say 'Certainly, Madam,' or 'This way, sir', or 'I'll just ask the chef to make sure, sir,' 'Okay', 'That's fine, or just 'Yes' - anything other than 'No Problem.'  Worst of all are those who manage to say it several times while taking one order.  I would make clear that 'No Problem' is a three-strikes-and-you're-out offence.  Possibly with a punch in the face.  
• fire on the spot any waiter who addressed my customers as 'you guys'.  Particularly if they are over 40, or if the waiter is young enough to be their offspring.  Unless those customers say 'can I get' when asking for what they would like, in which case you can call them anything you damn well like.

• insist that my staff take twenty minutes or so each evening to actually find out about the stuff that's on the menu, so they can answer simple questions like 'What flavours of ice cream do you have?'

• teach the staff that when middle-aged people have a liqueur after dinner, they are having a liqueur after dinner, not 'doing shots'.  Last night, when I asked for a Sambucca, the waiter asked my dinner companions if they were 'doing shots as well'.

• make sure they know the difference between a small wine glass, a small sherry glass, a liqueur glass, etc.

• get the chef to put the main item of food on a plate, with the vegetables in serving dishes if necessary.  Not arrange the main item on a large oval plate with the other items in daft little pots all round it.  Last night, one of my friends was given his chips in what looked like a miniature basket from a deep fat fryer, placed on his plate.  Is it so hard to just empty them out?  Or was the basket supposed to look cute/stylish/trendy?  Masterchef has a lot to answer for.

• not change the whole menu for the sake of it, so that people who have eaten there six months before and loved it, find that there is nothing even vaguely resembling anything they ate there last time.

• have something on the menu for non-meat eaters apart from one not very interesting pasta dish (okay, okay, I should have found out first).

On the subject of stupid things some people say, my friend Amy who was with me last night is a more-or-less vegan, as am I, but we are keen not to be a pain in the arse about it; we will, thus, eat vegetarian if out, because otherwise you have to find vegan restaurants, which is inconsiderate towards the rest of the people you are with who maybe fancy the odd prawn or sauce with butter.  

We also agree that if we going to someone's house for dinner we will tell them we don't eat meat or fish, but will not expect them to cook special dishes for us (for instance, if they are serving fish, potatoes and vegetables, we will just not have the fish), and certainly won't insist on non-dairy.  In other words, we will eat what we are given, because we have reasonable manners.

Amy (who is in her early thirties, but thinks for herself instead of latching onto every trendy-young-thing buzzword) told me that some TYTs who adhere to this way of thinking call themselves 'flexitarians'.

I understand 'flexitarian' can also mean eating meat sometimes, and dairy/fish, etc, whenever.  Burger and chips one day, vegan chilli the next.  And there was me thinking that consuming a varied diet according to what one fancies/what is available was normally referred to simply as 'eating'.