Category: Reviews

It may appear from the surface that I haven’t been trying any new foods from the lack of reviews, that asumption couldn’t be further from the truth. The problem lies in finding the words [And time] in which to describe them in detail, not to mention eating them at a time of day when the sun still offers its light to aid in the photography. Still, I have one particular product that I tried months ago, with a review that has been in the works for just as long. I didn’t want to give up on it before tasting the last two flavors since I had seen them previously on the grocery store’s shelf… But weeks went by, and it was not to be found anywhere.

The product that I’m talking about is the individually packaged pudding cups made by ZenSoy, a lovely company that makes a point to source only organic raw materials. In addition to pudding, they also purportedly make soymilk, although I have never seen a single one of their cartons in any store I’ve ever been to. Quite a shame too, because a Soy on the Go in cappuccino sounds like a fantastic school lunch accompaniment. Anyway, their puddings come four to the pack, and can be found in most health food stores… Except that as of late, I’ve only been able to get my hands on the chocolate flavor and nothing else.

So… Why of all things would you want to review pudding, you may ask? Trust me, trying to consume pudding itself was a difficult proposition for me to even consider, as it had been years since my childhood days of choking down artificially flavored and over-sweetened gloppy mud claiming the title of “pudding.” Long ago had I written it off as juvenile, only fit for youngsters with undeveloped palates who don’t know what they’re missing by choosing the squat plastic cups over a real treat. However, one can’t base a passionate distaste for a food that has only been consumed as a child, so now facing organic ingredients as a mature vegan, I wanted to give pudding another chance to redeem its tarnished name.

Strolling down the aisles with soy pudding in my basket and an open mind, I tried hard not to think of my preconceived notions of the dessert, and proceeded quickly to check out before I could change my mind. Before I knew it I had arrived home, and there was nothing left to do but dig in.

Banana

First peeling back the aluminum foil lid, a slightly disturbing sight awaited me, but I didn’t let it scare me off so easily; All it needed was a little stirring, and the contents of the plastic cup came together again in a typical pudding-like consistency.

As I was reconstituting my separated pudding by vigorously swirling around my spoon, a powerful banana scent was released and floated upwards, filling my nostrils with the sweet and tempting smell of the overripe fruit. Swallowing my fears along with the spoonful of pale pudding, I stopped cringing and took a moment to think about what I just ingested. It was very sweet and intensely banana flavored, but still in a natural tasting way. It was like a cup of nothing but pure, unadulterated mashed bananas, but the texture was even better – No unpleasant chunks, but also none of that grittiness that you sometimes find in soybean products. I tested to see if the spoon could stand upright in the cup, but it’s not that thick. It did take a good amount of time to drift back down to the side however, if that gives you a better idea of the viscosity.

Chocolate

Dipping in my spoon with slightly less trepidation this time, I discovered that this pudding was extremely viscous – Much thicker than the banana flavor I had just tried. In fact, my spoon was even able to stand upright in the center of the container for a good few seconds before slowly slumping over to the side. Contemplating the texture of the chocolate further, the other variety would have seemed like eating sand paper in comparison. So velvety smooth, it truly reminded me of a chocolate mousse! I’ll bet that if you put it in an ice cream maker or otherwise froze it some how, you would get one hell of a treat…

What really struck me was how ZenSoy really sticks to the natural flavors that they’re trying to portray. Instead of following suit and being super sweet, the chocolate was a very refined dark cocoa sort of flavor, but in no way chalky or one dimensional as some natural products can be. It had such a lovely full, rounded flavor, I can’t quite describe in a way that would do it justice how impressive I found it.

Such a huge difference this product made in my view on the entire potential of the humble dish called pudding, I only wish I could get my hands on it more easily. Why had I abstained so long from pudding, when such a delightful product was right on the supermarket shelf? I can only hope that another random stroke of luck will allow me to encounter those remaining flavors. If you ever happen to find these pudding cups in your local grocery store waiting to find a loving home, don’t hesitate to snatch them up – I promise you won’t regret this purchase.

About a month ago, I first spotted an intriguing and potentially tasty-looking cookie on the shelf of my local health food store that just happens to be gluten-free. What a funny coincidence that almost as soon as I had finally collected and tried out all of the varieties offered by Enjoy Life Foods, Emily decided to review a different brand of gluten-free cookie!

My first experience with Enjoy Life Foods began with a much earlier sampling of their “no oats” cinnamon raisin granola. It was certainly edible, but not exactly my all-time favorite considering the vast scope of commercial granola products, since I personally am not limited due to celiac’s disease. Had I been looking for an authentic gluten-free alternative, I’m sure my response would have been much more enthusiastic. In regards to this particular taste test, it all began innocently enough when I couldn’t find my usual granola bars, but chanced upon their oatmeal raisin cookies instead (Granola bars, cookies with oats… It’s really all the same, right?) Little did I know what I would be getting myself into… Before long, I was scouring every market in town for their other varieties, almost to the point of breaking down and ordering them online. Never have I done this before, so this fact alone should sum up everything I’m about to say about the individual cookies: They were amazing.

Oatmeal Raisin

When I first open the box, I was so surprised at how small they were! Not more than an inch or inch and a half across each! Well, I guess that makes portion-control a bit easier that way, so after getting over the initial confusion, the size was a very welcome aspect.

Taking the suggestion on the side of the box, I heated them in the microwave for 20 seconds before digging in. This was to make them taste “Bakery-fresh,” the box proclaims, though I doubt you’d find anything nearly as healthy in any bakery, near or far. Honestly though, it only adds to the appeal for me, because I feel that treats shouldn’t always be those fatty mountains of sugar and pastry commonly brought to mind when thinking of desserts.

I was still somewhat skeptical (It doesn’t take much for healthy sweets to go a bit overboard and miss their mark,) so I took my time in arranging and photographing them, not sure what to expect. Steeling my nerves, I took a deep breath and took a large bite, which I found I didn’t regret in the least. Wow, are these things amazing. Soft and warm with bits of crunch non-oats, punctuated by sweet juicy raisins, they won over my heart within the first bite. They’re absolutely saturated with cinnamon flavor, which is something I particularly love. One might think that being vegan, gluten free, etc, they would be bland and of disturbing texture, but it’s completely the opposite. My mom thought that the “oats” were a little strange, but I didn’t have a second thought about it, personally.

Snickerdoodle

I couldn’t find a large box of these, so I bought a little individually packaged container with two cookies in them. When I wrestled them out of their foil wrapper, again, I wasn’t so sure that I was in for a tasty treat. They didn’t appear to look like the traditional snickerdoodles I was familiar with, since they were so dark in coloring, and it was difficult to see the ubiquitous cinnamon-sugar mixture around the exterior. Still, looks mean close to nothing in trying to determine taste with these things, so the only thing I could do was suspend doubt and bite in.

These were mind blowing, again with an intense cinnamon flavor throughout, but these were a bit sweeter than the “oatmeal” cookies. I couldn’t believe these truly were gluten free! The texture was unbelievably soft and chewy; I would even be tempted to describe the mouth feel as being smooth and velvet. When microwaved, they literally melted on my tongue. I’m not sure if I’ve ever experienced a more delicious commercial cookie.

Man, do I wish I could have found the bigger package.

Gingerbread Spice

Upon first breaking the seal containing the smooth, half-rounded domes, they elicited a pungent whiff of molasses and spices – A very good thing indeed. It was a little bit off-putting when I tried to remove one and found that it was very solidly stuck to the cookie behind it. I suppose they’re so moist that they adhere to one another after they’ve been in contact for a certain period of time. Or maybe some extra moisture got into my container. Either way, I pried them free and used the top one for photographing.

Briefly heating, I broke my prey into two, I saw that the texture was the same as the snickerdoodle I had tried earlier – Very soft and sporting a fine crumb, almost like a cake. On my first bite, I was a bit under whelmed with the flavor after having been assaulted by such intense smells. It didn’t quite “melt” as the other one did, but the texture definitely suited it perfectly, and I felt that it was spot on with the ginger bread it was attempting to replicate.

I tried a second one, this time without nuking it in the microwave, and found that the taste was actually better this way, in contrast with the previous varieties. Now it exhibited all of the moist properties I imagined it to have when trying to separate each cookie from the others. So rich and indulgent tasting, I couldn’t believe how healthy these actually were! Although I was disappointed at first, they definitely lived up to my high expectations. I love all things spiced, so this one seems like it was made for me.

Chocolate Chip

Upon first sight, they appeared somewhat similar to the oatmeal cookies, simply because they didn’t have the entirely round and uniform shape as the others, due to the protruding chips. This time however, there was no immediate smell emanating from the open package.

Taking a tiny bite into only dough, I thought it to be a bit bland at first. It only took a little persistence on my part; the second bite was like a revelation. I honestly couldn’t believe it. This was the chocolate chip cookie dough of my childhood, pre-veganism. All those delicate nuances of sweet yet slightly tangy, was a smooth undertone full of vanilla essence. Not only that, but it had the ideal softness that is so hard to replicate. Having tried to directly translate my family’s secret recipe into a vegan version and producing tasty, but hard cookies, I know what a true feat this is to have accomplished.

The mini chocolate chips were an excellent choice – Not so large as to dominate the cookie, but big enough to be seen. They provided bright bursts of deep, rich cocoa, perfectly dispersed and bringing delicious contrast to the sweetness of the dough.

Double Chocolate Brownie

Knowing not to doubt this product any longer, I was fully prepared when the aroma of cocoa instantly penetrated my nostrils as soon as the cookies were in sight. I was happy that these didn’t all stick together so much as they usually did in the package, so maybe that aspect depends on moisture level during production.

These little brownie bites feature the same pure dark chocolate chips as in the chocolate chip cookies, but now the dough is saturated with a smooth cocoa flavor. I wouldn’t say it’s deeply chocolate-y, but I like the fact that it’s not so heavy as to make me feel guilty after scarfing down half the package… Which of course I would never do. Or have already done. Ahem.

They’re lighter than any real brownie you might find, and are also very sophisticated in taste by excluding all that excess sugar. Simpler than the other varieties since it only has one dominating flavor, but sometimes that’s all you really want in a cookie. Easy to eat and enjoy. Oh, and if you want a more complex taste, these are a good candidate for microwaving. Can you say ‘molten chocolate cookie’?

I apologize for such a lengthy review – I simply can’t speak highly enough of this product!

Whenever there’s some new vegan product out on the market, good or bad, you’re sure to hear about it sooner or later. I love how this sort of community is so proactive when it comes to seeking out new options and possibilities. It also ensures that every effort to make a new cruelty-free product is recognized and given a fair shot, even if it still needs some work. Since I don’t have many vegan friends out in the real world (real life, IE, not online) I usually lurk around the Post Punk Kitchen to hear about these new releases. As for what everyone seems to be talking about recently, let me tell you, people were almost viciously advocating for Trader Joe’s new chocolate toucan cookies.

To recieve this amount of possitive atention, there was no way for me to ignore such a snack for too long. Walking into the store, I admired a tall display of their Cat Cookies, which reminded me of the Toucans, because I figured they would be the same sort of cookie. It took a little bit of searching due to the fact that the employees seem to enjoy rearranging the isles every other time I stop in, but sure enough, I found the box of toucans and scooped it off the shelf.

One box has six individually packaged bags of cookies, portioned out to 100 calories each. My initial reaction is relief, since I won’t have to rush through the whole box in fear that any minute all those cookies will become stale, god forbid. Another passing thought was how pretty the packaging is; I really like the color choices and layout. But this says nothing for what could be brewing inside, so it was time to release these strange creatures from their pastic prison and get a better idea for myself!

They definitely smelled like chocolate upon releasing them from their single serving bag, and I must say I was impressed with how much you get in a pouch. I counted 15 in this particular sample – Certainly a generous number when cookies are involved. It was also delightful to discover that the cookies actually did look like toucans, instead of those amorphous blob-type shapes which many other companies try to pass off as specific figures. They even have faces printed in such a way that they can look in both directions!

Tossing one of the cocoa creatures into mouth to meet its early demise, I was a bit surprised at the sweetness it readily delivered. I remember having eaten tasteless, cardboard like chocolate “cookies” that could have seemed similar, but no, these toucans were an actual treat! There are so many portion control products on the market that end up diminishing the overall enjoyability because they need to scale back on certain ingredients so that it will fit into their predetermined calorie count. No such evidence of that particular practice occurring here.

I also found that although wonderfully crisp, they weren’t hard or impenetrable. In fact, there was some sort of smoothness, perhaps, that I find difficult to describe. I bet they would be fantastic with soymilk, an experiment that I will undoubtedly be performing in short time.

Being individually packaged, Trader Joe’s chocolate toucans are a great new choice for snacks on the go. I’m so glad I found out about these sweet graham crackers through PPK, because otherwise I would have never even thought to check if they were vegan!

It was recently brought to my attention that Luna had come out with a whole new line of granola bars which they had dubbed “Luna Sunrise.” Once I double checked to make sure they were all vegan, (The names can be a bit deceiving) I went on the hunt until I tracked down all three flavors. I always have a healthy supply of their normal bars on hand, as I find them quite tasty and easy to munch on when I can’t guarantee I’ll find edible vegan food away from home. Having a fairly long and happy history with the original, I was wondering what would make these new ones different.

I ended up having to search through a solid three or four grocery stores to acquire all three bars. I guess they aren’t very widely distributed yet… I’m not sure exactly when they came out, but it does take a while for stores to purchase new items sometimes.

Checking out the label thoroughly, I really liked how healthy they appeared. A good amount of fiber, protein, and mostly good fats at a reasonably sized portion. There are also the added vitamins and nutrients as with all their bars, so I think that nutritionally, they’re essentially the same. Maybe there’s one more or less gram of something or other, but I would pick one type over the other based simply on its health value.

When it came to tasting, the first thing that I really noticed about each of these bars was how extremely similar they were to regular Luna bars. Each had the same basic structure of puffed crispy grains with some sort of icing.

Almond Vanilla

Peeling back the cheerful foil, I was somewhat intimidated by the vast quantities of icing in comparison to the rest of the bar. There’s a white icing on the bottom, a butterscotch colored icing on top, and then it’s finished off with an addition squiggle of the white icing, in addition to a few oats scattered across. Smelling the bar added to my fear; A very pungent whiff of sickening sweetness hit me like an automatic nail gun. It wasn’t just a plain sugar smell though… I’m not even sure how to describe it exactly.

It turns out that the bottom white icing doesn’t taste like very much, but provides more texture than anything. Very smooth and creamy, I think that it actually helps a good deal to prevent the bar from feeling so dry. The top icing is a bit chewier, with only the slightest caramel taste. Like it had appeared, the central bar itself is very much like the standard Luna bars, but perhaps is somewhat denser, with extra oats and filler thrown in.

With all of the layers eaten together, it’s really not too bad. Still lacking in the flavor department I will admit, but very edible nonetheless. I’m just not sure where they’re getting this mysterious “almond” aspect though… I checked the label, and it does list almonds… I just can’t find them.

Blueberry

Deja vu? It looks almost exactly like the “almond” bar, only this time the top layer of frosting has small blue flecks sprinkled throughout. The white “yogurt” undercoating tastes about the same, but this bar has a sort of strange, artificial berry taste throughout. Sort of like cough medicine. This one atleast has more flavor to it, which makes it a bit more desirable were I to pick out one of these again.

Trudging through the bar, I feared it would be like the last without any substantial pieces of their name sake, when out of no where – I was truly surprised – I bit into a plump, juicy blueberry! Woah, where did that come from!

As I continued it eat my Luna bar, I began to like it more and more, and by the time I had finished, I might actually venture to say that it was… Okay! Not bad, and I’d eat it again if I had one… But I don’t think I would specifically pick it out if I had other choices.

Strawberry

Like the blueberry flavor, this bar gave of a strange miscellaneous “berry” smell, but this time when I dug in, it turned out to have close to no discernible taste whatsoever. If one were to simply look at it, it would be impossible to guess what variety they had attempted to pull off here, and even sampling a bit probably would give you few additional hints.

Occasionally, there’s a dark, mushy smudge of what I suppose is meant to be a piece of strawberry, but it just tastes sour and fake. Other than that, I really have nothing else to point out that makes this bar interesting by itself or any different from the others. Perhaps they should just call it “Mystery” flavor, because whatever you may interpret yours to taste like, it is certainly nothing like strawberries and crème.

I wanted so badly to like this, since I’m such a fan of the original Luna bars and there are so many health components of these, but sadly… I really can’t see any reason to go out and buy these again. Give it a try for yourself – Who knows, you may like it. However, it’s back to good old Iced Oatmeal Raisin and Chai Luna bars for me.

For me, there’s something about breakfast that makes it seem so much more appealing than any other meal. Maybe it’s because I’ve gone so many hours while sleeping with no food, so anything would please my tastebuds. Perhaps the reason is that it marks the beginning of a whole new day, full of new oportunities and maybe even excitement. Or, most likely, it’s simple due to the fact that many breakfast foods just taste so damn good.

Of course the paradox here is that there is hardly anytime to make anything special for breakfast on school days. It’s really a marvel that I can manage to get wake up, dressed, pack a lunch, force something edible down my throat and run out the door in time to make the train. I do still enjoy all the cereals in the cupboard, basic toast with jam or nut butter, all the standard fare. Despite that, it can’t stop me from jealously eyeing all of those pictures on other people’s blogs of vegan french toast, pancakes… When do these people wake up to make it all?

This is one of those products that I swore I would never buy. You know, those things you see on the shelf and say “Pfft! I can make that, easy.” And the fact is I could… But only if I stopped sleeping altogether. And while that is a disturbingly tempting propsition (Just think of all the things I would get done..!) I think that’s one part of my schedule I would be smart not to alter. Thus, I introduced frozen waffles into my home.

The brand that I picked out was a branch of Nature’s Path called LifeStream. You’ve got plenty of choices looking only within this label, although most of them aren’t exactly for different flavors, but instead different health benefits. Most of them are varied based on the different grains they use or what added nutrients they provide. I went with the ones that I found most appealing to me (And were avaliable) so I can’t say for sure how the flavor may be different for the others.

FlaxPlus

Glancing over at my neighbor’s plate, I noticed that my waffles looked almost exactly like their Eggo’s as far as size and shape go. Mine were, however, darker and speckled with flax seeds, so it wouldn’t have been too hard to tell them apart. The indentations aren’t very deep, but I guess I’m just used to seeing Belgium waffles, as that’s the sort of waffle maker we use at home.

Slicing one of my waffles into a manageable forkful, I noted the abundance of flax seeds in each bite. Although they obviously don’t contribute very much to the flavor, I must say I enjoyed the added texture. They made the waffles almost chewy, but in a good way, not in an undercooked and rubbery way. The real trick to almost any frozen waffle is to make sure you toast them up for long enough so that you get that crunchy outside, soft inside, and then with these, the chewy add-ins.

At first I thought that the taste was a bit reminiscent of whole wheat pasta, although I can’t remember the last time I’ve had some so I can’t verify that assumption for sure. I did like the fact that they were really just basic, plain waffles, and could be accompanied by any sort of topping or side without clashing. I found the peanut butter made a very good pair, but you could always go for the more traditional maple syrup or jam.

 

And if you were really brave, I bet these could even go well in a vegan version of “chicken” and waffles.

 

Maple Cinnamon

 

Opening the package and taking a deep whiff of the aromatic scent of maple and cinnamon, they smelled absolutely divine. Two of my favorite flavors in one waffle, honestly, how bad could it be?

 

These also had the same sort of whole wheat healthy feeling to them, which is definitely growing one me as I continue to eat them. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to discover that the initial intensity of maple and spice had worn off after cooking, and they tasted more like just your average waffle. Not a bad thing, but nothing particularly special either. They wouldn’t have enough flavor to satisfy the syrup lover in you, so additional maple syrup could be a wise choice. I found that this type went very well with pumpkin butter, keeping the theme of spices entact. It just depends on what you’re most into, but you really don’t need to buy this specific flavor to get the same results. Sadly, it’s the toppings that make the difference.

So, I guess they were basically what I had expected; Decent, easy to prepare during an average breakfast time, and relatively tasty. In addition, these waffles are very healthy, so I don’t feel at all guilty about eating them for the first meal of the day. Still, I think we could all agree that nothing beats homemade.

It all began innocently enough – The simple quest to sample various vegan ice creams, not necessarily to compare to the “real thing,” but to see how they stacked up as an enjoyable dessert by themselves. How far wrong my search inadvertently veered, into that dark, unfriendly realm of vegan foods that make omnivores shudder and exclaim, “Ugh! With ‘substitutes’ like that, why would anyone ever go vegan?!” and further weakens my usually unfaltering belief that soybeans can be a reasonable substitute for just about anything that would usually be an animal or animal product.

I had previously bought the travel-sized boxes of of soymilk also offered by Soy Dream, which I found to be perfectly decent, (Really, how could you make bad soymilk anyway?) So I was sadly surprised that the quality and taste of their “ice cream” left much to be desired.

French Vanilla

At first glance as I opened the lid, I thought that perhaps something went wrong when coloring was added to the product inside, or maybe it had gone bad some how? Staring me in the face was this creamy, yellow soy-based ice cream. Not like taxi cab yellow, but much more pronounced than I would expect for something labeled as “French Vanilla.”

Digging in nonetheless, I found that the ice cream was at first touted a very bright vanilla taste, but as I continued to stuff my face, it soon became sickeningly sweet. How weird. As awful as it is, in my pre-vegan days, I had had to drink Ensure supplements frequently, but found the vanilla taste absolutely nauseating. Maybe this was due to the fact that one of the first ingredients was high-fructose corn syrup, followed by oil, and then more sugar. As much as I wanted to enjoy this, I really couldn’t stomach much more than ½ cup of this at a time, at generously spaced intervals. Maybe if eaten only once a week, it’s not completely vomit-inducing, but it just brings up some really awful memories for me.

Strawberry Swirl

Lifting the lid, I had to double check the label to make sure I hadn’t grabbed the vanilla again, considering how pale the contents of the container were! Atleast it looked a little more natural, without outrageous added colors, so I hoped for the best as I spooned out a bowlful. I noticed there were even darker spots of pink, indicating the supposed existence of real strawberries.

At first bite, I was taken aback by the intense flavor. Not at all what I had thought based on its appearance. Unfortunately, it tasted extremely… artificial. Nothing like strawberries found in nature, and more like those chemically enhanced children’s fruit snacks, only frozen. The darker spots even tasted sour, not at all pleasant, really. As disappointed as I was with the vanilla, the strawberry was downright repulsive. My greatest regret is having the remainder of the pint to go through.

Admittedly, theses are only two of the ten different flavors that are offered by Soy Dream, and in fact, I even have another one (Chocolate) sitting in my freezer, purchased by my mom. She reports that it’s actually very enjoyable, quite contrary to my reactions towards the contents of the other cartons I explored. Comparing it to something akin to a chocolate sorbet, she went further to say that it feels almost light and airy, as opposed to the standard density of cow’s milk ice cream.

Even after that glowing review… I find myself too scared to give this brand another try. Maybe somehow I managed to pick only their worst varieties, and all the rest happen to be the cream of the crop, so to speak. And who knows? These flavors I reviewed could still strike your fancy, but… I personally will not be buy them again.

Sometimes the best intentions aren’t enough to produce delicious food, and while I admire the attempt and appreciate the effort to put more vegan items on the grocery store shelves… If this is a soy dream, I may have some trouble getting to sleep tonight.