Product Review: Amy’s Gluten Free Teriyaki Wrap

I’ve made it my mission to try every vegan burrito known to man-kind. The Kyoto burrito, the basic beans n’ rice burrito, the sushi burrito, the tofu burrito, the black bean burrito, the sweet potato burrito, the samosa burrito… Okay, now I’m just thinking of foods I like and adding burrito the end. The latest on my burrito bucket list was Amy’s Gluten Free Teriyaki Wrap. Sigh, buying the gluten free was a total accident.

This has a lot of great stuff in it, including  brown rice, tofu, soy beans, mushrooms, green beans, carrots, water chestnuts, tamari, and pineapple juice. So, basically stir-fry in a tortilla!

Like all Amy’s burritos, it’s a little on the small side. However, the tortilla held up nicely!

This wasn’t very flavorful until I drenched it in soy sauce. Although it had the traditional teriyaki flavor, it was pretty faint. (Actually, I just realized the sauce was almost exactly like the sauce in Amy’s Light and Lean Sweet and Sour bowl.) I wanted this to be either sweeter or saltier–the bland, “no man’s land” taste wasn’t doing it for me. On the plus side, this had a good mix of tofu, veggies, and rice, and I loved the thickness of the tortilla.

Cost: $2.44

Rating: 5/10

Would I buy again: No

 

Product Review: Amy’s Sheperd’s Pie

My roommate and I get way too excited about food.

Case in point: I’m sitting in my room, studying for my Linguistics midterm (cough reading Game of Thrones) when she comes bounding in.

“Hey, did you see that Sandwich Factory had vegan sheperd’s pies?!” She asked me.

“No way!” I yelled. “Let’s go!”

So even though we were both in our pajamas, we walked a half-mile to one of our campus eateries so we could buy these pies. Talk about high expectations, right?

And then after all that, I put my pie in the fridge and promptly forgot about for a couple days.

Traditionally, this dish is made with vegetables, beef, and a crust of mashed potatoes. Amy’s version obviously skips the meat–plus, it’s low in sodium! Honesty time: sodium is one of those things I don’t care about or pay attention to but feel like I should.

I un-boxed this and was a little dismayed to see the plastic was smeared with frozen food. It looked like the pie hadn’t stayed confined to its bowl. Kind of unappetizing, but I forged on and popped it in the microwave.

On the plus side, this made my kitchen smell amazing. The aroma was quite homey, rustic, and comforting. I felt like I was in Game of Thrones, about to tuck into my hardy dinner before riding off to defeat those nasty Lannisters.

As you can see, the mashed potato crust “slid” off its foundation a little bit. The crust was really good–it tasted buttery, probably due to the safflower oil, and had the optimal saltiness level. Definitely the mashed potatoes of my youth that I know and love.

However, the veggies underneath were a bit watery and bland. The melange almost tasted like pizza sauce, as the dominating taste was oregano or a similar spice. I ended up leaving about half of the vegetables un-eaten.

Consistency-wise, this was spot-on: nice and soft, with a thick topping and tenderized Garbanzo beans. The size was also pretty good. Even though I didn’t eat all of it, it was filling, and only 160 calories.

Ultimately, I just wish they had changed the spice profile or made the veggies more flavorful.

Cost: $4.95 (definitely over-priced because I bought it on-campus)

Rating: 6/10

Would I buy again: No