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: Sweet Earth Kyoto Burrito

This is kind of embarrassing, but I yelped when I saw my Target carried Sweet Earth burritos. Hand over heart, I saw a woman who was perusing the ice cream turn around and ask, “Is there a dog in here?”

I was just super excited, because I’ve read great things about this brand on Another Hungry Vegan (one of my favorite vegan food blogs, by the way, and an inspiration for my site!)

It was definitely a trial deciding which one to buy, but I finally settled on the Kyoto: Japanese adzuki beans, edemame, baby bok choy, fresh baby spinach, ginger, carrots, brown rice, seitan and shiitake mushrooms. Side-note: why is the spinach the only ingredient that’s “fresh”? I mean, it’s frozen food, so strictly speaking none of this is fresh. Or was the spinach picked right before this burrito was all wrapped up? Another unsolved mystery… Right up there with the Bermuda Triangle.

I thought this was pretty decently-sized–and it has 11 grams of protein, nice! It was so cool, after I microwaved it it smelled like a Japanese restaurant. Unexpected and awesome, like hearing an African-American with a British accent. The worlds-colliding factor definitely worked in this burrito’s favor. The light, yes, fresh-tasting veggies paired really well with the flour tortilla. In fact, the vegetables were the dominant flavor–I couldn’t really pick up on the brown rice, although I did get one particularly satisfying chunk of seitan. (Sweet Earth Foods knows what they’re doing with their seitan.)

Don’t let it’s un-photogenicness scare you.

 

If you love edemame beans, you’ll love this burrito, because it was crammed full of them. Altogther, I thought it was a delicious, unique variation on the classic burrito. The flavors melded together wonderfully and the dish was light yet filling. My one complaint: the tortilla cooked a little un-evenly… but I’m chalking that up to the microwave’s fault.

Cost: $3.99

Rating: 7/10

Would I buy again: Yes

Product Review: Brownie Batter JunoBar

It’s time to reveal a secret: I love bars. No, not the type most college kids love–I’m more about Clif bars than Pina Coladas, and instead of a beer, I’d much rather have a Brownie Batter JunoBar 😉

I keep a stash of bars in my desk, much like a chipmunk socks away nuts. Nutrition bars are tasty, reasonably healthy, and portable. What’s not to like???

This baby, by BumbleBar, is one of my new favorites.

When I read the name I was pretty suspicious. “Call a spade a spade,” and all that. Brownies are chock-full of sugar and flour and oil. These are not. Yet when I bit into the bar, the distinct taste of brownies filled my mouth! The chocolate flavor was rich and deep without being too sweet and melted wonderfully on the tongue.

Delicious it may be… photogenic it is not.

I was also a big fan of the texture. This was quite soft and chewy, interrupted by the occasional crispy quinoa chunk.

So how did this compare to its sister, the Apple Crisp JunoBar? Although their look and mouth-feel are almost identical, I definitely enjoyed the Brownie Batter more. It was sweeter and tasted more dessert-like, which my sucrose-loving taste buds adored. In terms of ingredients, they only differ in that the Brownie has cocoa where the Apple has (surprise) apples. I guess it makes a huge difference!

Cost: C/O (but it looks like they’re $2.69 on the website)

Rating: 7/10

Would I buy again: Yes

Vegan Boston Bucket List

In a little less than a month, I’ll be heading to Boston for my summer internship. Although food-wise, Boston is primarily known for its clam chowder, cannoli, and baked beans, there are also amazing vegan options. Not only did I try some great restaurants when I interned there last summer, but I’ve been stalking Yelp and bookmarking my little heart out. Here are the places that I can’t wait to try:

Never been:

• True Bistro. This is an upscale, all-vegan dinner spot offering globally-inspired cuisine. Although I’m not sure I can technically afford it ($16 a plate? gulp) then I might just have to splurge. I’d love to try their Smoky Potato-Kale Cake, made with cashew cheese, smoked tofu, romesco sauce, and fresh thyme, and their Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler, served with orange zest and strawberry ice cream
• Root. Fresh, American-style vegan food and juices with a casual atmosphere and moderate prices. On my “to-try” list is their Sweet Potato Quesadilla, served with a creamy thyme sauce, and the Basil Lemonade.
• Veggie Planet. Man oh man, it’s been way too long since I’ve had a good vegan pizza. Like… never. So I can’t wait to go this Harvard Square restaurant and try their meat-free, dairy-free options. What sounds the best? The Peanut Curry pie: dough, topped with coconut rice, topped with broccoli and Thai peanut sauce, topped with fried tofu croutons and peanuts.
• FoMu. Amazing plant-based ice-cream that omnivores and herbivores alike love? Ugh, I’m so excited I can’t even tell you. All of the flavors sound good, but there’s no way the Salted Caramel won’t be decadent, and I’m intrigued by the Apple Cider Donut.
• Taco Party. I’m not positive I’ll be trying this food truck, but if I’m in its neighborhood (or, I guess, it’s in mine) I’ll give it a try. I mean, it’s a vegan taco stand–I’m almost obligated! Some of the options sound too fried/bready/saucy for me, but the Porto Asada taco– tamari marinated portobella mushroom served with cabbage, lime cilantro onion relish and black sesame seed– sounds yummy.

Tried and Loved:

• Life Alive. This restaurant is a fresh-foods-and-granola lover’s paradise. But even if you’re not a hippie, you’ll be superbly satisfied by their huge, vibrant salads and nutrient-packed bowls.
• Sweetgreen. Last summer I ate lunch here almost every day, which although my stomach loved, my wallet did not. Their Spicy Sabzi salad, which has organic baby spinach and shredded kale with spicy quinoa, spicy broccoli, carrots, raw beets, basil, sprouts and roasted tofu, topped with a carrot chili vinaigrette and a squeeze of sriracha, is worth waiting in line with every other female professional in a twenty-mile radius. 

So there you have it–my food bucket list! I haven’t even gotten to the Whole Foods dream grocery list or the cafes and delis outside of Boston… Looks like it’s going to be one yummy summer.

 

Product Review: Dr. McDougall’s Pad Thai

There was a boy at my high school  named–well, let’s call him Seth. (His name was actually Seth, and I know him still, so let’s hope he doesn’t read this.) Seth brought his lunch and snacks to school every day in individual jars. His backpack was always stuffed, but not with binders or books… with jars. Of course, he was teased endlessly. I mean, this was high school, and most guys didn’t show up with any food, let alone food in jars.

Let me tell you, Seth was onto something. As mason jars became super trendy in the Instagram/Tumblr/blog world, I hopped on the jar-wagon (haha) and started storing all of my food in jars. They’re re-usable, easy to clean, portable, and kind of cute! Sorry for laughing, Seth.

Anyways, how does this relate? I made this Dr. McDougall’s Pad Thai entree three days ago, tasted it, and then stuck it in a jar–where it is sticking still. I really wanted to like it, especially after the scathing review I gave Dr. McDougall’s Lentil Curry Pilaf. However, it was pretty mediocre.

When I opened up the package of seasonings to pour over the noodles, I was semi-alarmed by its neon orange, Kraft-esque color, yet ignored my qualms. Packaged food comes at a price, right? The noodles and sauce combo certainly smelled pretty authentic: peanutty with a slight tang. I optimistically forged ahead.

Besides a faint tingling on my tongue that told me there was a little spice in the mix, I barely tasted anything. This was just super bland. It needed salt, or Sriracha, or salt and Sriracha– actually, it needed a whole new sauce. The noodles had a good texture and consistency, but I felt like I was eating plain noodles, which everyone knows isn’t a very stimulating taste experience. Into the jar this went, where I promised myself I’d add soy sauce, a little bit of peanut butter, some sugar, some lime juice, and some SODIUM. I haven’t done that yet, however, and now it’s making me feel guilty.

Cost: $3.95

Rating: 3/10

Would I buy again: No

Product Review: Lundberg Honey Dijon Rice Chips

(Please note that for those who don’t eat honey, well, the name says it all.)

When I was in elementary school, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were a  huge deal. Forget Lays, or Fritos, or Doritos– it was all about that bright orange, red, and yellow bag. I’m pretty sure we were all trained, Pavlovian-dog status, to salivate as soon as we caught sight of the (admittedly noxious) color combo. Most of us could convince our parents to buy us some once in a great while, but one particularly lucky girl I knew received a four-serving bag in her lunch every single day. Unfortunately, she was not only lucky but sadistic. Joffrey* (name has been changed) would share her chips, but only after you had proved your inferiority performed some humiliating act, like eaten a Cheeto smeared in dirt or tried to kiss a howling male class-mate.

I could see myself developing a passion for these Lundberg chips equivalent to my love for Cheetos. I’m just glad I don’t have to eat any dirt to get them… and that I’m no longer in elementary school. Say what you want about how cute kids are, I’m just glad I got out with my head.

These chips are delicious, although their flavor is predictably much more sophisticated than Cheetos. Size-wise, they were pretty hefty, and generously dusted with powder–albeit only on one side of the chip. Am I the only one who likes when both sides are flavored so I can lick one side clean without robbing the bite of all seasoning? However, it has to be said there was a LOT of air in this bag; only about one-third was actually filled with chips.

The dijon mustard was the dominant first taste, whereas the sweetness of the honey claimed the after-taste. I loved the contrast between the sugary honey and the salty mustard. Obviously, the honey tempered the bitterness, so this had a much less vinegar-y taste than plain dijon mustard.

The chip itself had a great texture: grainy, thick, and hearty. Although these are rice chips, I mostly tasted corn. After I checked out the ingredients I saw corn flour was third on the list.

Cost: $3.59 (Campus market, need I say more?)

Rating: 8/10

Would I buy again: Definitely– but I want to try the other flavors first!

 

 

Product Review: Dr. McDougall’s Lentil Curry Pilaf

My school has boxes and boxes of Dr. McDougall’s Lentil Curry Pilaf near the check-out at one of the sandwich venues. I’ve never seen anyone buy them–but someone must be, because there’s been a ready supply of them ever since I started school. (Or maybe they’re the same 50 boxes that have been there all along?) I decided it was time to give this vegan and gluten-free option a go.

Preparing it filled my kitchen with a wonderful, aromatic fragrance. I was a little disappointed with the small serving size, but as long as it was big on flavor, I could deal.

Spoiler alert: it was not big on flavor. In fact, it was bland and way under-seasoned. I wasn’t surprised the directions advised adding in extras like raisins or peas– there definitely wasn’t enough in this dish to satisfy me as is. In addition, the texture was quite odd. The sauce was grainy and the rice was so hard it felt like it had barely been cooked, while the lentils and vegetables were too soft.

Although there’s supposed to be a lot of spices in this, the only one I could pick up on was cinnamon, and it was more like a ghost of cinnamon than the real thing. I definitely didn’t finish the bowl.

Cost: 3.95 at my campus market (yeesh, I doubt you’d have to pay this much in the “real world”)

Would I buy again: Nope

Rating: 3/10

Product Review: EatPastry Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

 

 

 

What are the top three things people say when they find out you’re vegan? I usually get: “I could never do that… I love bacon way too much.” “I could never do that… I love burgers way too much.” “I could never do that… I love steak way too much.”

Just once I wish someone would say something that surprised me, like “I could never do that… I’m a huge fan of flamingo meat.”

Anyways, at least no one can say they could never be vegan because there are no good desserts! I was super excited to try this EatPastry dessert, because A) chocolate chips, B) peanut butter, and C) COOKIE DOUGH.

I cracked open the lid and took a big whiff. The dough smelled kind of like peanut butter — and kind of like crayons. Or maybe that was the plastic container, I’m not sure. I foraged on.

This consistency of this was a spot-on replica of the Toll House chocolate chip cookies my mom and I used to bake. Very scoopable, a little greasy, and with nice chunks of chocolate interspersed without. I’m sure you could eat these plain, but I wanted the real deal, so I scooped them onto a baking sheet and waited nine way-too-long minutes.

These went in the oven as big as a teaspoon, and came out that size too. Maybe they didn’t rise at all because of the dough. They did come out soft and light, with a crispy bottom.

It took me a little detect to taste the peanut butter; at first, this just tasted like a regular chocolate chip cookie. It was there after, but subtler than I would have liked. After all, ground Valencia peanuts are the second ingredient on the list. However, as far as chocolate chip cookies go, this was a darn good one. I absolutely could not tell it was vegan. It even had that buttery taste and texture I adored in the cookies of my youth! In addition, the chocolate was just right: not too sweet, not too bitter, and nicely interspersed.

Cost: $6.99

Would I buy again: Definitely–I really want to try the other flavors too

Rating: 8/10

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

Taste-off: Vegan Trader Joe’s Wraps

In previous posts I’ve discussed my love for TJ’s Grilled Eggplant Wraps. Every time I went to Trader Joe’s, I’d zoom straight to the prepared foods section, completely ignoring all the other offerings for what I considered the ultimate prize. However, one day my friend asked me how I liked the other wraps.

“Well, I’ve never tried them,” I replied.

She gave me a blank stare. “You mean you eat two to three of the eggplant ones per week and you’ve never tried the others?!?” So, dear readers, I took a chance. Here were the results.

The veggie wrap contains a mix of cabbage, carrots, radishes, broccoli, green onions, and parsley, with hummus mixed evenly throughout. The first bite I got was pure cabbage. One thing that annoys me about these wraps is that there’s not very much stuffing on the ends, so you lose a significant portion of “balanced flavor” bites. And unlike the Eggplant wrap, there was no sauce mixture coating the lavash, so that chunk full of slaw and wheat was pretty un-enjoyable.

I liked the next bite better, as I got into the rest of the vegetables.

The garbanzo bean flavor was quite strong; it didn’t really taste like traditional hummus, more like straight-up mashed chickpeas. There was a lemony, slightly acidic flavor that I couldn’t tell if I enjoyed or not. Honestly, although I finished the whole thing, that confusion characterized the entire experience–did I like this? I couldn’t tell. (Never a good sign.)

In terms of texture, this was good. The lavash stayed soft even though it had been several days since I had gone to Trader Joe’s, and the vegetables were nice n’ crunchy. I also liked how packed this was. This kind of reminded me of a chicken salad, in terms of consistency and flavor.

But I can’t recommend it, since my feelings were lukewarm at best.

Cost: $3.99

Would I buy again: Nah

Rating: 6/10

The Spicy Lentil Wrap was greeted with enthusiastic cries by my check-out woman.

“Oh my god, this is a staff favorite,” she gushed. Do my Eggplant wraps ever get that kind of acclaim? Nope, never. In fact, they rolled by on the… black rubber rolling thing? What’s the name for that?!? Anyways, I digress. They rolled by and she didn’t say a word. So my expectations for these were high.

The lentils are strong with this one.

And… I didn’t love ’em. They start out with the same wrap basics: lavash, cabbage, canola oil, spices. Then, some lentil and bulgar is added into the mix. I don’t know, there just wasn’t a whole lot of flavor here! The lentils were gushy and bland, and I didn’t enjoy the spicy tahini dressing. It just tasted like watery almonds to me. Hey, you can buy that! It’s called almond milk.

Cost: $3.99

Would I buy again: No

Rating: 7/10

Ultimately, it all comes down to the Grilled Eggplant wraps. These are mere shadows, keeping to the corners while he basks in the golden glow of my affection.

Don’t worry, big guy. That was the last time I’ll stray.