Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
With Veganary in full swing, it is still difficult for a new vegan to find plant based items around, unless you know what you’re looking for.
Available in Tesco stores, we were sent a selection of Vegan cupboard staples to try for Veganary and with some surprising results – both easy to cook and delicious!
First, we tried the Paxo Meat Free Meatball Mix and the Meat Free Burger Mix. The packets both contain 120g of mixture and cook at the same temperature so I made a batch of each at the same time.
The Burger mix makes 4 good sized burgers. The instructions are similar for both the burgers and the meatballs; add 180ml of cool water to the mixture and stir in, then leave for 5 minutes for the mixture to firm. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (180 degrees for a fan assisted oven) then shape into patties or meatballs.
The mixtures are actually quite different in texture and taste, so starting with the burgers, I made up the mixture and let it stand. You can smell the aromas of the added herbs and spices as soon as you open the packet, so even just letting it stand, you can smell what they’re going to taste like. I used a spoon to put the mixture onto a baking tray, with grease proof paper underneath to make them easier to remove. They kept their shape very well, and if you wanted to get to ‘expert level’ with these mixtures, you could use a ramekin or something to hold a perfect patty shape if you wanted to. I made up the meatballs in the same way but this time instead of spooning the mixture onto the tray, I used wet hands to shape the meatballs.
Into the oven and each mixture only takes between 16 and 18 minutes to cook. You can fit other things in the oven at the same time as well such as onion or in my case, sweet potato fries.
The burgers came out looking like the same shape I created but the meatballs had lost a little of their firmness and were a bit more like patties rather than meatballs, but it didn’t really matter. The burgers had the same texture as their meat counterparts, just without the little bits of fat in the middle, and had a savoury taste to them. I thought they were a bit dry though, so eating them with a vegan cheese or salad would help, or experimenting with the amount of water you use. The meatballs were a similar texture but had different flavours because of the herbs and spices added to them. They would work well in a tomato sauce though, so again, experimenting would be beneficial.
We also had two different flavour lunch pots; Plantastic Protein Boost Cajun Rice and Plantastic Protein Boost Satay Noodles with Sweet Pepper. These are great for children or for adults as a snack as they’re easy and quick to make. With boiling water, fill the cup to the ‘fill’ level and stir, leaving for 2 minutes. Stir again after another 3 minute and they’ll be ready to eat.
Each pot is 68 grams net and 100% plant based. They’re high in protein and have virtually no fat.
The flavours of Cajun Rice and Satay Noodles make a change to the usual bland plant based recipes you find in shops, and are probably more closely associated with other brands who do similar pot meals. The Cajun Rice with Tomato and Pepper transformed the room with its flavour emanating from when I opened it to when I poured on the boiling water. I really enjoyed the flavour as well as the texture of the rice and tomato pieces. It was a hot flavour too, which was great on a cold day! The Satay Noodles with Sweet Red Pepper was also tasty and had an authentic satay flavour to them. I don’t normally eat noodles though so this was a nice change for a snack.
Lastly, we had the Plantastic Millionaire’s Flapjacks with Chocolate and Caramel. Combining both a millionaire’s shortbread and a flapjack but completely plant based, this was a nice snack in the afternoon which the whole office enjoyed! The ‘biscuit’ base was a bit grainy and more like a shortbread than a flap jack, but you could taste the chocolate and caramel easily. Apart for the slight grainy-nss, you couldn’t tell that they were entirely plant based.
Available from Tesco Asda and Sainsburys:
Plantastic Protein Boost Pots from £1.29 each
Plantastic Millionaire flapjacks from £2.25 a box
Paxo Meat Free burger and Meatball mixes from £2.25 a box
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