Tag: vegan food

BOSH! Plant Based Foods

Autumn, Food & Drink, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

While my family isn’t vegetarian, we do try to have a meat free day each week. I’m a keen cook and love nothing more than making meals from scratch and experimenting with flavours but during the week, I’m afraid it’s a different story. By the time I get home from work, I’m shattered and the last thing I want to do is start cooking so all I want is something quick and easy that I can pop in the oven or microwave. So I was so delighted when BOSH! got in touch to see if we wanted to try a selection of their new plant based meals.

If you haven’t heard of them before the brand was founded back in 2016 by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby and are now one of the UK’s most influential plant-based food brands. With over a million cookbooks sold, 3.5 million social followers, and 4 billion video views they’ve inspired countless people to eat more plants, and even Gordon Ramsay has credited them with “putting vegan food on the map.”

Now, they’ve brought that same passion and creativity to supermarket shelves with a new range of eight ready meals and pizzas, launched in Tesco stores nationwide at the beginning of October. It’s one of the biggest plant-based food launches the UK has seen in years, with each dish inspired by BOSH!’s most popular recipes. The meals are packed with flavour, nutrition, and plenty of plant-based protein and start at just £3.95, which makes them great value for busy families who still want a proper meal at the end of the day.

The line-up includes:

  • N’duja Sourdough Pizza
  • Margherita Sourdough Pizza
  • Creamy No-Duja Pasta
  • Goan Chickpea Curry
  • Creamy Mac & Greens
  • Teriyaki Mushroom Noodles
  • Hearty Vegetable Lasagne
  • Ultimate Bean Chilli

So on to the important part – how do they taste?

The Hearty Vegetable Lasagne  was delicious, packed full of vegetables, and layered with a beautifully smooth béchamel sauce – proper comfort food and perfect for chilly autumn nights. My personal favourite was the Goan Chickpea Curry, rich and warmly spiced, every bit as good my homemade version. The addition of onion bhajis on the side took it up a level and was the sort of thing you’d expect from a takeaway, not a ready meal.

The Creamy No-Duja Pasta was another favourite. The sauce was rich and had plenty of flavour and the broccoli still had a bit of bite – no soggy vegetables here! My husband, a devoted meat-eater, tried the Ultimate Bean Chilli and was pleasantly surprised. He said the texture was lovely, and the seasoning spot on and he didn’t miss the meat at all.

I’m quite fussy when it comes to ready-made pizzas, all too often, the bases are tough and there’s very little toppings on them so these were a nice surprise. The Spicy No-Duja Pizza came with a sachet of hot maple drizzle that gave it a wonderful balance of sweetness and heat, while the Margherita Sourdough Pizza was lifted beautifully by a drizzle of vibrant green basil pesto. The crusts were crisp and fluffy and tasted more like a restaurant pizza than a ready made one. I really do hope they consider making these in a larger size!

We’re really impressed with the BOSH! meals we tried, they’re convenient, but more importantly taste absolutely delicious. Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or just want to  cut down on meat, these meals are proof that quick food doesn’t have to mean compromising on flavour or quality.

NEW Plant Based Range at Costa Coffee

chocolate, coffee, Family Life, Food & Drink, health, Lunchbox Fillers, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Whether you’re an old hand vegan or starting out on your vegan journey this January, Costa have a surprising amount of food items on their menu which are perfect for you. We were sent out to our local Costa Coffee to see what was available and check out the new items on the menu.

For 2024, there are their new Hot Milkshakes. In three flavours, White Chocolate and Strawberry, Salted Caramel Coffee, and Chocolate Hazel they are thick like a milkshake, but made with warm milk and topped with different flavoured sprinkles, dependant on what flavour you order. They’re a cross between a hot chocolate and a milkshake, especially with the Light Whip cream on top to make it extra indulgent.

We tried items from the Plant Based menu, including this Plant Based Saucy Chicken Fajita Wrap.  It doesn’t contain chicken at all; every ingredient is plant based, but the substitutes taste like chicken and even have a chicken-like texture.  They’re slightly lighter than the meat version though, with the ‘chicken’ pieces as you would imagine, a tortilla wrap, roasted peppers and a spicy tomato sauce.  We paired that with a beautiful Chocolate Tiffin Cake, which although it’s not plant-based, it is vegetarian.  If you’re not into chocolate for New Year, then there’s a new range of cakes (which are also vegetarian) such as new Banana Loaf Cake and new Orange and Raspberry Victoria Sponge.  Anyone who remembers the Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake will be very pleased to see that it’s back on the menu and as delicious as always! 

Lastly, there are the assortment of Costa drinks. It sometimes feels like you could have a different drink every day of the month and still not try all of them in their different configurations of milks, toppings and additions but the staple drinks we all love are still there – namely coffee.  We tried a Salted Caramel Frappé which was made vegan with coconut milk instead of cow’s milk and the whipped cream on top was vegan too.  The drink is laced with Salted Caramel and topped with tiny caramel pieces which not only add to the flavour but add a gorgeous texture as well.  I found that the Chicken Fajita Wrap, Chocolate Tiffin and Salted Caramel Frappé were all very filling and no different to a meat-eating lunch I would normally choose. 

Costa Coffee Plant Based items are available in store and you can see their menu and prices here: https://www.costa.co.uk/menu

Higgidy Snacking and Picnic Food

Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

We did intend to bring you lots of products to showcase an amazing summer, picnics outside and BBQ season, but given the weather, we’re sitting indoors comfort eating instead!

Despite the weather, Higgidy have a massive range of foods for sharing, snacking, picnics and to cater for vegan and vegetarian friends. Their handy sharing sizes and snacking mini quiches make them ideal for any time of year, not just summer, and can be for lunch or dinner too.  We were sent a selection of items to try out, including;

  • Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche
  • Bang Bang Cauliflower Dinky Vegan Rolls
  • Sunblush Tomato & Cheddar Mini Muffins
  • Cheddar & Spinach Mini Muffins
  • Spinach, Feta & Red Pepper Little Lattices

Quite the variety!  The snacks we were sent were vegetarian, not vegan, with the exception of the Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche. I had tried one or two of the Higgidy foods before but never any of this variety, so picnic I did… albeit indoors!

All of the foods can be eaten straight from the box cold, or heated up. I preferred to have them heated but it depends how you like the eat them.  As part of a packed lunch, they’re perfect because they’re already prepared, there’s nothing that needs adding to them and you can eat a selection at a time or a whole quiche for instance.  The sharing boxes are designed to pack easily for picnics or taking out with children.  The boxes are also great for hands to dip into and share!

I loved the Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche with its light fluffy texture and ultra thin crust.  I warmed it in the oven and it’s very easy to eat just with a fork. The Spinach, Feta & Red Pepper Little Lattices are like little pockets where you can’t taste either the feta or the vegetables but they are there, and combined create a lovely ensemble.  The Sunblush Tomato & Cheddar Mini Muffins and Cheddar & Spinach Mini Muffins were each delicious when warmed in the oven, with my favourite being the Cheddar & Spinach Mini Muffins. They’re really filling but very soft, especially when warmed and each of them has a lovely flavour of Cheddar Cheese to them. The Bang Bang Cauliflower Dinky Vegan roles were a hit in my house because of their lovely spicy flavour to them, but all vegan so there’s some healthy veg in there too!

Higgidy have ample more food on their website and selected supermarkets store a whole range of their sharing nibbles and snacks, including Waitrose and Ocado:

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/search?&searchTerm=higgidy