I heard so much hype about the new range of vegan food products that were being bought out by the biggest frozen food supplier and supermarket Iceland.
I first my heart did a happy dance and then sunk. I am a vegan who is coeliac, and I feel so excluded from all the new vegan trends. New foods such as the Vivera range and the vegan minced beef from Sainsbury’s. A lot of these products contain wheat or made from seitan which is a wheat gluten product.
I was surprised that at least four of the new food from Iceland was gluten-free too. So I trundled off and bought the following products. This is my interpretation of how I felt they performed and what they bought to the table. It would be great to hear what others think of the products. I did want to try the sausages but I admit the look put me off a bit.
- No Bull Mince beef
- No Bull burger
- No Chick chicken strips
- No Bull Meatballs
The first one I tried was the mince product, I must admit This one I was the most excited about. With this, I made vegan chilli. Now I normally make gorgeous hearty chilli with beans, a real rib-sticker, which is what I expect from a good one. Once defrosted I put it in a pan and to be honest I was disappointed. The mince bits were way too small. I carried on and added the rest of the ingredients, but to be honest, I was still not impressed and this followed through once I had eaten some. For me, this is No Need product as it didn’t add anything to the dish in regards flavour or bulk. My chillis and lasagne will be bean and lentil-based from now own. Think sloppy joe consistency
Next came the No Bull burgers. These were the first product out of Iceland stable. I had heard so many great reviews about this product. For me, a burger is a rare find. My partner cooked it up as on the cooking instructions and it looked so delicious with the nice char-grilled top. I could not wait to chow down. Then, oh no the middle was cold. I have tried another and happy to report I love these, they do however need a longer cooking time than instructed. These will be fabulous on the BBQ. Well done Iceland.
I did not know what I was expecting with the chicken strips. I think I was expecting to see something like the Quorn pieces. I was really surprised that these looked like frozen chicken strips. At first, I thought they looked too real. I had the perfect recipe to try these out on, no chick and mushroom pie. I had made a leek and mushroom pie earlier for the blog so wanted to try these in a recipe. I absolutely love these and so far are my definite favourite. I cannot wait to try them in a Thai curry or fragrant stir fry. I will buy 2 bags on my next shopping trip.
Last on my list was the No Bull Meatballs. Now I must admit I am not really someone who eats meatballs generally. These looked really nice when I opened the packet. They have a really short cooking time in which they look wonderfully brown. I cooked them to this point and then stirred them through my pasta sauce. The texture and taste were lovely. I think if you are a fan of all things meatball, then these will be just the thing for you.
Well, those are the four that I tested. This was not a blog about whether vegans should eat food that resembles animal products. For me, anything that helps create new vegans works for me. Well done to Iceland Food. I cannot comment on the vegan food range that contained wheat or gluten for obvious reasons. Apart from the minced beef, I was happy with the products and shall definitely be returning.
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