Veganism, new and old Vegans, info, support and recipes

[editor]

I'm not usually one to buy products from companies famous for their meat products, but I tried Richmond vegan sausages recently and they were absolutely delicious. If anyone is recently converted to veggie/veganism and is missing their meat, these should do the job. Such is the taste, I had to double check the packaging!

They're made from a soya-based protein, 57.5 calories per sausage and are just £2.20 for a pack of eight.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304381808

 

[PaoloSanchez]

Has anyone tried these guys burger and sosmix?

Veggies Burger & Sosage Mixes – The UK’s most ethical choice

The UK's Most Ethical Burger & Sosage Mixes handmade in vegan premises by a co-operative with over 35 years experience of vegan campaign catering!

www.veggies.org.uk

I've tried googling but their name 'veggies' makes it impossible to track down any real reviews.

I haven't tried them but they seem like a good ethical business that I would want to support. (and they're local to me too)
As far as reviews are concerned, I would suggest maybe trying a sample yourself and see what you think, because everybody's taste buds and texture preferences are different.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I haven't tried them but they seem like a good ethical business that I would want to support. (and they're local to me too)
As far as reviews are concerned, I would suggest maybe trying a sample yourself and see what you think, because everybody's taste buds and texture preferences are different.

I guess it's not too expensive to give it a go. I don't buy burger mix, but do you think 900kg for a tenner is OK? Three quid of that is postage though, and sadly doesn't drop for bulk orders.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I'm not usually one to buy products from companies famous for their meat products, but I tried Richmond vegan sausages recently and they were absolutely delicious. If anyone is recently converted to veggie/veganism and is missing their meat, these should do the job. Such is the taste, I had to double check the packaging!

They're made from a soya-based protein, 57.5 calories per sausage and are just £2.20 for a pack of eight.

View attachment 213642

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304381808

I'll check them out, but their actual meat sausages are so vile it's slighty hard to imagine they could make anything that tastes good. I bought some (a couple of times) in the reduced section because they were 50p (and even lower) but when you can't actually stomach eating them at all no price, however bargain, is worth it. So horrible.

 

[editor]

I'll check them out, but their actual meat sausages are so vile it's slighty hard to imagine they could make anything that tastes good. I bought some (a couple of times) in the reduced section because they were 50p (and even lower) but when you can't actually stomach eating them at all no price, however bargain, is worth it. So horrible.

I used to buy their 'meat' sausages when I was really, really broke decades ago and they were indeed awful. I think it was them who made extra cheap turkey sausages which were about 90% gristle with what tasted like sawdust added too, so I really wasn't expecting much from these. But they are lovely.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I used to buy their 'meat' sausages when I was really, really broke decades ago and they were indeed awful. I think it was them who made extra cheap turkey sausages which were about 90% gristle with what tasted like sawdust added too, so I really wasn't expecting much from these. But they are lovely.

Their sausages aren't even 'that' cheap at full price. I don't understand how anyone can find them appealing.
I'll grab a packet of these if I see them though. I'm fairly easy and don't need my veg meals to taste or look like meat, but that's not how my wife and daughter see things. To get them to really make the leap, it's probably got to look and taste better.

 

[PaoloSanchez]

I guess it's not too expensive to give it a go. I don't buy burger mix, but do you think 900kg for a tenner is OK? Three quid of that is postage though, and sadly doesn't drop for bulk orders.

I've never bought burger mix and approx £10 per kg does sound a bit expensive, but then again if you get 6 burgers out of that mix it might be reasonable value. I have never made burgers from a mix so don't know how to relate the weight of the mix to a burger patty.

Perhaps you can try some of the ready made vegan burgers and sausages available in the supermarkets if you haven't already done so and see if you like any of them. Luckily there is an increasing variety available and nearly every supermarket has reasonable vegan options nowadays. We don't really have vegan burgers that often, maybe once every 10 days or so, and most of the time we have the Lidl Spicy Beanburger and occasionally Linda McCartney sausages. I've also tried the No Bull burger from Iceland a few times and found them ok.



Or you can even try making your own mix using their ingredients if you're that way inclined (which I am not).

 

[editor]

i enjoyed reading this. I might even buy some sosmix for old time's sake - I have fond memories of making those DY sausages!

A great example is something I had never heard of until last week: Sosmix. This miracle dry mixture is apparently something every 20th-century vegetarian was familiar with.

I was bought some last week, and I’ve neither talked of, nor cooked, anything else since. What a miracle has unfolded before me. For the carnivores and fellow new plant-eaters among you, I should say it is a mix of dry ingredients roughly resembling fine muesli. You mix 160g of it with 250ml of water, leave it for five minutes, and then fashion it into sausages. It then says to cook them as normal but, disbelieving it could be this simple, I messed around wrapping them in foil and steaming them for an hour first. I had read somewhere this helps firm up homemade plant sausages. I have since found that even this isn’t necessary with Sosmix.

What other meat-free joys of the 70s did I miss? | Adrian Chiles

No more Linda McCartneys in our house: I’ll be making my own banging bangers from now on – from a powder, says Adrian Chiles

www.theguardian.com

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I've never bought burger mix and approx £10 per kg does sound a bit expensive, but then again if you get 6 burgers out of that mix it might be reasonable value. I have never made burgers from a mix so don't know how to relate the weight of the mix to a burger patty.

Perhaps you can try some of the ready made vegan burgers and sausages available in the supermarkets if you haven't already done so and see if you like any of them. Luckily there is an increasing variety available and nearly every supermarket has reasonable vegan options nowadays. We don't really have vegan burgers that often, maybe once every 10 days or so, and most of the time we have the Lidl Spicy Beanburger and occasionally Linda McCartney sausages. I've also tried the No Bull burger from Iceland a few times and found them ok.

View attachment 213647

Or you can even try making your own mix using their ingredients if you're that way inclined (which I am not).

I quite like the iceland no bull burger, but they seem to have stopped them now (well round my way), but I do still have a few in the freezer.
Linda McCartney burgers are great but that's probably because they are so loaded with mozzarella. Her sausages are not for me, yuck.

I have tried making my own, but I am not convinced with the results. The best looking recipes on line seem to require more ingredients and work that I am willing to deal with on a regular basis. I was hoping for an easy, consistant and cheap solution that they whole family would enjoy.

The pack says 40 60g burgers per 1kg bag of dry mix. 40 small burgers, (so probably two per serving) for a tenner?

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

i enjoyed reading this. I might even buy some sosmix for old time's sake - I have fond memories of making those DY sausages!

What other meat-free joys of the 70s did I miss? | Adrian Chiles

No more Linda McCartneys in our house: I’ll be making my own banging bangers from now on – from a powder, says Adrian Chiles

www.theguardian.com

That ethical place I quoted does sosmix, and it's about half the price of anywhere else I found similar stuff on line.

 

[PaoloSanchez]

I quite like the iceland no bull burger, but they seem to have stopped them now (well round my way), but I do still have a few in the freezer.
Linda McCartney burgers are great but that's probably because they are so loaded with mozzarella. Her sausages are not for me, yuck.

To be honest I haven't been that adventurous with mock burgers/sausages. Back in the day when we first went vegan there wasn't a lot around (nothing in regular supermarkets), and we'd get Tivall frankfurter type sausages and Tivall burgers from health food shops. Later we started having Linda McCartney burgers, but like I said, not that often, just once in a while.

I guess the only way to really find out what they're like is to sample what's available from all of the shops and see what excites you and your families taste buds. There does seem to be a lot more available in the last couple of years so hopefully there'll be at least one that you like.

The Iceland No Bull "bleeding" burgers were not bad from what I can remember, but £2 a box of 2 compared to £1.25 for a Lidl box of 4 spicy bean burgers, I don't think it tastes that much better and on top of that we'd have to make a special trip to Iceland whereas we're always in Lidl. Now that you've mentioned it I will go to Iceland and see if they still have them.

The pack says 40 60g burgers per 1kg bag of dry mix. 40 small burgers, (so probably two per serving) for a tenner?

That ethical place I quoted does sosmix, and it's about half the price of anywhere else I found similar stuff on line.

It does look like it's good value so I'd say give the Veggies mix a trial for a tenner, see if you and your family like it and if it's any good, you can do a review for us right here.

Sounds like a plan.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

The Iceland No Bull "bleeding" burgers were not bad from what I can remember, but £2 a box of 2 compared to £1.25 for a Lidl box of 4 spicy bean burgers, I don't think it tastes that much better and on top of that we'd have to make a special trip to Iceland whereas we're always in Lidl. Now that you've mentioned it I will go to Iceland and see if they still have them.

My Iceland burgers don't say they bleed, but to be honest I don't really want blood pouring out of anything, even fake blood.
I only bought them when they were on offer, two boxes for £2. I bought loads, but as my family were not as keen as me we haven't got though them as fas as I thought we would. However my daughter has now said she likes them, and my wife is OK with them now too. That was what got me thinking about getting something to replace them. Something that could do other shapes (like meatballs) they like would be good too.

Just got a bit of pay pal money from selling records so I think I'll give the veggie mix a spin.

 

[RubyToogood]

I quite like the iceland no bull burger, but they seem to have stopped them now (well round my way), but I do still have a few in the freezer.
Linda McCartney burgers are great but that's probably because they are so loaded with mozzarella. Her sausages are not for me, yuck.

I have tried making my own, but I am not convinced with the results. The best looking recipes on line seem to require more ingredients and work that I am willing to deal with on a regular basis. I was hoping for an easy, consistant and cheap solution that they whole family would enjoy.

The pack says 40 60g burgers per 1kg bag of dry mix. 40 small burgers, (so probably two per serving) for a tenner?

I've noticed that weirdly my local Sainsburys does the No Bull range now. There are No Bull meatballs also.

 

[kalidarkone]

yum!

 

[editor]

View attachment 215298yum!
View attachment 215299

I bloody love oatly milk so I'm definitely up for giving some of this stuff a go!

 

[editor]

Interesting initiative from Morrisons:

MORRISONS LAUNCHES VEGAN ESSENTIALS FOOD BOX

– 15kg box includes lentils, meat free sausages, vegan cheese, jackfruit, fresh fruit and vegetables –

– 23 products for £35, including next-day delivery, will feed two people for one week –​

Morrisons has launched a brand-new Vegan Essentials Food Box to help its vegan customers during the lockdown.

The food boxes are particularly helpful for those who are vulnerable or self-isolating and can’t leave the house but are available for anyone to purchase.

Created in response to requests from customers following the launch of Morrisons other food boxes, the Vegan Essentials Food Box is available for £35, including next-day delivery to your doorstep, and will feed two people for a week.

Weighing just under 15kg and containing 23 different items, the box includes lentils, jackfruit, couscous, meat free sausages, meat free mince, dairy free cheese and almond milk - as well as a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables.

A typical Morrisons Vegan Essentials Box will include:

● KTC Chickpeas, 500g ● Morrisons Jackfruit in BBQ Sauce, 150g ● Morrisons Cous Cous, 500g ● Di Martino Penne Pasta, 500g ● Pure Sunflower Spread, 500g ● Alpro Almond Milk Unsweetened, 1L ● Alpro Plain Yoghurt, 500g ● Morrisons Almonds, 200g ● Violife Dairy Free Cheese, 200g ● Heck Meat-Free Sausages ● The Meatless Farm Co Mince, 400g

● Morrisons V Taste No Chicken Strips, 228g ● Morrisons Wonky Carrots, 1kg ● Morrisons Brown Onions, 1kg ● Morrisons The Best Sweet Peppers, 250g ● Morrisons Baby Spinach, 160g ● Morrisons The Best Farmhouse Loaf, 800g ● Morrisons Baby Potatoes, 1kg ● Morrisons Royal Gala Apples, 6 pack ● Morrisons Passata, 500g ● Morrisons Vegan Stock Pots, 4 pack ● Morrisons Apple & Cinnamon Granola, 500g ● Lotus Original Caramelised Biscuits, 250g

Possible recipe options include a vegan pasta bolognese, rainbow salad bowls, soups, vegan sausage sandwiches or granola.

Tessa Callaghan, Head of Food Boxes at Morrisons says: “Many of our vegan customers have got in touch to ask whether we could create a food box for them. We’ve sourced some of the best vegan food for this food box as we continue to play our full part in feeding the nation during these unprecedented times.”

Lockdown has meant that people are shopping differently so Morrisons has launched a number of different food boxes including a Gluten Free Food Box, and British Farmers Food Box. The Vegan Essentials Food Box is the latest in the range to help feed its vegan customers during the pandemic.

For more information, visit www.morrisons.com/food-boxes/.

 

[Poot]

Interesting initiative from Morrisons:

MORRISONS LAUNCHES VEGAN ESSENTIALS FOOD BOX

– 15kg box includes lentils, meat free sausages, vegan cheese, jackfruit, fresh fruit and vegetables –

– 23 products for £35, including next-day delivery, will feed two people for one week –​

Morrisons has launched a brand-new Vegan Essentials Food Box to help its vegan customers during the lockdown.

The food boxes are particularly helpful for those who are vulnerable or self-isolating and can’t leave the house but are available for anyone to purchase.

Created in response to requests from customers following the launch of Morrisons other food boxes, the Vegan Essentials Food Box is available for £35, including next-day delivery to your doorstep, and will feed two people for a week.

Weighing just under 15kg and containing 23 different items, the box includes lentils, jackfruit, couscous, meat free sausages, meat free mince, dairy free cheese and almond milk - as well as a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables.

A typical Morrisons Vegan Essentials Box will include:

● KTC Chickpeas, 500g ● Morrisons Jackfruit in BBQ Sauce, 150g ● Morrisons Cous Cous, 500g ● Di Martino Penne Pasta, 500g ● Pure Sunflower Spread, 500g ● Alpro Almond Milk Unsweetened, 1L ● Alpro Plain Yoghurt, 500g ● Morrisons Almonds, 200g ● Violife Dairy Free Cheese, 200g ● Heck Meat-Free Sausages ● The Meatless Farm Co Mince, 400g

● Morrisons V Taste No Chicken Strips, 228g ● Morrisons Wonky Carrots, 1kg ● Morrisons Brown Onions, 1kg ● Morrisons The Best Sweet Peppers, 250g ● Morrisons Baby Spinach, 160g ● Morrisons The Best Farmhouse Loaf, 800g ● Morrisons Baby Potatoes, 1kg ● Morrisons Royal Gala Apples, 6 pack ● Morrisons Passata, 500g ● Morrisons Vegan Stock Pots, 4 pack ● Morrisons Apple & Cinnamon Granola, 500g ● Lotus Original Caramelised Biscuits, 250g

Possible recipe options include a vegan pasta bolognese, rainbow salad bowls, soups, vegan sausage sandwiches or granola.

Tessa Callaghan, Head of Food Boxes at Morrisons says: “Many of our vegan customers have got in touch to ask whether we could create a food box for them. We’ve sourced some of the best vegan food for this food box as we continue to play our full part in feeding the nation during these unprecedented times.”

Lockdown has meant that people are shopping differently so Morrisons has launched a number of different food boxes including a Gluten Free Food Box, and British Farmers Food Box. The Vegan Essentials Food Box is the latest in the range to help feed its vegan customers during the pandemic.

For more information, visit www.morrisons.com/food-boxes/.

As a mahooosively lazy person, I'd quite like it if I could do all my food shopping like that.

'Box of food that I don't need to read the labels on please'

'Yep, there you go.'

It wouldn't need to be delivered, either. I'm not sure almonds are completely ethical tbh but the rest sounds amazing.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Veggies Burger & Sosage Mixes – The UK’s most ethical choice

The UK's Most Ethical Burger & Sosage Mixes handmade in vegan premises by a co-operative with over 35 years experience of vegan campaign catering!

www.veggies.org.uk

OK went ahead and bought a load of these veg burger mixes, taking advantage of their new postage rates, which arrived this morning.

Made burgers for the meat loving family for lunch. The general consensus is that they are pretty damn good. Looks quite dry and unappealing in the packet but after 15 minutes of soaking up water they looked pretty burgery. They smell and taste a little like stuffing (to be expected), but its more burger tasting than stuffing. I can get 27 burgers out of a 900g bag, which also makes them pretty good value at £8 a bag. My daughter who usually turns up her nose at my vegetarian cooking says they are just as good as the real thing, she says 8 out of 10. My wife said she loved it but that there was a hint of stuffing to it. . . but that it didn't put her off and is happy to eat more (she is probably even more against my vegetarian leanings so it's a significant win). Can probably do a better Bolognese than bean feast.
Haven't tried the sausmix yet, but I am fairly confident it's going to be better than the sausmix of old.

 

[Hollis]

I've been without too much conscious thinking following a pescatarian diet but also with virtually no dairy products for the last few months.. Feeling increasingly lethargic and some other weird symptoms... Doctor has sent me for some blood tests - looking at the tests he's booked, aside from the general one, he's checking for Vitamin B12 and iron/folate deficiency. Unfortunately I can't get a test done for next 10 days so guess I have to carry on with same sort of diet to see if that's the problem. Back when I was doing veganuary I was more closely monitoring diet, eating less vegan junk, more pulses, and adding different seeds to things.. Hopefully a crap diet will be the problem! I think the way forward may be to take a vegan diet pill each day and get back to more decent veggie food..

 

[gentlegreen]

What are you actually eating in terms of macro balance ?
And what did you eat before ?
If you're tuned into eating fat, perhaps use peanut butter and / or tahini ?

 

[Hollis]

Err, macro balance... not entirely sure what that is...

I'm not eating great deal of fat. Mainly rice, pototoes. with either some sort of veg curry or canned fish/rice. Mainly porridge for breakfast, and err, tuna salad roll for lunch typically... Exciting... Take aways are similar - Indian veg or Chinese with squid + rice.

 

[Poot]

Err, macro balance... not entirely sure what that is...

I'm not eating great deal of fat. Mainly rice, pototoes. with either some sort of veg curry or canned fish/rice. Mainly porridge for breakfast, and err, tuna salad roll for lunch typically... Exciting... Take aways are similar - Indian veg or Chinese with squid + rice.

Lentils are brilliant as a source of iron and protein. And some nuts. And dark green veg like spinach.

Your diet doesn't sound too bad. Might be worth taking the vits though.

It might not be diet, it might be thyroid or something?

 

[Boudicca]

Continuing the sausage theme, these are pretty good but pricey.

 

[gentlegreen]

I've always suspected I get all my nutes by eating too much food...
But it's never seemed to matter what I eat.
I went vegan nearly 40 years ago age 21 and almost immediately felt "energised" - though I was eating a fairly crap omnivorous diet before that (if I remember correctly it was faggots, potatoes and peas on a good day) ... and I was only moderately active and didn't start cycling 9 miles a day until I was 27...

I'm amazed I didn't end up with pernicious anaemia - but I guess that even in the 80s I was eating fortified foods ... I ate stir-fry most evenings for years - and made with mostly mostly just cabbage, onion and sprouted lentils and wholegrains.. probably with copious tahini and soy sauce ...
At 21, I think my BMI was around 24.3 ...

I got a bit podgy in my early 30s ...

I was at my fittest at 35 - so after 15 years vegan - out at a rave every week, BMI of 23.4, BP of 120/80 ... I seem to recall my diet was raw tofu and salad sandwiches for breakfast and lunch and then pounds and pounds of bananas and dried figs when I was home...

I got fat in my 40s and 50s - up to around BMI 33 (although doing regular long bike rides) - and a bit omnivorous - mostly fish, but latterly cheese - but it was never a massively significant part of my diet - but it meant I started eating all sorts of non-wholefood stuff I would never have touched before - got obese on it - but I got almost as heavy again between 2016 and 2019 on a wholefood 100 percent vegan diet....

Spurred on by last year's dalliance with insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) and the need to get my weight down, what currently seems to work for me is to taper carbs over the day.

Breakfast is bread and peanut butter, lunch (when at work) is something similarly carb-heavy - currently cold microwave rice and cold mushy peas - with oatcakes and PNB for afters ...

I stopped having easy carbs for my evening meal, but the pot of stew I make last 7 days usually gets a can of low calorie soup in it - it's based on a whole cabbage, 750g of carrots and 650g of mushrooms and a can of mixed beans and one of tomatoes ... I top it up during the week with more canned beans and canned tomatoes and sometimes more soup.

Where my cunning plan breaks down is the ever-present temptation of bananas, cereals and even dark chocolate for dessert ... if I could get out of that habit, I would probably be heading for that ideal BMI I haven't seen for 25 years.

In terms of feeling energetic - difficult to tell at 60yrs old and having spent 12 weeks at home .. (I had to take a day off the first week back at work because I was tired) but I've been back at work for six weeks and cycling there and back so am doing OK ... and will hopefully get some long bike rides in before the end of the summer - but psychology is my biggest barrier at the moment ...

My recent experiences taught me never to underestimate that there might be something going on with insulin and glycogen storage unrelated to diet - or BMI - some people can get into trouble at a very low BMI - in fact whole swathes of humanity need to keep their BMI lower than what would be regarded as "OK" in this part of the world.
"Ideal" BMI in the UK is currently regarded as 23 - which was apparently the average in the UK in 1980 - which is now 28 - with the world average being 25.

 

[Mogden]

Coming soon – Sproud

UnderConstruction Sproud. The deliciously low-sugar, high-protein plant milk that highlights your coffee’s flavours and cuts your carbon emissions, will be back looking better than ever very soon. Contact us Buy Sproud (UK) Buy Sproud (US)

besproud.com

I bought some on the strength of reviews saying it was more like cow juice in terms of texture in a brew. I'm not disappointed. I find almond too bitter, soya too drying, oat nice but too flapjacky and thin for regular use. This gives me a nice round brew mouthfeel. I shall persist with this carton and see how it goes.

Also, Oatly have started to do "fresh" Oatly chocolate milk drink. I paid a bit more and tried it but I actually prefer the UHT version.

 

[Mogden]

I got through the carton of Sproud. Most agreeable as far as plant milks go. I've found it available on Dolphin Fitness for less than £2 a carton if you order in 6s. I might do that as I edge closer to more vegan time than not.

Talking of pea milk drinks, I absolutely do not recommend this Mighty Pea one unless you want your brew to taste of Play Doh Really quite unpleasant. Am going to try and hide the rest in a "milk"shake or smoothie or something. No idea if any of the rest of the range are any better.

 

[gentlegreen]

I once saw field beans touted as an environmentally sound alternative to soya for making tofu (and by implication, soy milk)...
A somewhat coarse form of broad bean traditionally fed to horses ...

 

[Casual Observer]

Lidl have vegan gluten-free burger mix packets and falafel mix packets on offer for a piddly £1.29 each in the 'get it before it's gone' section.

Add water to the mix, stir it, leave for a few minutes, then shape it as you please and bake/fry it. Four portions per packet says the box.

Not haute cuisine but not as bad as I've made it sound either.

Moroccan spiced burger mix.
Sweet Chilli burger mix.
Beetroot and chilli falafel.
Spinach and broccoli falafel.

Two highly seductive pictures here: Tag: Artisan Nature’s Kitchen | Vegan Food UK

 

[baldrick]

Lidl have vegan gluten-free burger mix packets and falafel mix packets on offer for a piddly £1.29 each in the 'get it before it's gone' section.

Add water to the mix, stir it, leave for a few minutes, then shape it as you please and bake/fry it. Four portions per packet says the box.

Not haute cuisine but not as bad as I've made it sound either.

Moroccan spiced burger mix.
Sweet Chilli burger mix.
Beetroot and chilli falafel.
Spinach and broccoli falafel.

Two highly seductive pictures here: Tag: Artisan Nature’s Kitchen | Vegan Food UK

I've tried the beetroot & chilli falafel ones - I take them to work for lunch. They need a lot of seasoning though as the mix is very bland. However it is huge fun shaping bright pink balls of gloop to drop in the oil for frying

 

[Casual Observer]

I've tried the beetroot & chilli falafel ones - I take them to work for lunch. They need a lot of seasoning though as the mix is very bland. However it is huge fun shaping bright pink balls of gloop to drop in the oil for frying

Absolutely. Add some tomato puree and grated carrot to the burger mix as well.