Trader Joe's Soy Nuggets

Yeah I know, it's been forever, blah blah blah, the usual apology for such a long absence of posts, etc. Anyways, on with the show.

I was at the University Center today, across from campus, and did some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. It had been a while since I'd shopped there, since it's not the closest grocery store to me anymore. That being the case, I kept my eyes peeled for new vegan stuff.

If you're a vegan and have shopped at Trader Joe's before, you might have seen a product of theirs in the freezer section called "Chickenless Nuggets." If that's the case, you probably checked the ingredients list on its box in vain, finding that they contain eggs or milk or gelatin or shrimp paste or some other such non-vegan ingredient(s). I can't really remember what is in them that makes them not vegan, I just know that I've checked the box a few times in the foolish hope that they might have changed the recipe. Well today I noticed a new product next to them called "Soy Nuggets."

They sound delicious, huh? Um... yeah...

Anyways, I had actually heard about these things through the series of tubes I like to call the internets. Apparently the Trader Joe's stores back east have carried them for a while, but they have now made their way out here. I decided I'd try them, since I am willing to try most vegan products at least once so that I can let other people know which ones are any good.

I baked them in the oven which made them crispy on the outside the way I like my frozen snack foods. The inside was about as tasty as the product name makes them sound though. Yes, they're free of animal products and also flavor!

Let me just digress for a minute and say a few words about the name. Soy Nuggets? Seriously? Sounds real appealing, right? Almost makes your mouth water. Seriously though, with products out there named stuff like that, it's no wonder people don't want to go vegan.

But back to the actual nuggets. They weren't particularly disgusting per se, just lacking any sort of flavor. Their insides are a bland mush which has a texture slightly resembling that of actual chicken nuggets. It's food like this that gives veganism and vegan food a bad name. Don't waste your money.

Campus Tip: Zot-N-Go

With the opening of the new student center on campus, it seems that there are a few more options for vegans now. The new Zot-N-Go market, located on ring road just prior to the bridge leading to the school of humanities, has a pretty decent selection of vegan products. Just remembering off the top of my head, I saw soy smoothies, single-serve soy milks, soy yogurts, pita chips, enchiladas, veggie and rice bowls, potato chips, and energy bars. I'm sure that I'm forgetting some other things, but that's just to give you an idea of the vegan options available. The prices aren't the best, but that is pretty much what I expect from a little convenience store. So if you're stuck on campus and need a snack, I'd say this is a good place to go in a pinch.

Amy's Quarter Pound Veggie Burger

I know I've been neglecting this blog for a few weeks, but I am back in Irvine now and should hopefully be posting on a more regular basis.

Anyways, I recently purchased some really great veggie burgers from the new Whole Foods Market in Tustin (which will be the subject of another post in the near future). They're a new kind from the Amy's Kitchen brand that weigh a quarter pound each, and I think they're probably one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had, if not the best.

Those who have eaten a few different varieties of veggie burgers know that they tend to generally fall into two different categories: the kind that try to imitate meat and the kind that don't and are more just a pattie of vegetables/grains/tofu. Amy's quarter-pounder falls somewhere in between, in my opinion. A good deal of the burger is made up of grains and vegetables, but there's also some soy in there too. The result is a somewhat meaty texture but not so much that you'd easily be able to fool someone into thinking it was a beef pattie. The burger strikes a really good balance, and I like that.

The taste of the burger is a somewhat smokey BBQ sauce flavor. The BBQ sauce taste isn't so strong that it overshadows the whole thing though, which is good. It has just enough of a subtle flavor to remind me of eating homemade burgers fresh off the BBQ grill years ago, but not in a gross way.

It's also great to finally have a veggie burger that is a decent size. I might have somewhat of a bigger appetite than other people, but I know I am not completely alone in thinking that most veggie burgers are sort of lacking in the size department. The quarter-pounder definitely lives up to its name, as each pattie is a good deal larger in both diameter and thickness than most other veggie burgers, which makes it quite filling.

Throw one of these on a bun with ketchup, (vegan) mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion, have it with a side of fries or potato chips, and you've got yourself a darn good meal. I highly recommend this product.

Primal Stick (Pepperoni Flavor)

I recently tried Primal Spirit Foods' pepperoni flavored Primal Stick and it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I was thinking it would be more similar to a Slim Jim, but it wasn't really like that at all.

The packaging and shape of the product are nearly identical to its non-vegan counterpart, but the Primal Stick's taste and texture fail to measure up.

The stick was a little too firm and broke apart into several smaller pieces. It didn't really have a meaty texture, and the taste was too sweet and smokey to pass for pepperoni. The Primal Stick also loses points for not being endorsed by Macho Man Randy Savage.

It wasn't disgusting or anything, I just wouldn't buy one again, as I prefer other varieties of vegan jerky.

Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers

In my experience as a vegan, it's always exciting to find some new product that you wouldn't have thought there existed a vegan version of. I'm assuming that Eco-Planet's non-dairy cheddar crackers are relatively new, as they've just recently been popping up on vegan online stores. They're also the only vegan "cheese" crackers that I know of.

As you can see, they're marketing these more towards kids, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying them! The crackers come in fun little shapes, which I would probably care more about if I were a kid. They are just as orange-colored as regular cheddar crackers, but in this case I'm guessing it's not because of some artificial coloring.

The actual taste isn't quite as cheesey as I remember Cheez-Its or Goldfish being, but you can at least tell they're trying to imitate that flavor. They are definitely "cheesier" tasting than Tings (the vegan version of Cheetos) though. After eating a bunch, they do leave somewhat of a cheesey after-taste in your mouth.

Personally, I might buy the crackers again if I saw them in the store, but I wouldn't bother ordering them off of the internet again, which is what I did this time, but only because the same site I was ordering vitamins from had them. They're a pretty good snack and a nice change of pace, plus the fact that they're organic is cool, too.

Overall, I'd recommend them to other vegans if they used to enjoy Cheez-Its or other such cheddar crackers, but first let them know that they weren't going to be exactly the same. I'd also recommend them to those who just want try something new to snack on and for younger kids as well.

Introduction

Before beginning with my posts, I believe a brief introduction about myself and the mission/purpose of this blog is in order.

My name is Bryan and I'm in my final year of undergraduate study in political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been vegan for about four years now, for ethical and environmental reasons.

I'm starting this blog partly as just a fun little distraction for myself and maybe as somewhat of a resource for other vegans, particularly UCI students and others living in Irvine. I'll be posting my own mini reviews of different vegan products, restaurants in the Irvine area (and sometimes further away), tips about where/what to eat on the UCI campus, and broader tips about being vegan in Irvine.

So anyways, I hope whoever might be reading this will find it helpful and/or interesting.