Fish Tacos using Gardein Fishless Filets | Review

I heard about Gardein Fishless Filets nearly a year ago and it took forever to get my hands on them.

When it comes to meat alternatives, Gardein is one of the most accessible brands out there (they even sell their products in Wal-Mart), so I have no idea why they're making one of their best products sooo hard to find. 

Anywho, my local Wegmans has them and I came right home to test them out on fish tacos.

Each bag contains 6 small filets, so I purchased 3 bags for the fam.

^^^Uncooked...right out the package

Pros:

• Will take care of your fish craving
• Tastes much better than Sophie's Kitchen fish (I wasn't a fan of those)
• Great texture-Very similar to Gordon crispy battered fish filets

Cons:

• Hard to find at most grocery stores (you can order it online though) 
• Kind of pricey-Since the filets are small, we have to get 3 bags to feed our fam of 5. It was $15 for us

I think these are a great occasional meal and are definitely an awesome replacement for fish.

Check out the full list of ingredients here

Have you tried the Gardein Fishless Filets yet? What did you think?

P.S. In case you're wondering, here's the recipe for the creamy chipotle sauce I used on top of the tacos...

Creamy Chipotle Sauce

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: appetizer vegan

Ingredients

• 2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped
• 1/2 vegan mayo (Vegenaise and Just Mayo are good brands)
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream (Tofutti is a good brand or you can make it using this recipe http://www.brownvegan.com/recipes?recipe_id=6070003
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients mixing well.

Serve on vegan tacos

Powered by Recipage

Beyond Meat Grilled Strips | Quick Review

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Beyond Meat is coming to Target.

I picked up a couple of their "ground beef" crumbles (for tacos and spaghetti) & grilled strips yesterday to test out in a salad. 

The strips are just okay to me. I think I expected them to be better.

I hyped them up in my head, since I love their crumbles so much. lol

The texture wasn't as firm as I expected....it was a little too soft and weird for my taste.

Not horrible...just not what I expected.

Eric and Brandon enjoyed the strips in this salad (the other ingredients in the salad are romaine, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, red bell pepper, red onion & tortilla strips).

Elijah & Jason decided to eat leftovers because they didn't want a salad (so I didn't get any feedback from them).

If I buy the chicken strips again, I will chop them up into small pieces (like I do with Gardein products to stretch them out in pasta, soup & tacos) and I'm sure it will taste better.

I love that these strips take less than a minute to cook on the stovetop on high heat with a little oil.

I think this meat alternative is perfect for folks tip-toeing into vegan life with the fam...just don't expect it to taste like traditional chicken. Embrace it like a new experience. :-)

From the Beyond Meat label....

Non-GMO, contains soy, vegan (of course), gluten-free, kosher, contains as much protein as chicken

Top 3 ingredients on the label: water, soy protein isolate & pea protein isolate

Have you tried these chicken strips yet?

Gardein Crispy Chick'n Sliders Review

I saw these on clearance at Target and figured I would test it out on the fam. You know being that the price was right.

These Gardein sliders are a blend of soy, wheat and organic grains & vegetables. Since we don't own a microwave, I popped them in the oven for 15 minutes, flipping them over halfway. I also toasted the buns during the last 3 minutes or so.

Then I used Vegenaise, mustard and spring mix to serve it.

They're delicious!

Crispy on the outside and tender (of course not as tender as chicken but it has a nice bite) on the inside. It reminded us of a regular chicken patty.

The fam approved!

Even though there are microwave directions on the box, I have a feeling these wouldn't be very good in the microwave. Skip it if you can!

I think this is an awesome last minute meal and would definitely make it again.

Even though products like these aren't good to eat every day, I appreciate that this option is available. It can definitely take care of a chicken craving!

Store locator for Gardein products in your area -----> here

Have you tried these chick'n sliders?

How I Got My Hubby To Replace His Cheddar Popcorn | Earth Balance Popcorn

Eric isn't a vegan, but he is very vegan-friendly.

Let me explain...

He enjoys the vegan meals that I cook, but will still eat frozen cheese pizza (at home) and wings when we eat out.

I've heard horror stories about spouses not being as open-minded, so I'm very fortunate that he's willing to eat ( and enjoy) vegan meals at home. 

I've always tried to be respectful of his meal decisions (as he is with mine), so Eric being "vegan-friendly" is a good enough compromise for our family.

Overall, I feel this way about most people on a vegan journey. It really is about progress and not being perfect.

We recently tried Earth Balance cheddar popcorn and we love it! I didn't think Eric would be a fan since he usually eats Smart cheddar popcorn (which isn't vegan).

This popcorn has a hint of cheddar flavor, is non-GMO and "buttered" using Earth Balance vegan margarine. It's a winner! He even agreed that we can replace this Smart popcorn with this brand.

Woohoo!

Have you had a chance to try this popcorn? What did you think?

Beyond Meat Crumble & Earth Balance Cheddar Squares | REVIEW (Video)

Sometimes the best way to get started on a vegan journey is by replacing some your favorite foods with pre-packed plant-based alternatives. Not only is this convenient, but it may help on those days when you feel like giving up because meal planning is overwhelming or life gets busy.  Fortunately, many vegan companies are making the transition so easy with amazing products!

I went to Whole Foods to test out Beyond Meat's crumble and Earth Balance's cheddar squares.

I put the feisty crumble on tacos for the kids with lettuce, tomato & salsa. It was delicious!  I'm very picky about vegan crumbles because let's face it....most brands aren't that tasty.

It only took 5 minutes to cook and the flavor and texture is very similar to traditional ground beef. I really think I could fool my omnivore friends and fam with this one. I used the feisty one and it comes seasoned like taco meat.

I wish I could say the same about the Earth Balance's cheddar squares. None of us were impressed with this one. It has a hint of cheddar flavor but they were way too salty for our taste. Since this is a new product, I'm quite sure Earth Balance will make some improvements later. :-)

Watch my full review in this video and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more recipes and vegan tips.

Have you tried these products? Let me know what you thought in the comments below or on Facebook.