Tofurky Italian Sausage vs. Field Roast Italian Sausage

Tofurky and Field Roast are big names in meat alternatives, both offering a variety of flavors of vegan sausages.  I have always been a fan of Tofurky’s Italian sausages, but on a recent trip to the Follow Your Heart market, I wondered if that was only because Tofurky was available at most grocery stores.  I decided to test the theory and pick up a package of Field Roast Italian Sausages.

One weekend morning, I cooked up a bowl of both, along with some red bell pepper.

All of the Field Roast Italian Sausages were individually wrapped and I could immediately see why.  They were pretty delicate and came apart a bit as you can see in the photo above.

Here’s a photo of the sausages cooked and looking quite tasty.  My opinion was that the Field Roast sausages were heartier and more meaty and would probably be great crumbled up and used in a dish.  I still favor the Tofurky sausages, though.  They were easier to keep together when cooking and had more of an Italian flavoring.  Don’t go by my opinion, though… give them a try because everyone’s tastes are different.

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Tofurky Italian Sausage & Fire-Roasted Veggie Pizza

Contrary to how it appears, the Tofurky Italian Sausage & Fire-Roasted Veggie Pizza is in fact, vegan.  The frozen pizza is topped with Tofurky meats and Daiya cheese.  I picked this one up at Viva La Vegan market in Santa Monica on our recent visit.  Viva La Vegan is pretty darn awesome – the have an entire vegan pizza section for goodness’ sake.  Without knowing where to begin, I chose a familiar brand and picked out the Tofurky Italian Sausage & Fire-Roasted Veggie Pizza.  It’s got three servings, so it’s about enough for three not too hungry people.

I never paid a whole lot of attention to Tofurky packaging before, but I happened to notice that the box says “if you reduce your meat consumption by only 20% (six meatless days a month) the energy saved will be equivalent to switching from driving a sedan car to a hybrid vehicle.”  I love that they include that information for veg-curious buyers.

Here’s the bad news: it tasted like any other mediocre frozen pizza.  It was also pretty small for the price.

The good news: it is really nice to have a convenient frozen pizza for when everyone else is chowing down on the cheesy kind.  It’s also great that you don’t have to go meatless and cheeseless or made from scratch to get a vegan pizza at home.

I’m likely to try a different brand next time, though because this tasted utterly machine made and boxed (especially with the very evenly diced vegetables topping it.

 

 

Vegan at Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, Walnut Creek Bay Area

While up in the Bay Area for the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, we planned to spend some time with our close friends, Randi and Ethan.  I’ve known Randi since we were in preschool together, so it’s been over 25 years!  Visiting with her parents and siblings feels like spending time with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We don’t see each other too often because of the distance, but it’s great catching up… it always feels like no time has passed at all.

Anyway, Randi was excited to take us to Ike’s Love & Sandwiches in Walnut Creek since they have a variety of both omnivore and vegan sandwiches.  In fact, the menu says “Most of our 100 veggie sandwiches can be made vegan, so just ask!!”  The menu only listed 12 veggie sandwiches, but their website describes many more.  It would probably be a good idea to check out the website in advance of you visit so that you have more to choose from.

I initially asked for the Meatless Mike: vegan meatballs, marinara, and (vegan) pepper jack, but the cashier told me that they didn’t have any vegan meatballs because their local Trader Joe’s stopped selling them.  Instead, I ordered the Pilgrim on sourdough: vegan turkey, cranberry sauce, sriracha, and Havarti.  I asked if they just left off the cheese to make it vegan or if they had a vegan cheese; the cashier said that they use vegan cheese.  I wasn’t clear on whether it was a vegan Havarti or just some all-purpose vegan mozzarella or something.  I wouldn’t know the difference by taste because I don’t believe I ever tried Havarti before going vegan.  I asked for lettuce and tomato and I detected a little vegenaise in the sandwich upon unwrapping it.

I never would have thought to combine cranberry sauce and sriracha, but they were delicious together.  It was the messiest sandwich ever and I went through a ton of napkins.  I thought it was a creative and yummy sandwich, I just feel conflicted about one thing.  I’m pretty sure the vegan turkey was Tofurky brand and they use Trader Joe’s meatless meatballs for other sandwiches.  I just hate paying for what I can make myself.  On the other hand, I am grateful that restaurants are starting to purchase store bought supplies so that they can easily offer vegan options.  I will gladly stop by whenever we are in the area and in the meantime, Eric pointed out that I can use their menu as inspiration for original vegan sandwiches at home!

On a side note, Randi’s mom is interested in making her diet a more plant-based one and she may read this -> Hi Pam!