vegan Archives - Foodology

In Fast Food

Subway Canada: Beyond Meatball and Beyond Meatball Marinara Review

January 9, 2020

Subway and Beyond Meat have teamed up to create an all-new plant-based Sub, which is now available in the US and Canada. It launched in the Fall of 2019, but I didn’t realize it was in-stores until I heard about it on the radio with the debut of the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub . In true Foodology fashion, we made a trip to Subway right away.

The Beyond Meatball is a plant-based meatball made exclusively for Subway. Instead of their regular meatballs, you can get this topped with their marinara sauce, and grated parmesan cheese in a toasted sub. Of course, you can have it anyway you want, so fill it up with all the veggies that you want and on any type of bread.

You can get this plant-based bun with the regular Beyond Meatball or the Beyond Meatball Marinara. The difference is the sauce, but prices are the same. If you want to give it a try, make sure you bring your coupons too. I got some in the mail the other day, so I definitely made sure I utilized them.

Beyond Meatball Sub

In a footlong, they put 8 pieces of the Beyond Meatball, so for a 6 inch, thats 4 pieces. I loaded mine up with some sweet onion sauce, ranch sauce, and all the veggies.

The texture of the Beyond Meatball was very nice as it has a good chew to it. Similar to their regular meatballs, so that is important.

Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub

I do enjoy the Marinara sauce on the meatball subs, so the Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub was what I was most interested in trying.

I’ve actually never got it with just the basics, I asked them to load up my sub with all the veggies except for the hot peppers. I realized I shouldn’t have done that as it took away from the sub, but then again, the meatballs aren’t that large to begin with. Load it up with veggies to get more full.

Final Thoughts

Whether you go with marinara sauce for your Beyond Meatball sub is up to you. The Beyond Meatballs are a great addition to the menu and a great plant-based alternative if you are vegetarian or just wanting to have a break from meat. I’m all about the flexitarian lifestyle.

Website:
https://www.subway.com/en-CA

In British Columbia

A&W Canada: Plant-Based Nugget Review

December 4, 2019

A&W Canada has launched plant-based nuggets by LightLife as of Monday, December 2, 2019. It’s pretty awesome to see the launch of a few different plant-based items from A&W Canada. They are definitely the leaders in the Fast Food space to bring plant-based products to the masses. It first started with the Beyond Meat Burger and then the Beyond Meat Sausage. Even though I am a meat eater, I still appreciate the options out there.

The plant-based nuggets are available for a limited time only.

There are a variety of size options:

4-piece Kids’ Pack for $5.99
6-pieces for $5.99
10-piece for $8.99

The Plant-Based Nuggets are served with A&W’s current line-up of dipping sauces: Honey Mustard, Barbecue, Sweet & Sour, and Jalapeño Ranch. But note that only Barbecue and Sweet & Sour are vegan dipping sauces. The other two are not.

Of course we went with the 10 pieces of nuggets. Our team went to A&W twice and we noticed a discrepancy between locations. Sometimes they are served in a basket and sometimes they are served in their compostable bags. Both times, we asked to dine in and also to have all the sauces. One time we got all 4 sauces and another time, we only got the vegan sauces.

Plant-Based Nugget Review

Each nugget is spherical in shape, but sometimes they have a bit of a point. Most of the time they were somewhat similar shapes.

The exterior has a good crisp exterior reminiscent of what good ol’ chicken nuggets have. In the centre, the texture reminded me of canned tuna. No worries, this is made entirely from plant-based ingredients, including peas, wheat and fava beans. The chewy texture was spot on.

I gave some to my dad and he thought it was really good ‘chicken’ nuggets. We always like to trick him into thinking its meat and sure enough it was a hit. Of course it’s not an exact replacement for chicken nuggets, but it is close enough. It’s all about the texture and the spices.

For every 6 pieces of the Plant-Based Nuggets, it has 17g of plant-based protein. Not bad at all.

Final Thoughts

It’s a great option for flexitarians like myself. A&W knocked it out of the park again with these plant-based nuggets. Are they better than regular chicken nuggets? The short answer is no. Plant-based nuggets are a good alternative and substitute if you’re trying to cut meat out of your diet.

Website:
https://aw.ca/

In New Westminster

Amaranthus: Plant-based Eatery in New Westminster’s River Market

May 6, 2019

Amaranthus is a new plant-based eatery inside River Market in New Westminster. The restaurant’s name is the Latin word for amaranth, a type of grain used to make alegrías – a popular Mexican sweet.

We were invited to have a sneak peek of the space and try some of their signature items.

They specialize in vegetarian and vegan cuisine with a charitable focus inspired by a chance encounter with Michael J. Fox. Proceeds from select items on Amaranthus’ menu like the Amaranthus veggie burger will be donated to IMPACT Parkinson’s, a New Westminster-based non-profit that supports people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Beverages

The beverages on the menu are excellent and they did a fantastic job at putting these flavours together. They are essentially zero proof cocktails. It feels like you’re drinking an alcoholic beverage but not.

Juniper and Tonic

The juniper and tonic tasted like you were drinking a gin and tonic but you aren’t. It was refreshing and not too sweet.

Beet Cream Soda

This drink surprised me. I expected it to be much sweeter than it was. It had the least sweetness out of the three drinks we tried. The beet flavour stood out quite a bit in addition to a mild cream soda flavour. It was delicious, but maybe it needs a touch of sweetness. Again another refreshing beverage.

Basil Shrub

This had the right amount of sweetness, ginger and basil flavours. It was very refreshing as well.

Fried Brussel Sprouts

These were amazing! One of the dishes we would love to have had more of.

The flavours were a perfect combination. Another thing that makes these sprouts so different than others is the addition of a poached egg.

Wilted Ridicchio

Another tasty dish. Loved the addition of the fig and fennel in this combination. It has very fresh flavours.

Wild mushroom risotto

The nice creamy texture and made just right. A bit of a heartier and comforting dish.

Amaranthus Veggie burger

This isn’t your ordinary veggie burger and very different than any other veggie burger we have had. A combination of roasted celeriac, Swiss card, blue cheese, and shallots make up this delicious burger.

Rosemary Salt Churros

These are a must try! It has a perfect touch of rosemary and salt with just the right crisp texture to these churros. They were spectacular and weren’t very sweet either. Will for sure be back for these.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great addition to River Market along with all the other eateries there. It definitely stands out and gives customers more options. Everything we tried at Amaranthus was great. They did a fantastic job of incorporating all the flavours with one another in each of the dishes. The dishes also tasted super fresh. We will definitely be back.

Address:
12 – 810 Quayside Dr, New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://amaranthus.ca/

In Three Beakers

Taste of Yaletown: Zend Concious Lounge

October 15, 2016

Zend Conscious Lounge is part of the Taste of Yaletown happening October 13th to 27th. The two-week dining event showcases unique dishes from 31 restaurants in the Yaletown neighbourhood. Restaurants offer exclusive featured menus, special tastings and innovative pairing combinations at set prices of $25, $35, $45.

I had a chance to dine at Zend Conscious Lounge to try a few items off their set menus. Zend Conscious Lounge are an organic plant-based eatery. That means no gluten, no dairy, and they only use the healthiest of ingredients. They are also Canada’s first kava kava bar. Did you know they donate 100% of their profits?

Taste of Yaletown 2016 Menu

[tabs tab1=”$25 Menu” tab2=”$35 Menu” tab3=”$45 Menu”]

[tab id=1]

2 Mini Burgers
Taco
Trio of Salads Sampler

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[tab id=2]

Signature Elixers Sampler
2 Mini Burgers with yam fries
Taco
Kale Caesar Salad
Homemade Plant-based Cheese Sampler with Raw Seed Crackers
Dessert Sampler plate ( triple chocolate torte with seasonal dessert)

[/tab]
[tab id=3]

Signature Elixers Sampler
2 Mini Burgers with yam fries
Taco
Trio of Salad Sampler
Callelloni Roll
Two Homemade Plant-based Cheese Sampler with Raw Seed Crackers

[/tab]

[/tabs]

Interior

Their interior is simple, but with a lot of natural wood colours on the table and walls. They have small to large tables, so make sure you make reservations to ensure your group gets a good spot.

Kava Kava

Zend isn’t on the Taste of Yaletown menu, but it was something that we had to try when we were here. Zend is a non-alcoholic beverage that is a blend of Rhodiola, Yerba Mate, Kava, Holy Basil and Ashwaganda. It is traditionally used to relieve stress, depression and anxiety. It makes people more calm and works in 20 minutes or less.

We drank a shot of Zend and it definitely had an earthy taste to it. A few minutes after, you started to feel a numb tingly sensation on our tongue and cheeks. Completely normal apparently.

Signature Elixers Sampler

The elixer samplers come in small mason jars. we got to try 2 and both were good and full of fresh pressed juice and Zend.

Caesar Kale Salad

The salad has oat cheese parmesan crisps, gluten-free amaranth croutons, & prebiotic garlicky avocado dressing. I like this salad, it was simple but it had a good amount of flavour that reminded me of a caesar salad. A nice light item to start off the meal.

Housemade plant-based cheese board

On the cheeseboard, you will find their featured spreads, house-spiced heart-healthy nuts, probiotic veg. with Raw Seed Crackers. The cheeses were very creamy and the seed crackers added needed texture.

Tacos

There’s aren’t any regular tacos, it has dehydrated beans, fresh guacamole, heart-healthy cashew queso, & organic fresh-cut salsa. It’s a nice item to share as 3 come in one order. I love the salsa and it adds a nice freshness to the dish.

The Mini Raw Burger

Their burger is mad of bio-available sprouted grains and served on a seared portobello cap. Very nice bite sized burger. It also has a side of yam fries and a spicy sauce.

Dessert Sampler plate

You will find their triple chocolate torte with cocoa and coconut crust, fudge, and chocolate avocado mousse. Their other seasonal dessert was my favourite.

The Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake has a creamy cashew base, walnut and medjool date crust, pumpkin & pumpkin spices. This was my favourite of the night.

Final Thoughts

For the longest time, I thought Zend was a Japanese restaurant and clearly I was far from wrong. I was glad I was able to have the opportunity to dine at this plant-based eatery. I would really enjoyed seeing the transformation of these raw ingredients into the dishes that were presented on the menu. It’s definitely not a restaurant thats for everyone, but I thought it was an experience that was different than some other restaurants out there. If you wanted to be taken out of your comfort zone, this would be it.

We Rate Zend Conscious Lounge:

Address:
1130 Mainland Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://zendlounge.com/

In Gluten Free Options

Graze: Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant in Vancouver

August 14, 2014

Graze is a vegan restaurant in Vancouver that has an all plant-based menu, which includes their beverages as well. They make sure all their ingredients are organic and locally-sourced when possible.

Chef Karen McAthy is the culinary genius behind the food. The concept is for people of all eating preferences to be able to find something that they can fall in love with. From strict vegetarians to flexitarians, There’s bound to be something on the menu to tickle your taste buds.

I came here with VeggieGirl after work. I needed someone that loves vegetables to have a fair review since it would be very hard for me to give up steak and pork belly. I do appreciate vegetables and could eat carrots and tomatoes all day long.

The interior is quite beautiful. We came here at 5:30pm for an early dinner and it wasn’t very busy. It started picking up around 7pm.

Graze Organic Ginger Beer ($5) is non-alcoholic and comes with a wedge of lime. Good balance of flavour and it was very good.

Dark and Stormy ($9) has Flor de Cana Rum, ginger beer, lime and ginger. VeggieGirl did enjoy it and the alcohol wasn’t too potent, but she did find there was a bit too much lime for her liking.

Vegetable Menage a Trois ($10) comes with 3 featured veggies. When we were here, there were carrots, dragon tongue beans, and squash. It also came with a phenomenal pesto sauce. The veggies were lightly grilled to It makes for good finger food. That pesto sauce was frickin fantastic!

Portobello Filets ($9) is gluten free and the coating is made with pepita, spices and corn flour, then panned until crisp. It is paired with a pink peppercorn aioli. I love portobello mushrooms, so naturally I was addicted. The crust was delicious and crispy and went well with the aioli.

One of their featured small plates for the night was the fermented collard leaf wrapped ‘chorizo’ with turnip puree, patty pan tempura, chili oil, and tomatoes from their garden.

The dish definitely tried to emulate the texture of chorizo, but it has no meat at all. It had a spongey texture but still delicious.

Macaroni ($14) has brown rice pasta in a smoky coconut cheddar sauce, crispy eggplant & toasted nut crumble over a potato pavé, seasonal vegetables. You can add their house-smoked tofu & fresh tomato for $3.

Those seasonal veggies are mighty pretty.

Paella ($15) has spicy bomba rice, asparagus, red pepper, green garbanzo beans, kalamata olives, spring fava beans and saffron. It was a filling dish.

Cheesecake ($7) dessert is their Blueberry & lavender cultured cashew cheesecake. It is topped with edible flowers and fresh cherries. The top had more of a mousse texture and the crust was so yummy and nutty.

Overall, we had a great time at Graze. You definitely need to appreciate vegetables to love this place. If you want to try a bit of everything, I would suggest getting their Prix Fixe set for $30, which includes their featured small plate, entree and dessert. Also check out their weekly specials as there are some good deals. Thursdays is date night, so you can get the 2 of the Prix Fixe courses for $50. Awesome deal!

We Rate Graze: