Best and worst: Vegan products
Who knew vegan yogurt was just coconut water with a dash of flavor in it?
What is the one thing in common with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, Madelaine Petsch and Ruby Rose? They all have made a commitment to being vegan. A vegan is someone who doesn’t eat or use any animal products. As stated by the 2017 vegan statistics at Veganbits.com, only about one-in-eight Americans has ever considered themselves vegetarian/vegan, there are also currently 1.6 million vegans in the U.S. While many are helping animals by switching to this new lifestyle, there are also a lot of health benefits that come from this diet. Eating a plant-based diet can reduce chances of getting cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or even cancer. Switching to vegan may not be a easy task, but luckily, there are many vegan substitutes that will help beginners along the way. These vegan products below are reviewed based on their taste, texture, price and how much they resemble the ‘real’ product. The best product will receive a score of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. All products are available at Trader Joe’s in Coralville, IA. (not sponsored)
I mean, who would’ve thought fake meat would taste this good? Or that vegan cheese can taste this unusual and its aftertaste is even more toxic? — Maggie Huang
Soy Creamy Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches: 8/10
This mini ice cream sandwich is very affordable, with a price of $2.99 for 6 mini ice cream sandwiches. It has a normal texture, just like a normal ice cream sandwich. However, the ice cream part is a little bit too icy, lacking any rich milky flavor, and the sandwich is slightly too soft. The ice cream sandwich overall tastes like heaven in your mouth. I highly recommend this because it is basically a normal ice cream sandwich without dairy in it.
Cultured Coconut milk (vegan yogurt): 3/10
This vegan yogurt is not at all affordable with price of $1.49 for every 6 ounce cup. It has a very weird slimy texture, almost liquidy. It taste almost slightly better than normal yogurt with its rich coconut flavor. Consider buying it if you are obsessed with coconut flavored products or like exploring new kinds of weirdly tasty foods.
Italian sausage-less sausage: 10/10
This vegan sausage is affordable with a price of $2.99 per every four sausage pack. It tastes so similar to a sausage that you wouldn’t even realize it’s made entirely with plants. It doesn’t have a weird texture like the usual vegan sausages. Highly recommend if you are a sausage lover!
Earth Balance buttery spread(vegan butter): 10/10
This vegan butter is moderately affordable with price of $4.29 for a 15 ounce tub. It has a fairly normal, nice texture and taste. This is pretty much butter, except it is made entirely of plants and other healthy ingredients. Definitely try it on toast or use it as a baking ingredient if you want to live a healthier lifestyle.
Shredded Vegan mozzarella: 1/10
This product is not very affordable with the price of $3.49 for every 9 ounce pack. It has a very strange taste and texture. It is not at all similar to normal cheese. It also doesn’t melt properly, so don’t put it on a pizza. I highly don’t recommend it unless you feel adventurous and want to try out vegan cheese.
Chocolate Frozen Coconut Dessert: 9/10
This vegan ice cream is very affordable with price of $3.99 for every 16 FL Oz cup. It has this amazing fluffy and creamy texture with rich chocolate taste, but you can still taste the coconut milk. Definitely buy it if you are fine with coconut related products and if you love chocolate!
Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and I learned so much more about vegans. I decided that some of these products tastes really good and some of them are just not for me. I mean, who would’ve thought fake meat would taste this good? Or that vegan cheese can taste this unusual and its aftertaste is even more toxic? I also learned that there is so many benefits from becoming vegan. You could save so many animals across the world from being treated with cruelty and possibly dying and you also get so many health benefits at the same time. It’s definitely a buy one get two free. Since some of these substitutes taste so amazing, I’m considering about becoming a vegan someday.
