Gregg’s vegan sausage roll

There’s been so much talk around this, I felt like I had to try it. Although I’ve never been a big sausage roll eater, I have enjoyed the taste in the past but it always caused huge IBS issues so I was quite intrigued by this vegan version. I hadn’t gone out of my way to get one, I’d just told myself that at the next opportunity I’d give one a go.

I was in a bit of a rush having just had a meeting and really needed to grab something to eat on the go, I’d actually popped in here thinking I’d pick up a small sandwich or cereal bar however there wasn’t many options for the vegan eater. It didn’t take me long to remember this is where those famous vegan sausage rolls were produced, there was 2 left. I was second in the queue. It was a tense moment when the lady ahead ordered one – thank god she’d only wanted one! No one wants a brawl in the middle of a busy Gregg’s.

It as warm and the aroma coming from the little bag was amazing. It has been so long since I’d had anything like this and I hadn’t realised how much I would want it once I had it in my hand. I ended up having to eat it on the go, I was really shocked after my first bite and had genuine concerns I’d been given a real sausage roll! It was that close a taste to the real thing, I’d say the texture was ever so slightly different and I didn’t feel that it was as greasy as ones I’ve had in the past – which for me is a bonus. I really enjoyed it, I can’t say I’m hooked but I can understand how some are!

If you’re considering giving this a go, vegan or non vegan I say go for it – you non vegans will be surprised by the taste and I just know you will enjoy it!

M & S Plant Kitchen Dirty Fries

O M G, these are so good! So I’d popped into m&s for a Friday night dinner treat and picked up a plant kitchen pizza with dirty fries 🤤 like I said it was treat night (wine was also purchased 😬). I won’t pretend this was a healthy option, but it was well worth it! I was really chuffed with them and am really keen to taste some of the other plant kitchen options now available in Marks and Spencer’s.

The dirty fries come in a rich tomato sauce, silky bechamel sauce and finished with cheese alternative and although I have been disappointed with some of the cheese alternatives in the past these were a great hit. I think non vegans would also enjoy these, but that will have to be a future test as I’ve not had real cheese for such a long time I wonder if my taste buds have adjusted 🤔

Either way, you vegans really need to try these and any non vegans try them out for me and let me know what you think!

Pizza Express 🍕

So I’ve committed a bit of a crime here, I came to pizza express and I didn’t have a pizza 😱 I apologise sincerely, my only excuse is that I really fancied some pasta 🤤. Seeing as I’d saved up some Tesco clubcard vouchers I got the meal pretty much free, this is always a bonus 😊

What I really like about pizza express is the options they have on their menu for vegans, I was disappointed to see that not everything which was on the online menu was available at this particular restaurant but I guess that’s the way it goes. I had the roasted tomatoes to start, if the option had been there I’d have gone for the vegan dough balls but the tomatoes were tasty with a strong flavour of garlic 👌🏼

After a lot of tooing and froing from pizza to pasta back to pizza I eventually decided to go for the Leggera Peperonata. This is penne pasta baked in a sauce of passata, rosemary, chilli flakes, garlic and roasted mixed peppers, finished with rocket and fresh parsley. It was just what I needed, great flavour and filling – it helps that I love pasta!

I did take a look at the dessert menu but I was full and there wasn’t anything that shone out at me so I gave it a swerve. Nice enough in here, pleased to have had a nice meal with my vouchers but next time I plan on using them at a different restaurant 👍🏼 but a good place to come especially if you are with a mix of people who like different things.

Table, Table @ the Premier Inn

Whenever I’ve stayed at a premier inn there’s been a restaurant either attached or very close by and there’s always the option of a meal deal to include breakfast and an evening meal. This one happened to have a restaurant called Table Table attached, there was also a bar which is always a good thing 😉.

Although the vegan options were limited they are clearly labelled on the menu making them easy to spot. So for starters we have, well, nothing for vegans 😔 not the end of the world as I can live without a starter. There are options for vegetarians though and they do sound nice, I’m glad no one else chose to have a starter though as I was pretty hungry and didn’t fancy watching everyone else eating whilst I had to wait for the main!

The mains available for vegans consisted of either the Green Thai Curry or the BBQ Vegan Burger, this is a wheat and soya based burger in a vegan burger bun, topped with bbq pulled soya and burger sauce. It comes served with skinny cut fries and burger relish which is the option I opted for purely because I really fancied a burger 🍔. Like I said this doesn’t actually give me many options to go for but the burger was really tasty!

Everyone at my table had a burger and although I was the only vegan the rest of the burgers also looked good and were enjoyed by all. It’s nice to know this restaurant is easily accessed when staying in premier inns and it gives options for different diet types. Again the choices for desserts were extremely limited with the only option being Gin Fizz Sorbet which I’m not a huge fan of so I opted out and watched the others enjoy their Sundaes 👍🏼.

The following sides are available for vegans:

1. Chips
2. Skinny Cut Fries
3. Mixed Side Salad
4. Sweet Potato Fries

*unfortunately, as I was so hungry I ate the burger without taking a photo 🤦🏻‍♀️ such a fail! But I did find a pic online so you get the idea.

Perrywoods 🤤

Back again, I couldn’t resist – the vegan options here are amazing and it’s a great place to meet and catch up. I spent some time walking round the shop which is dangerous when you’re living on a budget 🤭

We got to the restaurant before 12 which was a good job as getting a table was a lot easier than for those who arrived after us. In fact, by the time we left there was a queue going right out the cafe door and into the shop!

The menu had a lot of choice – not only was there a whole menu just for vegan lunch time specials but they also have a ‘free from’ menu for those who are gluten or dairy free, it really does cater for all diet types which is fantastic.

There was almost too much choice 🤦🏻‍♀️ I really didn’t know what to go for as it all sounded so nice!! I ended up opting for the oven baked puff pastry shell filled with pesto and oven roasted vegetables, served with seasonal salad. It was different from anything I’ve seen at other restaurants and the first time I’ve had pastry since starting my vegan diet journey. Oh my god, I it was so so good! The flavour of the vegetables and pesto was just amazing and there was some potatoes sneaked in here too, the portion size was big and I ate every single last bit of it!

There’s no doubt that I would choose this again, however I have made the decision that I need to come back here and work my way down everything on that menu!! There’s also plenty of cakes available and I’m sure they have vegan scones 😋 this could quite easily be a regular place for me to visit 🙊

Harry’s bar and restaurant

In the lovely little village of Thorpe Le Soken I came across this nice bar and restaurant in the high street and although there were plenty of pubs to choose from this place appealed to me. After popping in for a fruit tea I’d decided to come back in here to taste the menu. Although there wasn’t anything clearly labelled as vegan on the menu, I had a word with a member of staff who spoke to the chef and let me know there were a few things they could do for me.

The options consisted of tomato and basil soup, stuffed aubergine ratatouille and a curry. I was actually really tempted with all 3 but I decided against the soup as I often have soup for my lunch during the week and I do like to have something different when I eat out. So, it was between the aubergine and the curry. I do love a curry and it was a close call but I opted for aubergine as this isn’t something I’ve had before and it’s nice to try new things.

The place itself was nice, clean and fresh as you walk in there’s a bar with a few tables for drinks and you can order food here but the restaurant is round the back with many more tables and seats. It looked as though there was also outside seating which would be nice on a summers day. It wasn’t very busy in there but it was early afternoon so not exactly rush hour, I can imagine that it could get quite busy of an evening.

It didn’t take long for my food and drink to arrive which was great and the presentation of the food was really good. The ratatouille had a strong flavour, the aubergine was cooked nicely and there was a generous side salad with dressing. I enjoyed the meal, it was tasty and I would have it again although I think I would want to try the curry if I do come back here.

There’s a question mark as to whether I would come back here in a hurry as unfortunately some others who came here with me did not enjoy their meal. Now, I know this may have been do with their meal choice but it does take a shine off of the experience. I will however only review my experience and I thought the restaurant was nice, staff friendly and willing to adapt meals for dietary requirements and my food tasted good.

No Bull Burgers, Iceland

I’ve got to admit I’m not really one to shop in Iceland regularly, yes I pop in here from time to time to pick up the odd bit of shopping but lately I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve found in here. The no bull burgers were actually recommended to me so when I was in here picking up a no cheese pizza I had to give them a try.

They are soya based and actually look and taste like meat! This may not suit some long term vegans but for me it’s a great burger replacement which I hope will come in particularly handy over the bbq season. They are really easy to cook as you just pop them in the oven from frozen and I had them in a bun with curly fries 🤭 and salad 😋.

It’s a great Friday night dinner, I really enjoyed it and recommend you give them a go 👍🏼 I’m planning on trying out some more products from this range so keep your eyes open for the reviews.

No cheese houmous pizza, Iceland

I’d attempted a vegan pizza 🍕 previously from Asda although I can’t remember what it was called, I do remember that it tasted awful and I ended up throwing it away. This was because the fake cheese that was used really wasn’t nice so when I saw this no cheese pizza in Iceland I thought it was worth a go. It has a thin base which is how I like my pizza anyway, topped with houmous, seasoned tomatoes and black kale. All of this ingredients sounded great but I was a bit dubious, not only because of my previous experience but I wasn’t convinced this was really going to be a pizza substitute.

It cooks from frozen and is just popped in the oven for 10-12 mins the same as a normal frozen pizza, this is particularly handy if you are eating with any non vegans as you can pop two or more pizzas in the oven at the same time and all eat together. Having not got a pizza cutter (fail 🤦🏻‍♀️), I ate this with a knife and fork and although it wasn’t the easiest of bases to cut through, it was nice and crisp. The topping had plenty of flavour and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I would definitely be happy to have this again as a pizza replacement, it beats the fake cheese attempts I’ve had previously and it tasted great.

I’ll be purchasing more of these as a staple freezer filler, it’s always good to have something quick, easy and tasty available as and when needed. I actually think a few of my friends would enjoy this even tho it is cheese and meatless! I’ll have to try them on it 😊.

**adds pizza cutter to shopping list**

Ice cream…..

I’ve seen plenty of ice creams being advertised as vegan and dairy free but in all honesty I’ve never been much of an ice cream eater, this did however intrigue me. It was the halo top which also has the added bonus of being low in calories and what I really wanted to try was the salted caramel flavour. Unfortunately I couldn’t spot this in the freezer aisle at my local Tesco, so I grabbed myself the peanut butter cup one thinking this should be good as I do love a bit of peanut butter. I was disappointed ☹️ it didn’t taste very nice, the texture was thick and stuck to the sides of my mouth and I just did not like the taste. It hasn’t put me off wanting to try the salted caramel flavour version in future, I’ve been told that the normal non vegan halo top ice creams are good (they do a mint choc chip!) so any non vegans should probably give this a go.

This experience did leave me wanting to try more ice creams, it’s like I got the flavour of it by having those few mouthfuls which meant the next time I went shopping I found myself dawdling down towards the ice cream aisle 🤦🏻‍♀️ Again, there was no halo top salted caramel in the vegan section so either I’ve completely dreamt this up or it’s a very popular flavour! I did however see a salted caramel and almond Alpro tub 🤭 no, it wasn’t a low calorie option but yes it was the flavour I’d been craving and yes it was delicious!

I could easily make my way round all the vegan ice creams in the supermarket (hang on 🤔 that is an idea 😃), but I won’t be going near the halo top peanut butter cup and I will certainly be wanting more of the Alpro salted caramel and almond 😋😋

Lunch at the Oakhouse, Maldon

I felt it was time to treat myself to a nice lunch in town on one of my lunch breaks. Although originally I had thought this would just be a cuppa and possible cake so I’d contacted OAKhouseBarCafe on Instagram to make sure they can provide soya milk or an alternative and I could have a hot chocolate or a cup of tea. I was really disappointed that they did not respond to my message, it’s a great way of communicating with customers so it’s a shame this isn’t monitored. However, I did take a look on their website before turning up and was pleased that the menu is online and I could see there was a vegan option for lunch.

Having eaten in here before I had concerns that I might have needed longer than my usual hour for lunch and walking in I could see it was fairly busy with most tables being taken. There was one booth left which was reserved for just over an hours time which worked out well for us so we took a seat and I grabbed a menu from the bar, taking the time to check out the specials on the black board but unfortunately there were no vegan options.

I didn’t feel the menu had that many plant based choices, there was the rough cut OAKhouse chips or sweet potato fries under the light bites range, a Roast pepper, roast onion and nut free pesto wrap and a salad with stuffed olives, blackened bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. I wanted a proper lunch so the light bites were no good and not liking olives meant the salad was out which left the roast pepper, roast onion and nut free pesto wrap.

I have to say it was a lovely wrap with great flavour and it came out with a small number or crisps and a side salad which finished it off nicely. I would definitely come here and have this again, and I’d recommend it to others even those who aren’t vegan would enjoy this meal. To sum it up, the meal was great and the bar has a really nice atmosphere, the negative for here is the lack of vegan options but what they did have was good quality and tasty.