I know, this photo may seem creepy for some of you, but I promise I haven't gone into the dark side. This bacon is 100% vegan. I do product reviews very rarely, but when Veggie-Shop24 offered me to try a wide variety of their products, I couldn't say no.
They are an European online shop offering only vegan products and shipping all over Europe. In addition to food, they also have vegan cosmetics, pet food and household items. It was so much fun to pick out my products and experiment with them. The results are here.
If you are ordering chilled products that are sensitive to temperature changes, be sure to add a thermo box to your order. When my products where shipped, I received an e-mail, but it was only in German. I strongly recommend you to track your package after it's shipped (be on the lookout for the German e-mail :) and then pick it up as soon as it's arrived. Some of my products had gotten bad and I had to throw them away. But the products in tight vacuum package were 100% fine. Just a little heads up for you.
Veggie duck fillet. At first bite, it reminded me a little bit of canned mackerel fish. Maybe it's because of the oil. But I loved this product. It was super flavorful, a bit spicy even. It's great in salads and on a sandwich. Vantastic Foods seems to be my new favorite vegan food brand.
Phunky Monkey RASPBERRY BLACK PEPPER salad dressing. I was so excited for this! Raspberry and black pepper sounded really intriguing. Unfortunately it was too vinegary for me. It was all I could taste. But maybe their other sauces are better? Until then, I will stick to homemade salad dressings.
Liquid smoke. Finally! I've dreamed of this almost the whole time since I've been vegan. That would be about 9,5 years. I haven't seen liquid smoke in Estonia. Once I went to a respected store in Tartu, which sells quality Asian spices, oils and other hard to find products.When I asked for liquid smoke, they told me to go to the electronic cigarette store. Well that was rather weird and disturbing. But now I have my very own liquid smoke and I'm gonna use it in many different dishes. Like this pan-fried shashlik, seitan steaks and barbecue carrot dogs for example. It's also good in different one pot dishes.
Seitan flour. I need to get my seitan fix from time to time, so this gluten flour will come in handy. There's a whole kilo for it, so we can eat our seitan in peace :) I also have some fabulous seitan recipes for you to try out!
Vegan salmon fillet. It even looks like salmon! It tasted and smelled like the sea and had a pretty firm texture. I couldn't eat much at a time, but we still ate the whole thing in the end. It was especially good when sliced and served on a sandwich.
Veggie scampis. It reminded me a bit of surimi. Especially the texture. I pan-fried them and we ate them with pasta. It's a great low-calorie snack, too! I'm sure it's tasty in salads, pasta and rice dishes and when marinated. I would order it again, just to experiment with it. A very fascinating product.
Simply V and Noa paprika spreads were OK, but nothing to write home about. It's almost always the case with store-bought spreads. It's best to make your own. I have some great recipes for that! But if I have to choose, Noa made it better.
No-Muh Melty cheese. It had an overall wonderful taste and smell, very tangy. But it also had a bit of a weird accent on the taste, which I couldn't recognize. I liked it, but some of my guests didn't. The texture was really soft, perfect for spreading onto a sandwich. I didn't try to melt it, which I regret :) We just ate it as a snack and spread it on a rye bread.
Rice whip. It is really comfortable to use and has a perfect fluffy texture, but it also had an unusable taste for me. I had high hopes, but I probably wouldn't use it again.
Veggie bacon (or ham slices).This was our nr.1 favorite! Would order again, 1000 times! And I didn't even like bacon, when I was a meat eater. This veggie bacon has a SUPERB texture and an outstanding taste. Loved it 100%. And do I have to mention that it's from Vantastic Foods again? Thank you for this amazingness. We pan-fried it and then just straight ate it. No bread and ahem...no forks.
Ocean beach burger. I was very satisfied with this product. It had a juicy and firm texture and it was wonderfully seasoned. I just cut the burgers into slices and served them on a bread. Absolute YUM! Would definitely order again.
Veggie duck breast fillet. Some of my guests didn't like this product, but I did! It had two HUGE slices in a package and you can cut them and use them however you like. I pan-fried the slices and served them with a potato salad. It's definitely good in different salads (both mayo salads and no-mayo salads), on a bread, marinated, grilled, in a wrap and so on. Very versatile!
Black pepper soy jerky. Again, a food I didn't like as a meat eater, but this soy jerky will knock your socks off. I liked how it tasted mildly sweet and it had a super juicy and stretchy texture. They have many different flavored vegan jerkys available, so definitely check them out!
All in all, I had a pleasant experience with Veggie-Shop24 and I would definitely order from there again. They also have a very friendly and helpful staff. If you don't know where to start, you should check out their "Vegan basics" category. I love that they sell some products in 5kg packages, in case you need to feed a lot of people. And the products I mentioned in this post, are only the tip of the iceberg. They have so many! From herbs, spices, oils, spreads, vegan meats, vegan cheeses, ready meals, pastries, desserts, candies and chocolate bars, fish alternatives, food supplements to household items. Seriously, what a time to be alive. Being vegan has never been easier!