Oreo: Original

I found out Oreos were Vegan by BuzzFeed's video:

10 Foods You'll Never Look At The Same Way Again

You get 2 chocolate flavour biscuits sandwiched together by a vanilla crème.

I thought Nabisco was the manufacturer of Oreos but on my packaging it said "Mondelēz International so I had a trawl on the web.

Source: Wikipedia

Best selling cookie in the United States

The "Oreo Biscuit" was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco) in 1912"

The name Oreo was first trademarked on March 14, 1912.

It was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie manufactured by Sunshine company, introduced in 1908.

 

Oreo was inspired by the Hydrox, yet Hydrox suffered from the impression of being the knockoff

Original Oreo recipe used lard!

The origin of the name Oreo is unknown but I like this one:
Greek word 'Oreo', meaning beautiful, nice or well done

Mondelēz International, Inc. is an American multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate.

The Mondelēz name, adopted in 2012, came from the input of Kraft Foods employees at the time, a combination of the words for "world" and "delicious" in romance languages.

Nabisco; the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International

And therein answers my question!

Review:

Pros:

Vegan ingredients but (see Cons)

Good crunch

Crème stops it becoming too dry

 

Cons:

I checked faq from Oreo.co.uk

Is Oreo suitable for vegans?

Oreo is not suitable for Vegans as they have the cross contact of Milk.

 

Minor Musing

It tastes to me like a Chocolate version of a Custard Cream biscuit.

 

Very surprised to see it was Vegan. I looked at Lidl's Neo ingredients and it contains whey so stick with the original!

Nope, never dunked in milk (of any form) Great as they are.

 

Costs around 9p a biscuit with 53 calories.

Toby Carvery

Hello

I gave up Dairy again for a few months.  I started at the end of January and continued on until Easter.
The only time it was slightly frustrating was when it was time to eat out.  Restaurants these days are better at labelling, especially the chain restaurants.  I'm afraid I didn't have any faith in Indian restaurants so avoided going out for a curry entirely.

I organised a meal out to Toby Carvery.  As I had to book anyway, I used this opportunity to enquire about my dietary requirements.  Manny at the Lower Earley branch was extremely helpful.  He informed me the glaze they use for the turkey was honey and okay for me to eat.  I did ask about the vegetables because they are the best bit!  He said they would cook a fresh batch for me on the night.

On the night, I got there early and announced my arrival.  When my guests had arrived and were ready to go up, I checked with the server about my vegetables and they rustled up some. 

Carrots, leeks, peas and cauliflower with Veggie gravy

 



I was slightly disappointment that there were no roast potatoes but even more at the lack of roast parsnips, easily the best accompaniment to a roast!
That didn't last long because I was happy at the selection and size of the portions.  I find leeks in cream sauce or leeks with cheese very sickly so was a bit wary that they put leeks on my plate.  I needn't be as they were lovely!  They tasted sweet.  So thanks Toby and dairy-freeness, I like leeks now!

I went again as a last minute plan.  I opted for their Vegan Nut Wellington.

It was delicious!  They were very busy so I didn't want to cause any hassle.  My friends had almost eaten their food as my one needed to be heated in the oven.  I queued up for the veg and asked the chef if there were any veggies without any butter.  He suggested I have roast parsnips and the onions in gravy.  So still no roast potatoes!  I think with this Nut Roast Wellington, I was really craving for some peas!

Pros:
They are helpful if you phone them beforehand (preferably at a not so busy time)
2 Vegan choices on the menu: Nut Roast Wellington and Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

Cons:
You don't want to know the calories in the Nut Roast Wellington!
No desserts suitable.

Alpro: Almond Milk

I was pleased when I heard Alpro had a new product and it was almond milk.  I've heard good news about the health benefits but it's really hard to find a shop that sells it in Reading.  The only place I did see it was in a Holland and Barrett in London; I didn't fancy lugging it home and it was around the £3 bracket.  Refrigerated Alpro products are 2 for £2 at the moment, I got this in Tesco.

Cool and refreshing

Okay in tea

Review:

AlPros:

Plant based products, obviously it's vegan

Milk-like appearance and consistency

Good if you don't eat soya.

AlCons:

The flavour too subtle, barely there almond flavour.

Minor Musing

I stopped drinking cow's milk more than a year ago.  It was a mixture of reasons, one being milk past its best making me ill.  I make coffee for my colleagues at work but I always smell the milk first despite not drinking it myself.  I like Alpro, I usually get their soy milk (fresh or UHT, whichever is cheaper).

If you want something with a more pronounced flavour, I would suggest Alpro Hazelnut Milk (I should review it some time)

Alpro: Almond Milk
Try my Cherry and Almond Muffins recipe

Innocent Veg Pot: Thai Curry

 

I've had innocent smoothies before but have never tried their veg pots.  They look really nice.  An alternative to the sandwich for lunch.  It's half price at Tesco (£1.89) at the moment.

Before nuking

All stirred up!

Review:

Pros:

Smells lovely with exotic aromas.

Fresh and appealing.

Saucy.

3 portions of veg in one 390g pot!

Very filling

It's VEGAN!

Cons:

Contains gluten (soy sauce)

Scary pot!  After cooking, the pot sucked in on itself and the contents were about to overflow.  I was scared to take off the lid in case it was too hot for my finger and I was afraid of the steam stinging my face.  Luckily neither happened.  It happily deflated when I took the lid off.

Minor Musing

When I opened the container, I dropped the lid on the floor...  Guess which side it landed on?  I had to rinse and wipe hehe.

This was medium spiced to me.  I felt the mouth tingle and my face heat up.  I'd definitely take a yoghurt to cool myself down if I had this at work.  Prob good to take some mints as well...

I'm very pleased with this product.  I'll try the other flavours at half price.  The only way I'd pay full is if I HAD to buy my lunch for work, I'd prefer this to a sandwich (oh, and then face the battle for the microwave!).

Thai Coconut Curry Veg Pot

Tesco: Lemon and Coriander Houmous

A reason to go into Tesco!  Houmous works best as a snack.  I like to dip carrot, breadsticks, pepper and celery.  The price does vary.  Sometimes it's £1.20, other times, it's 2 for £2 and this time, it was £1.

Review:

Pros:

Full of flavour!

Vegan

It has a neat little recipe on the inside facing cardboard.

Cons:

The recipe contains no nuts but they can't guarantee nut free.

Minor Musing

I love this stuff!  I had it in a toasted onion bagel with cucumber for lunch.  My boss asked me what I was eating and he laughed and said it was rabbit food.  I likened my bagel to an upmarket deli lunch.

Tesco: Lemon & Coriander Houmous

Jammie Dodgers: Lively Lemon

 








Tesco used to do their own brand of really cheap jam biscuits.  These have crept up in price so I thought I might as well try the branded one at half price (57p) at Tesco's.  A lot of supermarkets are doing this offer.  I've tried the jam flavoured dodgers but thought the lemon would be interesting.

<3

 Review:

Pros:

"No added nasties"

No milk, butter, margarine ingredients used.

It's got a heart in the middle!

Lemon flavour apple jam (so it's a jam not some lemon marmalade)

Tastes like lemon tart in biscuit form.

Cons:

May contain milk.  (I think they're more worried about contamination than ingredients purposely containing milk derivatives)

Slightly bitter aftertaste.

Edible but not moreish (maybe that should be a pro?)

Minor Musing

If you are eagle-eyed, you will notice that when I took the photo of the packet of biscuits, I miss off the left bit of the packet.  This was intentional as my brother had already opened them!  I asked him his opinion of them and he said that "biscuits are biscuits."  I guess he liked them enough. 

A good dairy-free lemony sweet treat but it doesn't make me give up the search!

Their website is under development so have a Wikipedia link instead! Jammie Dodgers

Cauldron: Aduki Bean Kievs

I decided to try this product because it was half price at Tesco's (£1.14).  This is not the first time I have heard of Cauldron though.  I have previously bought their sausages from Waitrose's chiller cabinet at full whack!  I think introductory prices are good for encouraging the consumer to try a new product.  If a person really likes something, they would be willing to pay more for it.

Oven baked according to instructions

A closer inspection (left kiev)

Review:

Pros:
It smelt lovely while it was cooking.  A really appetising curry aroma.
It is vegan with no eggs or dairy products.
It had a delicious and crispy breadcrumb coating.
The chutney is a good idea for making what's essentially a curry bean burger less dry.

Cons:
Not for you if you are gluten intolerant.
Tasted a bit salty.
Was a bit dry, could do with more mango chutney.

Minor musing
I took a picture of the left kiev because there wasn't any chutney leakage so I assumed it would have more sauce intact.  Funnily enough, that was the drier one!  I had to eat the other purely for research ^_~
I wouldn't pay full price for this product, I'd rather have some falafels.

Cauldron: Aduki Bean Kievs