Holiday Hack: All Plants Vegan Meals

Friday, December 22, 2017
As you may know by now if you've been following my blog for a while, I'm a vegetarian and I have been since I was around 11 years old but over the past three years I've been on/off vegan and now my diet is mainly vegan with occasional dairy products.

There are so many struggles and annoyances about being a vegetarian, never mind being vegan, such as the complete lack of vegetarian specific food and ready meals in the major UK supermarkets...I've noticed that the selection has reduced even more over the past year which is incredibly annoying. In comes All Plants to the rescue!

All Plants create delicious frozen ready meals all of which are entirely plant based so there is no meat, fish, dairy or eggs which is fantastic as I don't need to look at the label which is what I have to do with everything else I eat! The meals are packed with plant protein (the best kind of protein) and are perfect for the holiday season if you don't have time to cook or if you have a vegan/vegetarian coming over for Christmas dinner or a new year celebration.
I was very kindly sent three of their meals all of which came quickly, they were well packaged and protected in an insulated bag so they stay fresh and frozen while being delivered and they are easily stored in the freezer. The meals are for two to share you just need to heat them up in the microwave or the oven and there are quite a few to choose from, although I wish there were more. I also wish that I knew about this brand back in the summer when we were having the kitchen redesigned and only had a microwave as they would have been perfect!

*All Plants Cashew Mac ★★★★
Let's start with one of my favourites from the three that I was sent and it was the option I was most excited about. Since I was a very young child, macaroni cheese has been and will always be one of my favourite things to eat (I used to call it 'macaronic cheese') but I don't really want all of that fat and dairy so this is a fantastic and very delicious alternative!

It contains macaroni, cashew cream (which I something I make regularly as a pasta sauce, creamy dip or the base for a salad dressing), a crunchy seed crumb, roasted tomatoes, spring greens and smoky mushrooms...it sounds like heaven to me. It is high in iron, it contains vitamin B12 and plant based proteins.

I microwaved it for a little longer that suggested as it wasn't fully hot and it was so incredibly delicious! I loved the greens, the crunchy sunflower seeds and the mushrooms. It was very filling, a great meal for two although I did eat it by myself because I do not share food (I had half for lunch then half as a late dinner) and I cannot recommend it enough. There are things that I would have changed to suit me, for example, I would have added more mushrooms, replaced the sunflower seeds with toasted hazelnuts and removed the tomatoes for tenderstem broccoli but it was very delicious as it was. Also smoked paprika is a great addition to cashew cream for a smoky vegan Mac 'n' cheese!
*All Plants Harissa Jewel ★★★★
Next up is one I was a little unsure about as I don't like spicy food at all, I must have super sensitive tastebuds...but this was surprisingly one of the most delicious and moreish options. I think the cashew mac and harissa jewel have to be tied as my favourite meals from the three I was sent. As with the previous option, this one is high in fibre and a good source of iron as well as being a source of vitamin C.

It contains rotted aubergine, red peppers, courgette, smooth harissa hummus and rice which not only looked so tempting but it was divine and thankfully it was spicy but not hot at all! I loved the rice and chickpeas, harissa hummus and the veggies. It was something I wouldn't usually pick for myself but I'd definitely choose it again and I would definitely recommend it.
*Lasagne Caponata ★★★
Last but not least is a very unique lasagne with slow cooked aubergine, tomatoes, spinach, butternut béchamel sauce and lasagne topped with pine nuts and festive herbs. All of the meals are handmade, they are 100% plant based as well as a good sources of protein. This meal couldn't be heated in the microwave so I had to use the oven and it did take longer than the suggested time, even though our oven is new as of this summer but it was worth it.

I loved the top layer of butternut béchamel sauce with herbs and pine nuts, it was definitely my favourite thing about this meal - I always prefer the top couple of layers compared to the rest! It was very filling and delicious but it was sadly my least favourite out of the three. Even though my nickname for years within my family was 'the pasta queen' as I ate so much of it, lasagne isn't something I've ever really liked however this unique take on a traditional Italian classic was still one of the best I've tried.

Have you heard of All Plants? Will you be taking part in veganuary next month? Are you vegetarian or vegan? 

12 comments

  1. These look so good! thankyou for sharing I need some tips.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is such a struggle isn't it - literally everything contains meat and dairy in supermarkets. I'm going to have a look on their website now - thanks for the heads up x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my it looks so good! But I couldn't give up cheese lol

    Erin || MakeErinOver

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cashew mac sounds good - giving me ideas for veganuary x

    ReplyDelete
  5. These meals sound pretty awesome! They're really cool and it's great that they accomodate to your vegan/vegetarian needs! xx
    www.imjustagirl16.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  6. All of these meals sound great! I really like the sound of the Cashew Mac xo

    Char | www.charslittleblog.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ah I’m not vegan but these sound great and I know some people who would absolutely love them! x

    ReplyDelete
  8. What great alternatives! I'm so impressed with the sound of these! x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh these all look so good! Great ideas, I’m going to give some a try myself.

    http://littlemissmelanie.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vegans always have it so hard when it comes to food so I'm glad I can recommend this post to my vegan friends x

    ReplyDelete

Please don’t leave any spam comments or links - thanks!

I’m no longer accepting any sponsored posts or freelance work at all and for the time being, I’m not accepting products to review so please don’t contact me about any of those, thank you! x