Review: Victoria Vegan Alfredo Sauce

I was walking through EarthFare shopping for vegan cheeses to use in a vegan lasagne and as I was perusing the sauce isle, I came across this jar of VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE! Super stoked, I purchased the $7.98, 18 oz jar of sauce, much to the chagrin of my wallet. 

We had lasagne that night but the next night I was planning a great meal of steamed asparagus, spinach salad, and penne pasta with Alfredo sauce. As I was pouring the sauce into the pot to heat, I noticed chunkules and a certain grittiness to the sauce. I thought it was just how the sauce consisted when it was cold. 

Putting the sauce on warm-low heat, I started gathering the supplies to cook the penne and construct the salad. It could not have been more than 3 minutes later that I got out a spoon to stir the sauce and on the bottom of the pan, a thin, filmy layer of brown goop had formed in the alfredo sauce. Hmm... this was unusual. I did not have the sauce on a high temperature and it has already started burning? Weird. 

I tried to stir the sauce lightly so as to not stir up the burnt bits. When the salad was complete, I looked at the ingredients of the sauce; surprisingly, it was exceedingly similar to a sauce that I make every so often! 

Victoria uses cashew cream as the base of her alfredo with garlic and rosemary to flavor it. My mind put two and two together. The grittiness was little bits of cashews that were not completely blended up into the sauce! 

When the noodles were finished, I leerily poured the sauce over the penne and served our dinner. We took bites. OH! At first taste, I liked it. The tanginess of the sauce complimented the creamy aspect. A distinguished after taste set in. It was sour, almost like lemon juice. Jonathan thought so too. I noticed the grittiness I noticed when starting the sauce remained in the cooked sauce. There were little tiny pieces of cashew that remained rigid against the tongue. 

We both switched over to finishing the salad and asparagus without another word about the alfredo sauce. When we finished eating the pasta, I asked what he thought of it. I could tell he did not want to insult the dinner but we both agreed that the sauce was subpar. 

Unfortunately, the sauce does not reflect alfredo at all; even as a standalone pasta sauce, the flavor is not that great and the texture is even weirder. It was not a horrible experience, but this vegan alfredo sauce was vastly different than what I expected. 

I am sure different taste buds have different sensors and such so I suggest you at least give it a try! As for us, we will not be purchasing this product again. Sorry Victoria, but this just is not for us. We do certainly appreciate the attempt concern for creating vegan food items. 

The Verdict:

Taste:         6/10

Texture:      4/10

Price:         4/10

Value:         3/10

Score:        45%  

                    F

Spaghetti? How about Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

I get a lot of my love for cooking from my mother. She was always creating tasty and exciting ways to get me to eat vegetables; she would sneak shredded zucchini and squash into spaghetti sauce. Almost every Friday she would cook up here spaghetti in a huge batch and it would last the whole week! It was usually served with carrot sticks with ranch dip and garlic toast. We would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Her spaghetti is one of my absolute favorite meals even to this day! I had always associated tomato sauce with spaghetti and spaghetti with tomato sauce. That is how it was. That was spaghetti. I recently was referred to a recipe that claimed to be the traditional way spaghetti was prepared, except it did not use a tomato base for the sauce! Furthermore, there was not even really a sauce on it! It turned out to be extremely satisfying and light! If you need to avoid tomatoes or have frequent heart burn, try this type of spaghetti! 

Ingredients:

• 1 serving pasta                    ($0.45)
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic          ($0.15)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil                     ($0.15)
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley     ($0.07)
• ½ tbsp. red pepper flakes   ($0.09)
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice    ($0.04)

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil on medium heat and throw in the garlic once it has warmed. Sauté for one minute and throw in the pasta. Keep sautéing, stirring constantly and add the chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. After 2 minutes remove from heat. You are done. That is it. Simple, savory spaghetti in less than 15 minutes! I cooked some mushrooms and asparagus in some garlic and oil for a side dish. For the salad, I used spinach, black olives, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette. Any pasta dish can be cheezed up with Go Veggie! vegan grated parmesan cheese! Enjoy! 

Soy Sautéed Zucchini and "Meat"balls

Salty, savory, sautéed vegetables may be my favorite thing in the whole entire world. I had rarely used soy sauce to sauté vegetables before this recipe but from now on, I am using it instead of oil. This recipe puts any spaghetti and meatball recipe to shame! Tasty zucchini "noodles" with fried black bean "meat"balls? Let's get cookin'! So.

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini squash          ($1.57)
• 1 cup pasta sauce         ($0.75)
• 1 cup black beans         ($0.12)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil       
• ⅛ cup breadcrumbs 
• 4 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 handful of oats
• 2 tsp. garlic powder

Preparation:

Slice the zucchini into strips. 

Sauté the sliced zucchini in 2 tbsp. soy sauce until tender.

Place the black beans, oats, garlic powder, and 2 tbsp. soy sauce in a bowl and smash them all together. If you like your balls with a little texture, leave some of the beans whole while still creating a mostly smooth mixture.

Roll the bean mixture into spheres. 

Coat the balls with breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil on medium and when it is hot, fry the balls for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. For a crispier shell, fry for about 7 minutes, or until dark brown. Be careful of the small breadcrumb debris that will fall off. If this stays in the oil for too long it will burn and start smoking and the fire alarm will go off and a fire truck will come and you will have to say it was a false alarm and you will be embarrassed and dinner will be delayed and everything will be cold. 

Heat the pasta sauce. (Yes, I used the microwave out of convenience, but I would normally place it on medium-low in a small saucepan for 5 minutes.)

Layer all of the ingredients and serve!

For an amazingly low price of $2.49, this flavor extravaganza is well worth the work! The beanballs may actually be prepared ahead of time without the breadcrumbs. Just place in the fridge for up to 2 days. I am going to try this recipe with yellow squash next time. Feel free to send in suggestions or your own additions! 

Did you know?

Going vegan or vegetarian has a plethora of health benefits. Lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer, hypertension, obesity, strokes, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, and numerous other serious illnesses, a plant based diet has been shown to be key to a long life. Fewer animals are harmed or killed in consuming only vegetables, fruits, and grains. The meat and dairy industry are the biggest drain on the environment and vegans and vegetarians greatly lower carbon emissions, thus having a minuscule carbon footprint. 

As if these benefits were not enough to make any sensible member of the human species convert to veganism or vegetarianism, Australia is now offering discounted health insurance for avoiding meat! Brian Jones, the managing director in Cheltenham of Make a Difference Insurance says, "Life insurance premiums are calculated based on several factors, including family medical history, lifestyle choices such as alcohol and nicotine intake, so surely a vegetarian or vegan diet should be considered, too.” A discount of up to 20% off premium rates is offered for participants with a qualifying dietary intake. 

sources: Ecorazzi and Herald Sun

Pasta Caprese

Leave it to the Italians for great food. They did it again with an amazing pairing of flavors known as Insalata Caprese. I took this classic recipe for a salad and made it into a delicious pasta dinner. 

Purple Basil with Cavatappi pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 box of whole grain pasta     ($0.99)
• 1 jar of pasta sauce                ($1.25)
• 1 bag of vegan mozzarella     ($2.56)
• 3 tbsp. minced basil leaves   ($0.30)

Preparation:

Add your favorite style pasta to boiling water until al dente. Mince the basil leaves into fine pieces and add them to a saucepan with the sauce on medium low. When the sauce starts to bubble, pour it over the pasta. Add the mozzarella on top and garnish with a basil leaf or two if desired. For only $5.01, feed 4 impoverished vegans a delightful dinner with an hint of Italy. Buon Appetito!

Melty vegan mozzarella over spaghetti and basil

This is my favorite cheese-like brand, daiya

Did you know?

Cheese. Glorious, delicious, melty, savory, incredible cheese. Humans love cheese. I am a vegan and I love cheese; however, cheese is the secret villain behind certain cancers and diseases. Cancer is just one of a plethora of reasons to slay your cheese addiction. The meat and dairy industries are very closely intertwined. In fact, they are actually the same industry. The animals-are-food industry. This industry is literally killing our planet, the people on it, and an obscene number of innocent animals that would otherwise serve a better purpose than decomposing in stomach acid. So, how bad is cheese for the human body?

Today's dairy milk is exceedingly rich in natural bovine estrogen compounds. This has resulted from the cows being milked 300 times per year, which causes the cow to produce more estrogen and thus more milk, more often. Pregnant cows are milked too, causing additional excess estrogen to end up in the milk. Leading nutritionists connect these estrogen compounds in the milk we consume to breast, prostate, and testicular cancer. There are opiate compounds in milk called casomorphins. Being an opiate, they are literally addictive. The purpose of them in dairy milk is to bind the baby calf to the mother with a special bond. How weird is it that humans are now addicted to dairy with the special bond of a mother cow? 

Dairy cows live their ENTIRE lives in the same cramped position

Over-milking and growth hormones cause utters to enlarge

Cows may be left dead for days, decomposing on the dirty floor

Cows farmed for consumption live in dairy farms. The males are sent directly to get pumped full of growth hormones and slaughtered for beef. Females are milked dry and forcefully inseminated, while their calves are taken from them to be pumped with growth hormones and milked just like their mothers. After the cows are useless for dairy, they are sent to the factory for their beef. The two industries are codependent and are taking up an increasingly vast amount of resources to feed, house, slaughter, and repeat. These resources could very well be used to end world hunger. The methane produced by cows is tearing our atmosphere apart, one hamburger at a time. There is so much more on this subject than can fit in a single blog post, but take the time to educate yourself before diving into a delicious bowl of mac and cheese. There are plenty of vegan alternatives to dairy. Check it:

Food is Power - for vegan alternatives to milk, butter, cheese, and eggs

Vegan Health - for information on negative health risks of animal products

Compassionate Cookbook - for encouragement, recipes, and information about veganism

Opiate Addiction - for more information about addiction 

Vegan Alfredo

Smooth, creamy and savory, this vegan Alfredo sauce will send your tastebuds into a cheesy, buttery frenzy. It is hard to believe it is vegan because it actually tastes better than many non-vegan Alfredo sauces. 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. coconut milk                   ($1.82)
• ½ c. nutritional yeast             ($1.66)
• 1 medium clove of garlic       ($0.26)
• 1 tsp. dried basil                    ($0.05)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• a dash of black pepper

Asparagus pairs very well with this creamy Alfredo sauce.

Preparation:

Peel and mince the garlic. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Heat on medium, stirring frequently until almost boiling. Continue to simmer 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken. The longer the sauce boils, the thicker it will become. Pour over your favorite pasta. This quick and easy sauce costs $3.79 and will quickly become a new favorite. 

This recipe came from The Fitchen. They specialize in healthy eating that is "sometimes raw, usually vegan, always organic." 

Experiment with this recipe. Serve with some freshly steamed veggies or use a different herb or spice instead of basil.

Nutritional yeast is the secret ingredient in this recipe. While the coconut milk provides the creamy base, the nutritional yeast adds a fistful of flavor and nutrients like the B-complex vitamins. These vitamins, like Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Pyridoxine, are hard to come by with a vegan diet. It is a magical product sent from above. This delicious seasoning can be used in sauces and as a topping for popcorn, potatoes, vegetables, rice, salads, and bread! BRAGG® Nutritional Yeast Seasoning has been around for over 100 years and can be found in most grocery and health food stores.