Vegan Foods that We Enjoy

Note: this page has not been updated in a long while, so some of the items below may no longer be vegan. One of the frustrating things for anyone concerned with what his food is made of is that manufacturers will change the ingredients without any kind of warning, so in any case, we all need to be keeping an eye on ingredients.

Note also that inclusion on this page was predicated solely on an examination of the lists of ingredients. This means that we rely on the manufacturer to provide accurate listings of ingredients. Hence, inclusion on this page cannot, unfortunately, be construed as a guarantee that these products are vegan (e.g., I've recently been warned about the Korean products listed below).

The solution is clear: avoid pre-processed foods like those below and cook from scratch. The food will probably be better, and will certainly be better for you. But we don't always have time to do that, do we? To the extent that we rely on convenience foods like those listed here, the best we can do is to keep an eye on ingredients lists and keep an ear out for information from other channels.

There are a lot of vegan foods that we enjoy, so this won't be an exhaustive list. Instead, this is a listing of some of the more esoteric items (esoteric to non-vegans, at least) that have made it into our regular rotation. Hopefully this will be a good resource for vegans just starting out, as well as for non-vegans working on accomodating vegan friends or relatives.

Meat and Dairy Analogs

We enjoy a lot of fake meats and dairy products. They're pretty good, although I wouldn't go so far as to say they taste like the foods they're modeled after. Actually, I doubt that I would remember what the "real" things taste like. The key to enjoying foods like these is to evaluate them on their own merits, rather than on how well they approximate the meats or dairy products they're imitating. Here are some of our favorites, in no particular order:

	Yves brand hot dogs are my favorite veggie dogs. They say right on them that thay're good, so how could you go wrong?
	Gardenburger Flame Grilled Hamburger Style are our favorite burgers. They actually have a grilled flavor to them. Be careful when you buy veggie burgers, because many of them have eggs or dairy in them. We also enjoy Boca's plain burgers, and Yves makes a good vegan burger as well.
	Gardenburger Riblets are pretty good. They come formed into little rows of ribs, which is a little creepy, but they taste good, and the sauce is delicious!
	Gardenburger Flame Grilled Chik'n Grill is a nice unbreaded chicken patty substitute. It's very good on a bun with some lettuce and some Vegenaise.
	Gardenburger Buffalo Chik'n Wings are a recent discovery for us. Neither of us has ever had real Buffalo wings, but our friend Rob says these are pretty good, although a little mushy. There's also a barbecue chik'n patty made by Gardenburger, but it contains dairy.
	Tofurky Deli Slices are our favorite lunchmeat. As far as I can tell, they taste just like turkey. I'm partial to the hickory smoked. They also make Tofurky with dressing, gravy, and tempeh drumsticks. We're going to try one this Thanksgiving, so I'll let you know what we think!
	It was a great day when Rob pointed these out to me. Veggie brats! These are awesome, especially with a cold beer and a healthy dose of brown mustard. Easily my favorite fake meat. They make a couple of other varieties (Sweet Italian Sausage and Kielbasa); both are good, but not as good as the brats. Boca came out with brats and sausage a little while back, but they have egg in them. Way to go Tofurky!
	This is Gimme Lean Sausage Style. It's a none-too-subtle play on "Jimmy Dean" sausage. This is the best we've found for sausage patties or links with breakfast. Slice it thick and fry it in oil. They also make a ground beef style that we like a lot, but we haven't seen it in a while.
	Tuno is a none-too-clever play on, you guessed it, tuna. It's really pretty good, and I'm only taking their word that it's not real tuna. It really looks, tastes, and smells like I remember tuna. We love this in tuno noodle casserole.
	These Tofutti cheese singles are pretty good, as good as any vegan cheese we've had, anyway. They made shreds for a very short while, but it looks like they gave that up. It's too bad; we really liked them. The slices actually make good grilled cheese. The cheese actually melts! I don't know how much they taste like mozarella or american cheese, but they're good in a sandwich or on a burger.
	Vegenaise is awesome! We used to use Nayonnaise, and we were content with it, not because it was great, but because we didn't think vegan mayonnaise could be better. We were wrong. This stuff is very good. I'd eat it straight if it weren't such a repulsive idea.
	Sour Supreme is Tofutti's version of sour cream (Max calls it "Sour Sucream"). I'll be honest with you: this does not taste like sour cream. However, it is good as a replacement for sour cream in recipes, and it's a cool, creamy topping for things like tacos and enchiladas. We like it, but we don't think it tastes like the real thing, and it took some getting used to. However, the "killer app" has got to be stirring in a packet of vegan ranch dip mix and eating with chips. The boys often dip two knuckles deep!
	Willow Run is a good soy margarine that we use a lot of. It's made by Shedd's, so you can probably find it at a normal grocery store (we buy it at Meijer). It's not reduced fat or a spread, so it's suitable for cooking, and the taste is pretty good. We used to try to buy cheaper brands, but they would change their ingredients without notice and we'd realize we'd been eating some kind of dairy product for who knows how long. We decided that it was easiest just to pay the premium, plus it's a vote for explicitly vegan products, which can't hurt. Are you listening, Shedd's? It's been pointed out that this product contains transfatty acids, which are considered bad for your health. I'm not arguing with that, and there are many vegan spreads out there that you could try instead. However, for cooking, this is the best I've found. I should probaly consider using the others for when I'm not cooking (i.e., for just putting on foods), but right now the hassle and expense do not seem worth it to me. I'm not your doctor. You decide what's best for you.

Desserts

I'm going to put some desserts here, but we don't have any on hand right now. I'll say this much: desserts are the food type that exhibit the most frequent (unadvertised) recipe changes. Currently, some varieties of Oreos are vegan, whereas they weren't just a while back. Same with Nutter Butters. That's cool, but it's only a matter of time before they switch back. We really have to check every time. There's nothing more frustrating than happening to check the ingredients of an item that you regularly purchase, only to find that they've introduced whey into the ingredient list (for whatever reason, whey is the biggest culprit). How many times have we bought non-vegan foods because we trusted the manufacturers to inform us of changes? Hard to tell, but we do a better job of checking now.

OK, you might think this is a funny place to be extolling the virtues of ramen, but we love it, and it's so easy and cheap! The varieties below are not your garden-variety grocery store ramen; we buy these at the Asian food market we go to. They are far superior to the kind you'll find at Meijer or Wal-Mart. These make a very good meal for under a buck.

	Tung-I Mushroon Flavor Ramen is a nice mild ramen. It's got a spice packet and an oil and onions packet. Not much to say about this one, but the boys really like it, and it's nice for when we don't feel like something spicy.
	Alice is addicted to this stuff. Nong Shim Soy Ramen is about twice as expensive as most ramen (it's about 60 cents per package), but it's also about twice the size. It comes with a spicy seasoning packet and a packet of dehydrated vegetables. This is a spicy one; you have been warned.
	Nong Shim Shin Ramyun is similar to the Soy Ramen above, but it's not as good, according to Alice. I like them both, although the noodles in the Soy Ramen seem somehow springier to me. We get this when they're out of the other. This one also comes with a spicy flavor packet and a packet of dehydrated vegetables. We've also tried the kimchee flavor, but don't notice much difference between it and this.
	Ottogi Jin Ramen "Hot Taste" has replaced Nong Shim Shin Ramyun and Soy Ramen in our household. It tastes a lot the same to me, and although I like it a little less, Alice says it's better because it's saltier. Fine with me! Includes a spice packet and a packet of dried vegetables.
	This is the Ottogi Jin Ramen "Mild Taste." They boys like it, and it doesn't make them cry, like the "Hot Taste" would. Also includes a spice packet and a packet of dried vegetables.
	Myojo Artificial Duck Flavor is absolutely my favorite ramen right now. I don't notice anything duck-ish about it, so I suspect these are just the spices they use when preparing duck. This is so good, and unlike any other ramen we've tried. It comes with a spice packet, a really spicy spice packet, and a palm oil packet. Not as hot as the Nong Shim selections described above, but plenty hot anyway. Only about half the size of the Nong Shim varieties, but also half the cost. It says to make it with 1.5 cups water, but I usually use 2.
	Another tasty variety from Myojo: Chinese Artificial Pork flavour. Once again, I'm not sure this tastes like pork, so it's probably made with traditional pork seasonings. From the picture on the front, they seem to expect me to add pork, but I like it fine the way it is! I make this kind with 2 cups of water, too. Like the artificial duck variety, this one comes with three packets, the spices, the really spicy spices, and palm oil.
	OK, I have a new favorite. IndoMie Rasa Soto Betawi is a spicy ramen with a bit of a citrus flavor. Five packets of seasonings, oils, and fried onions make this one a big hit. Very cheap, too: I paid $9.00 for a case of 40.
	This is another Indonesian variety from IndoMie. It's not a soup, just noodles. Like the Rasa Soto Betawi, this one comes with five packets of adjuncts. Good taste, a little bit of spicy heat. I like it.
	Nong Shim Chajang Myun is not a soup, it's noodles with a thick brown sauce. The boys love this, and I think it's very good after sprinkling liberally with red pepper flakes. Comes with a packet of dried vegetables and TVP chunks, the brown sauce powder, and a packet of oil. Update: I received an email from someone who said that the chunks in Chajang Myun are pork, not TVP. The ingredients list does not list pork, and Nong Shim's product information web page does not list pork, but it's certainly possible that something was "lost" in translation. I'm sure that it is traditionally made with some kind of meat, but I'm inclined to believe that ingredients list; the chunks seem like TVP to me. However, I want the reader to be able to make an informed decision, since I'm claiming that this is a vegan food.
	This one's Indian! Maggi Masala style. Very nice for variety's sake. Not exactly a soup, more like noodles with a thin sauce. Make sure to note that 1 1/2 teacups is not the same as 1 1/2 cups; use the 225 ml figure in the instructions (just under 1 cup), and this will turn out great. There's also a Chatpata style, which Alice likes, but which I really dislike.

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