Seriously, I apologize profusely for the length of time since my last post. This has been a terrible year for me (not counting what's going on in the world). Between my own health problems, two of my animals having health problems (one being PTS, the other dying at home), some family things I won't divulge, and plenty of other nasties, I've had at LEAST one personal tragedy of some sort every month but September (*knock wood*).
FINALLY getting to this review post .
As with my "Some products I'd like to review" and "More (unsolicited) reviews, and a request for my readers" posts, these reviews were written over time, and so might be a bit disjointed. I wanted to note my impressions while they were still fresh in my mind, even if it meant the post's continuity is a bit wonky. And these are MY opinions, though I'm sharing them in an effort to help you save money (after all, spending money on something you'll waste is far from frugal!). Anyway, on to the reviews:
Fast forward to 2019 and I find out Tuno is back! I happened to have a gift card for Amazon thanks to doing a two-week survey for NCP, and I got a free trial of Amazon Prime for a month. Among other things, I ordered a big can of the Tuno in Sea Salt. It arrived with several dents, and the seller told me to contact Amazon (whose automated system never DID let me speak to a person, just said that the item isn't available for return). How was it? My notes merely state "Big, brown chunks floating in an oily liquid. 'Fishy' smell, very little taste plain.". I remember I broke those lumps up with my fingers and made it into a "tuna" salad, which wasn't bad. It certainly didn't fit my memories, though.
Later in the year, Tops started carrying 5oz cans of all three flavours (Sea Salt, Lemon Pepper, and Sriracha). I bought a Sea Salt and a Lemon Pepper, because Sriracha "tuna"? Eww! lol. Anyway, I opened the can of Sea Salt "Tuno". It didn't look anywhere near as gross as the large can had, but still wasn't exactly appealing. See. . . ?
Now, the Lemon Pepper Tuno really impresses me! It looks more "flakey" than the Sea Salt stuff, though still not all that appetizing. It smells of lemon more than anything. Taste-wise, it's got a "fishy" taste, but is more "lemon-y". However, in "tuna" salad, it is AMAZING!
Nutritionally, the Sea Salt Tuno provides (per half can): 40 Calories, 0gm Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 170mg Sodium, 2gm Carbs (2gm Fibre, so 0 net Carbs), and 7gm Protein. It provides 4% of Calcium, 6% Iron, and 2% Potassium. The Lemon Pepper Tuno provides (per half can ): 55 Calories, 1gm Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 119mg Sodium, 5gm Carbs (2gm Fibre), 5gm Protein, 2% Calcium, 6% Iron, and 3% Potassium.
For comparison, Bumble Bee chunk light tuna in water has (per can): 50 Calories, 0gm Fat, 30mg Cholesterol, 200mg Sodium, 0gm Carbs, 12gm Protein, 2% of Calcium and Iron, 3% of Potassium, 10% of Vitamins D and B6, 20% Niacin, 30% Vitamin B12, and 45% Selenium. So it's nutritionally superior, if you eat it (but be aware that there is the matter of Mercury contamination in fish).
I found Tuno on sale at Tops this month (January, 2020) and grabbed up 3 cans of Sea Salt and one of Lemon Pepper. I plan to make "tuna" noodle casserole with two of the Sea Salt. If I do before I post this, I'll add it in.
Update 8/22/2020: I did try the "tuna" noodle casserole. I was disappointed. The Tuno seemed to lose all flavour entirely. I'll stick with using Tuno for "tuna" salad, I think.
Pure Farmland Italian "Sausage"
17th September: Though I did eat the rest formed into patties, I didn't take any notes. I'm sorry.
Gardein Meatless "Meatballs"
Nutritionally 3 "meatballs" (90g) provides 150 Calories, 7g Fat (.5g Saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 9g Carbs (3g Fibre), 14g Protein, 380mg Sodium (17%), 4% each of Calcium and Potassium, and 10% of Iron. By contrast, EatThisMuch says the following about frozen meatballs (per 90gm): 257 Calories, 20gm Fat (6.9gm Saturated), 59mg Cholesterol, 7.3gm Carbs (2.1gm Fibre), 13gm Protein, 599mg (25%) Sodium, 8% Calcium, 266mg Potassium (% not given), 20% Iron, and varying amounts of other vitamins and minerals.
I definitely recommend Gardein's Meatless "Meatballs". To be fair, I've loved most of the products of theirs I've tried (it's just a shame few are available in the stores I can get to...even their "Fishless Filets" aren't anymore!).
Earth Grown "Sausage"
I'll give them this, they're decently priced.
As you can see, right out of the package, the links are a depressing grey. They ARE much larger than the Morningstar Farms links I occasionally buy, I was impressed with the size. I heated some oil in a pan and started cooking two. WATCH CAREFULLY, they will start to burn quickly, if you don't keep turning them!
I cut a small bite and tried it. Honestly, they tasted like low-quality veggie "dogs", rather than "sausage". Not daunted, I cut the links into small chunks and mixed with sauteed mushrooms and scrambled tofu. Put this mixture into a wrap with a bit of cheese. The "hot dog" flavour definitely predominated still. I still have most of the box. If I try anything else with them before I post this, I'll add it in.
I did try the "sausages" again. Cooked 3 of them over lower heat, then put them on toast with cheese and eggs. They were marginally better. But still not that great. I choked it down, but won't be buying these again.
17th September: I still have a few in the box in my freezer. At this point, they're probably freezer-burnt and should be thrown out. That should say a lot.
Earth Grown "chicken strips"
Again, these are an Aldi's product. The price is a bit lower than comparable products.
By themselves, these were just "okay". But when I baked them and served them with roasted onions, potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes, they made a decent meal. I probably won't buy them again.
22nd July: I'm sorry this review is so short (and that I never got a photo for some reason). I wrote down notes as I went along, but couldn't find them. So what I typed up is all I have. That said, I felt they were decent for the price, but I'd rather spend a little more and get either Quorn or Morningstar Farms nuggets.
Loma Linda Taco Filling
I prepped all my other ingredients, including heating three flour tortillas (I was out of taco shells, usually I'll do two of each). Then, I heated the package in the microwave for a minute, as suggested. And it was barely warm. I heated in 15 second increments until it was hot-ish (which took 2 minutes instead of 1, and probably should have gone for another half minute). The filling smelled a lot like canned chili. And when I tasted a tiny bit, it had a bland-yet-bitter taste (I'm thinking too much cumin) and a hot aftertaste. The texture was pretty mushy. I'm thinking that if you really skimped on filling and loaded up on other ingredients, you could maybe make enough tacos for two. My tacos had a bit too much "meat". But even with cheese, lettuce, tomato, light sour cream, and salsa, it was still...meh. I tried adding Scorpion Pepper hot sauce and even that didn't help. I'll stick with cooking up some veggie "burger" crumbles and seasoning them with sodium-free taco seasoning.
Nutritionally? Per 1/4 C it has 70 Calories, 2.5gm fat (none is saturated), 6gm protein, 6gm carbs (2gm of which are fibre), 2% of Vitamin D and of Calcium, 6% Iron, 4% Potassium, and 290mg (12%) Sodium.
It's certainly convenient. Can be stored right in a cabinet or shelf, heats quickly. But isn't all that tasty, in my opinion. Still, if you're a "prepper", it couldn't hurt to have on hand.
Battle of the "Chorizos"!
In previous reviews, I've mentioned No Evil Foods El Zapatista Chorizo ( "More [unsolicited] reviews, and a request for my readers" ), Lightlife Smart Sausages Chorizo and Frieda's Soyrizo ("Some products I'd like to review"). Well, I've tried a couple more. Here are my thoughts....
First, up is Twin Oaks Community Foods Vegetarian Sausage Sweet & Spicy Chorizo. I bought this brick because it was on sale. Given the horrible brown colour and Vital Wheat Gluten being the second ingredient, I had my doubts. They mention crumbling it or shaping it into patties. I can tell you right now, there's no WAY you're going to shape it into a patty! In fact, good luck crumbling it. I ripped it into shreds as best I could, and cooked it up. I tasted a tiny bit. It was downright rubbery. While it was somewhat sweet, there was no discernible spice (or much of any taste beyond "gluten"). Undaunted, I added a bit of hot sauce and some water, and cooked until it absorbed it. Now it was mushy and tasted of hot sauce and sugar. I tried scrambling in some egg and putting it into a wrap...I ended up throwing it (and the rest of the package) away. I'm not going to bother with nutritional info, I recommend you steer clear! Though I see they also sell tofu, which I can't imagine not being good....
And then there's Tofurky Chorizo Style Plant-Based Crumbles (ignore the slightly ripped and opened box in the photo. lol). I really like this stuff! I bought two packages, even though they weren't on sale. And went back to get two more (after trying one) when they went on sale earlier this month (July, 2020). It looks like real Mexican chorizo, it smells like it, it has the same texture (from what I remember). It cooks up less greasy than the real thing. And it could do with a TINY bit of something...I add a couple small dashes of Mexican (NOT Louisiana) hot sauce and a splash of vinegar, and it's perfect! I've used it in tacos, burritos, mixed with scrambled eggs and put into a wrap, even just eaten a bit by the spoonful. I plan to stuff a pepper with some next. The only problem for me? If I eat too much of it, I get diarrhea (to be fair, when it's happened, I ate WAY more than I should have anyway. It was just too good to stop. lol). As for nutritional information: 1/3 C (55g) has 130 Calories, 9g Fat (1g Saturated) and no Cholesterol, 8g Protein, 5g Carbs (2g of which are Fibre), 340mg Sodium (15%), 450mg Potassium (10%), 1.7mg Iron (10%), and 40mg Calcium (4%). By contrast, EatThisMuch gives the following information for one brand of meat chorizo: 55g has 149 Calories, 14.1g Fat (4.7 Saturated, no info on Cholesterol), 7.1g Protein, 1.6g Carbs (0g Fibre), 471.4mg Sodium, 2% each of Vitamin C and Calcium, and 8% of Iron. As you can see, the Tofurky is healthier!
17th September: I buy a couple packages of this every month now!
For my first attempt, I decided to follow the directions for frying some crumbles (in oil). I followed the directions EXACTLY until I smelled them burning during the first 4 minutes. I quickly scraped them with a spoon, added some sauce and simmered for quite a while. I put this on top of some whole wheat spaghetti. In spite of a long simmer, there were still crunchy burned bits. It wasn't bad, but not great. I left them in the freezer (they zipper seal) for a couple weeks after that.
I decided to try again one evening, but followed the microwave instructions this time. Then put it on a frozen pizza with some olive slices and canned mushrooms, and cooked it all in a countertop Convection Oven (hey, it's July!). PERFECTION. The crumbles had a "sausage-y" taste and just the right amount of spice. They're clearly meant to mimic sweet Italian sausage, rather than the spicy kind.
Nutritionally? 1/2C (55g) is only 80 Calories. It contains 2.5g Fat (0g Saturated), no Cholesterol, 12g Protein, 4g Carbs (2g are Fibre), 420mg (18%) Sodium, 2% Potassium, 4% Calcium, and 6% Iron. Meanwhile, Johnsonville provides this information for a 2oz serving of their mild Italian ground: 170 Calories, 13g Fat (4.5g Saturated), 40mg Cholesterol, 10g Protein, 1g Carbs (0g Fibre), 450mg (19%) Sodium, 2% Calcium, and 2% Iron (no mention of Potassium). So, Morningstar Farms is the healthier choice. AND it's Vegetarian.
My advice? Follow the microwave directions, regardless of how you're going to use them. Either that, or skip their frying directions and cook over low, stirring a lot (but I'm not going to guarantee results).
Sadly, the stores I shop at don't carry this product (or the corndogs. Or quite a few other MSF products).
And finally (I have other things I planned to review, but it's July [as of the time I finished typing this part up, not sure when it'll be POSTED] and I've been promising this for months!)....
Beyond Meat Sausage Spicy Plant-Based Patties
For my first taste, I fried three up. As with all the newer Beyond Meat products, they release a LOT of fat, which pops and sizzles. They immediately give off a "breakfast sausage" smell. I used two on a "sausage", egg, and cheese sandwich and ate the third plain. Even by itself, these are delicious! And in a sandwich, even better.
For my second attempt, I cooked one up and cut it into small pieces to add to sauce for pasta (along with some onions, bell pepper, garlic, sauteed mushrooms, and spices). It added an unbelievably delicious flavour.
And then I did something against the package directions. I put two on a plate in the microwave. I heated them, turning every half-minute until they were cooked through. I didn't keep track of how long, sorry. After letting them cool a bit (they were really hot throughout), I put the patties on some whole wheat bread, added a slice of reduced-fat American cheese, and some brown mustard. The patties came out deliciously juicy, but not so much so that the bread got soggy. They tasted just as delicious as they had been fried, though the outsides weren't crispy. These are the tastiest Veg-friendly "sausage" patties I've had.
2 patties (58g) provide 180 Calories, 12g Fat (4.5g Saturated), no Cholesterol, 11g Protein, 6g Carbs (2g Fibre), 270mg (12%) Sodium, 230mg (5%) Potassium, 4% Iron, and 15% Iron. FatSecret gives this information for Pederson's Spicy Breakfast Sausage Patties: 1 patty (37g), 100 Calories, 7g Fat (2.5g Saturated), 25mg Cholesterol, 7g Protein, 0g Carbs (0g Fibre), 280mg Sodium, no information on Potassium or other nutrients.
So, that's it. I hope you found all this helpful! Until next time (whenever that may be, sorry). . .