A spicy grilled vegan pepperoni and mozzarella sandwich, packed with a little container of tomato sauce for dipping. I topped lightly steamed broccoli with a vibrant lemon, garlic, and caper sauce, then packed along a mixed fruit cup and one Mary Jane. (Mary Janes are old-fashioned peanut butter and molasses taffy, with what I think are the cutest candy wrappers ever. If I ever learn to decoupage, I’ll be making something with Mary Jane wrappers.)Verdict: This was our first experiment with storebought vegan cheese slices -- we tried Tofutti brand. I'm not too keen, but Little shmoo loved it. Not even a crust was left!! The flavorful lemon sauce helped the broccoli out at lunchtime, a big improvement over plain. The only thing he didn't like? The Mary Jane. Yes -- more for me! 3 stars.
you know, I've actually only tried one type of vegan cheese, and I wasn't that impressed. I found out there were endless options on any sandwiches or dishes where cheese used to be placed, and I grew out of it. *shrug* and that lemon garlic and caper sauce sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI've never been that into cheese, so it's easy for me to live without it. We do like a lot of Jo Stepaniak's recipes for "uncheeses", though. Little shmoo is really enjoying nibbling on these vegan slices.
ReplyDeleteWhat brand of vegan pepperoni did you use? I've only had Yves, and I wasn't a big fan of it. I was wondering if there is a better brand out there.
ReplyDeleteMost vegan cheese is totally awful, although I haven't had the tofutti brand. We did without until we heard about Vegan Gourment soy cheese. It's really good.
It was Yves. It's my son's *favorite* veggie meat, and he'll eat an entire package in two days if I let him. I think it's the spiciness he likes. I don't know if he ever tried meat pepperoni, so I think it helps not having that taste memory to compare it to.
ReplyDeleteI've heard Vegan Gourmet is very good, too.
Love your lunch ideas! Yes, Follow Your Heart (the same company that makes that wonderful Vegenaise) makes awesome vegan cheese called Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative. I'm very happy to have found this. It comes in 4 flavors--mozzarella, monterey jack, cheddar, and nacho. All are good. I have a mozzarella in the refrigerator just waiting for some calzones--mmmm! P.S.--It melts great, too!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find the Mary Jane Candy?!!! I've been looking for that everywhere!
ReplyDeleteThey're at Mr. Wink's Penny Candy Shop in old downtown Kennewick -- a very fun place!
ReplyDeleteLovely! Another thumbs up! I will be visiting a store in a near by city to stock up on Saturday! I will probably post new items I discovered on my blog. Have a great Thursday!
ReplyDeleteTomato sauce for dipping sounds like an excellent idea! I'll have to try that. I don't like the Yves pepperoni, but I find that their "ham" tastes like what I expect of pepperoni.
ReplyDeleteMary Janes are the best candy ever. I lost a crown to one and I still can't stay away. Sometimes they are hard to find in those cute little wrappers but this time of year they are almost everywhere. Look for the orange and black wrapped candies in the big bag. (I know, that's really vague but I don't know who makes them)
ReplyDeleteNecco. I bought some of the orange-wrapped Mary Janes, too, but they didn't taste as good without the cute wrapper.
ReplyDeleteBirch mom, that vegan chicken parmesan sounds wonderful. What a nice partner!
i'm not a vegan, but your lunchboxes inspire me.
ReplyDeleteI've had the worst luck with vegan cheese. :-/
ReplyDeleteI've been vegan for 15 years, tried many things, and Vegan Gourmet cheese gets my vote too! http://www.imearthkind.com/
ReplyDeleteTofutti cheese is okay, but it is all hydrogenated trans fats. The Tofutti company is more interested in marketing to the kosher / non-dairy crowd than healthy / vegan folks.
I don't really like Yves pepperoni either--the anise is too noticeable and it dries out quickly when you cook it. My favorite pepperoni is from VegiDeli, mmm-mmm good! http://www.vegideli.com/pepperoni.html
Gosh, those cheeses look so good. I agree about Tofutti; unfortunately, it's all we've got locally right now.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the day when Vegan Gourmet is more widely available.
Thanks for all the great suggestions about cheese and meat alternatives. I had given up looking.
ReplyDeleteVegan Chicken Parm sounds awesome!
Another vegan gourmet fan here... We like Monterey Jack and Mozarella the best.
ReplyDeleteToffutti changed their cream cheese and sour cream so that there's a non-hydrogenated one. We had stopped buying the cream cheese because of it but now we eat it!
Vegan Gourmet certainly is the best vegan cheese, but even so it is pretty nasty (in my opinion). I got a serious case of gut rot after making a vegan pizza--too much oil in the cheese, I think. I think I would rather explore more exciting vegan dishes than try to recreate the carnivorous meals of my past. Plus, if good health is a goal, what are the side effects of all these processed, extruded, and otherwise manufactured veggie products?
ReplyDeleteHi, nate! I think you're right, sometimes these food are very processed, and if our goal is good health we could do without. I rarely eat them myself for that reason.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes our main goal is to relieve animal suffering and still feed our kids (or ourselves) foods they enjoy so they don't feel like they're missing out on anything. In that case, a few veggie meats will help more than harm. And they are certainly a health improvement over the original!
If you'd like to try the Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative, you might ask your local health food store to order it. I found this vegan cheese online and gave the order info to my health food store. They ordered it, and everyone must love it because they've been stocking it regularly for about 2 years now.
ReplyDeletei just wanted to comment on this lunch which i thought was absolutely adorable..my mom is obsessed with the mary jane candies and we always have a big bag in our house..quite good..i just wanted to say once again how awesome this website is..its inspired me to be more adventerous wtih veggie products..yesterday while studying with a friend we ate soy chicken nuggets (which were better than chicken ones), veggie burgers, griled broccoli and zucchinni and soy milk..i was so proud of my vegan meal! well anyways just complimenting you on your great creativity!
ReplyDelete~Dayna
hi jennifer! i love this blog! anyway, i had a question about the bread. i have a laptop lunch too, and was wondering what size bread you usually use for the sandwiches? i feel like the containers are a bit shallow for halving the sandwiches. i feel like the lid would smash them.
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing your wonderful lunch ideas!
Hi, jenny! You're right, some normal sandwich bread is a bit too big. When that happens I take out the small container and put the sandwich directly into the lunch box without a container (usually on top of a napkin). Or you might trim off the bottom crusts.
ReplyDeleteI love Mary Jane's. Had no idea they were vegan.
ReplyDelete