Companies Making Plant Based Eating Easy Cheezy

In the last few months it seems as though companies supporting plant-based eating are popping up EVERYWHERE. Although I normally follow a fairly similar eating routine when I’m home in Sydney, lately I have been making the effort to try new ways of eating so that I can keep up to date with some of the delicious new foods coming onto the market. It’s important to me to be able to share these foods with you, and let’s not kid around here, I also benefit immensely from getting to taste-test epic new products. 

I’d like to point out that the companies mentioned below are not sponsored – I have lots of companies sending me different products but I only share ones with you that I love. It is so important to me to support companies doing amazing things, and my way of support is to help them get their message out.

SAY CHEESE
One of the most common arguments I get for why people won’t go vegan is because they don’t want to miss out on cheese. It’s a big one, I don’t disagree, and traditionally vegan cheese can taste a lot like coconut, or worse, like rubber. Thankfully, there are more and more delicious cheeses coming onto the market. Lately I have been having strong cheese cravings (the week before my period I often crave higher fats and more rich foods). I tend to live by the rule, what thy body wants, thy body gets (your body is your temple, right?), so of course, I popped online to Doorstep Organics and spoiled myself with several cheeses to satiate my cravings. 

From The Vegan Dairy I bought the Ashed Chevre and the Aged and Smoky. The hands down winner for me here was the Aged and Smoky. I loved it SO MUCH and it disappeared far too quickly. I found it was incredible either on crackers or just by itself. I kept catching myself sneaking into the fridge to cut off a not-so-little sliver - it tastes just like the real deal. I also tried out the Persian Style Feta from Botanical Cuisine. My reaction? Holy moly it tastes EXACTLY like real feta. It’s made from macadamias which is not the norm for vegan cheeses, and I loved spreading it on my avocado toast for breakfast. I cannot recommend this cheese highly enough; I’m salivating at the memory! I also had a great experience with Doorstep Organics (it was my first time using them) – they had a great range of foods online and also delivered speedily the very next day.

IT’S NOT ACTUALLY MEAT
It’s another common topic amongst the vegan community. Should we be creating fake meats that mimic the taste of real animals – after all, aren’t we against meat as a whole? Well, it depends who you ask! If you ask my sisters, they LOVE the fake meats. Growing up, they were much bigger meat eaters than me, and their reasons for not eating meat is not because they don’t like the taste. My personal preference is towards the other end of the spectrum – the thought and taste of meat creeps me out, so I don’t love fake meats that are too realistic. In saying that, I do love to wolf down a snag or two every so often! I just think that anything we do to shift the emphasis away from real meat, such as creating meat alternatives, is an awesome thing, so hell yeah we should do it! 

Last week I was lucky enough to be sent a hamper from Alt Meat Co, filled with DIY BBQ items (all vegan of course). It was packed full with burger paddies, mince, sausages, sauces, buns, veggies and cheese. So far, I have gotten around to trying the burger patties and the mince – both were epic. They were super hearty and meaty without tasting 100% like actual dead animals. As I said, I don’t like it when it’s too realistic! This company is expanding rapidly and will soon be launching in Coles Supermarkets. They are also about to expand to New Zealand, so for those of you who are sheepish folk, keep an eye out!

DELIVER MY FOOD PLEASE
Over the last few years I have tried a bunch of pre-prepared meal delivery companies. The idea is such a good one, especially in this day and age where life goes a million miles an hour and every minute is precious. For me, it’s also extremely convenient because I am often just cooking lunches for myself – it’s time consuming, and to be honest, just not that satisfying when it’s only me.

Enter, Garden of Vegan. They are by far the best pre-packaged vegan meals I have ever tried. They are organic, whole-food, oil and gluten free, not to mention tantalisingly delicious! The company is also ethically minded, giving as much of their food scraps as possible to animal sanctuaries. They really are just perfect for a person cooking for themselves or with a busy schedule – I definitely plan on continuing to purchase them for my lunches.

VEGAN VEGGIES
It sounds like a contradiction, right? Of course, it is, but I wanted to remind you again that there are easy ways to do it. Being vegan does not have to be difficult! You don’t have to spend hours in the grocery store scouring for the best fruit and veg to use for your weekly dinners. Community Organics, another of my favourite companies, just makes this easy. I have been getting these deliveries for quite some time, so you may already be familiar with them, but basically they deliver a box of organic vegetables each week to your door. The contents of the box change with the seasons, ensuring you always have top quality veggies in your fridge! I asked Community Organics for a discount code for you guys as I really do think it is an incredible idea and a great initiative to support – use the code TIGERLILY20 for $20 off your first order. What have you got to lose?