Is It Time To Go Vegan

Vegan foods have come a long way in the past few years. Almost every restaurant has a vegan option, plant based burgers are basically indistinguishable from meat burgers, and most supermarkets have a vegan section. ( Even in Texas!)

In 2019, sales of plant-based foods were valued at around 4.5 billion dollars, which was an increase of about 30% compared to 2017. Yes, it is a good time to be or become vegan.

Recently, I went to my local Target, (with my father in tow), and was scurry around for some frozen food options. I am not vegan, but I am willing to go vegan if the opportunity presents itself, which it did. While scanning the boxes and finding some trueling grotesque looking meals, we stumbled upon the brand ‘ Sweet Earth’. Looked good enough for me so I grabbed a few boxes and we headed home. I can honestly say that it wasn’t until a thorough investigation of the box that I even realized that the food was vegan. Apparently the vegan label and plant based verbiage was not clear enough for my unmatched detective skills.

According to Sweet Earth’s website, they create ‘food with a point of view that's packed with plant-based goodness and ready for you.’ The company was founded in California with the intention of helping the planet without sacrificing flavor and nutrition. They have one many awards including a gold medal from the American Master of Taste for their artisan bowls, of which we were about to try.

Each box that we got had five super foods listed on the side, ranging from plant-based meat and chicken to green beans and carrots. With less than 500 calories per frozen meal, they seemed like a healthy and protein packed alternative from other ‘meat’ based frozen dinners.

We grabbed the Veggie Lo Mein, Bulgogi, and Kung Pao Chik'n bowls and tested them out for lunch. Again, you would think the non conventional spelling of the word chicken would have tipped me off to the meal being vegan but hey, I was angry and unfocused. We took the three bowls, popped them into a pan, and threw them into the oven for about 20 minutes and waited.

My dad and I decided that we wanted to do a YouTube video reviewing the frozen meals, so that our honest reactions were recorded. While waiting for the meals to cook, we set up a mic and camera and got ready for our new cooking show. If you want to see our in depth review of the meals the video is linked below. Although we do talk for a while before eating, you can just skip to the six minute mark which is where we really get to the action.

Spoiler, they were not as good as the photo on the box led us to believe, which is an ongoing theme with frozen food options. Some of the meals were just not salvageable. At one point, the flavor of the meal caused me to make this lovely face,

And well, a photo says a thousand words.

I will say, I am a very finicky eater and did not expect to be overly impressed by the meals. My whole family tried the meals and we received some good, bad and ugly ratings on the meals, so I guess you can call the results inconclusive. I think the plant-based food industry has made some great improvements in the past years. I have had countless impossible burgers, love tofu, and am more inclined to try a vegan option than not, but I still don’t think I am ready to go full vegan just yet.