As promised, here are piccies of the vegan goodies I brought back with me from Canada.
There really was quite a good selection of vegan food in the grocery stores, though I still think that in most cases, British vegan “meat” and “cheese” beats the Canadian stuff hands down.
Fake meaty things: “Prawns” from T&T Supermarket, and Yves “bacon” and “bologna”. We haven’t tried the prawns yet, though I’ve had this brand before (they’re from West Best, based in Vancouver). I remember them being really yummy. (The fantastic Mong Lee Shang vegan prawns that we were buying here in England are not currently available, due to factory refurbishment or some such silliness. Hence the ones from T&T.)
The Yves vegan bacon is really good… both Mr Thrifty and I like it better than the Redwood version. The bologna is good too, though Fry’s polony is a similar, but better product. I need to work on a homemade version of bologna.
Craisins: I like ordinary dried cranberries, but these flavoured ones are so, so, SO good. At least the cherry ones are… I haven’t tried the orange ones yet. Dear Ocean Spray, why can’t I buy these in England?
Nativa Organics maple leaf creme cookies & chocolate vanilla creme cookies: O.M.G. These are the best cookies EVER, especially the maple ones. The amount of filling is practically obscene. They are vegan and organic. If you live in Canada, you must go to Shoppers Drug Mart and buy these now.
Old Dutch Ketchup chips, Popcorn twists & Dill pickle chips: Of course, I had to buy Mr Thrifty some uniquely Canadian foodstuffs. Like these crisps! He hasn’t tried the Popcorn twists yet, but loved the Ketchup and Dill pickle crisps.
Cereal: EnviroKidz Panda Puffs and Barbara’s Cinnamon Puffins. Mr Thrifty has only tried the Panda Puffs so far (verdict: yumm), but I know he’ll love Puffins too! Neither of these is available on this side of the pond.
I also bought a bottle of Colman’s liquid smoke, which is strangely absent from the shelves over there.
BTW, am I the only geek who loves grocery shopping when travelling?
WOAH! Great swag. I’m just loving those Cookies and the Dill Chips intrigue me too.
Wow, four posts in one day! Welcome back! I’ve had those maple leaf cookies and you are totally right. I loved them and really savored the ones my old student brought me from Canada. Then another teacher told me they sell them here in the supermarket! Now THAT is dangerous. But if I have something sweet I’d rather make something like your muffins. I have frozen berries to use up, so the next ones will be that kind!
I love supermarkets away from home too, and there is something I’ve been wondering. It’s about a specific product I saw in Hong Kong, so I’ll just put the photo on the blog and see what you Brits have to say!
Hmmm… wonder why they don’t have the Craisins you like……? Maybe in some fancy import store!
hahahaha no…I’m a food nerd too and I love buying food stuff and i stock up like crazy…
Anyhoo I’ve tried Yves meat slices (not a fan but I’m just a weirdo with mock meat in general) and I am currently in love witht he Panda Puffs…the Koala choc cereal is good too…hmm but yea it sure makes me feel like a kid again.
me never tried craisins…
the cookies looks amazing. reminds me of those English tea biscuits you can get from Marks & Spencer.
Bologna slices are not my favorite (I’m not really that into mock meat, in general) but I just recently tried Yves vegetarian Roastbeef and it was great.
I just stumbled upon your blogs while browsing for pictures of maple cookies and I’m finding really useful recipes and reviews, so thanks for sharing 😀