Say Cheese: Violife Vegan Cheese

I was really excited when I received my package from Sampler in the mail, which had Geovita rice and lentil blend (I haven't tried it yet!) and included a coupon for a new vegan cheese brand called Violife.

I'll admit, I'm not a huge "cheese" person anymore but sometimes when grocery shopping, I will pick up a small brick or two to satisfy the craving. Before the pandemic, if we ate out at a restaurant, I would order something with cheese, as it was more of a treat than a staple in the home. Let's also be frank, the bloated feeling after eating cheese at times is painful and uncomfortable, so I was hoping this wouldn't leave my stomach in knots.

The choices at the grocery store when I went to purchase Violife were pretty limited to either: cheddar shreds or cheddar slices, so I got:

Violife Vegan Cheddar Shreds

We had some hamburger buns left in the freezer, so I popped one into the oven and just did a wee sprinkling of the Vegan Cheddar Shreds on each bun. I also added some chives, as I just seem to love chives on everything!  Now I realize that there isn't a lot of cheese on here, but honestly, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this and I hate wasting food.  I am really used to dairy cheese, so I didn't want to smother it with this type and have to toss it entirely out if I couldn't eat the rest.  

Lunch time #samplerlove

Homemade broccoli soup! The cheese made such a nice addition, along with chives.

#samplerlove

Thankfully, it was delicious! I don't think you can really compare to regular cheese though as this is made with coconut oil, potato starch and corn starch. It also didn't melt as much as I had expected either but maybe I needed to leave it in the oven longer and use more cheese.

On the side, I wanted to get my greens in, so a simple salad of arugula with diced cucumbers, carrots and a honey mustard dressing. 

After looking at the website, I am curious to know what other styles taste like, especially the vegan cream cheese! Mmmm...  Am I going to replace cheese with these alternatives? Honestly, I don't really know. I just like having choices and I'm happy that I found a good brand like Violife to add to my shopping list. 

Pros:

✔Tastes great (no weird aftertaste like I have heard from other vegan cheese alternatives)

✔Excellent for people with multiple allergies/sensitivities

✔Good for the environment

✔Resealable bag

✔Easier on digestion (at least for me so far)

Cons: 

❌A bit expensive at almost $6 a bag for 227g. Have to keep my eyes open for sales!

Have you tried this vegan cheese? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or send me an email!

💜 Visit Violife's website: https://violifefoods.com/

💜 Join up with Sampler: https://sampler.io/

Sampler Box Review: Tilda Rice & RX Protein Bars

I just got my Sampler box today and so I thought I would review the 2 items I received! 

I am loving the Tilda Steamed Coconut Basmati Rice. The pouch takes only 2 minutes in the microwave or if you want you can cook on the stove too. The rice comes out nice and fluffy - no hard bits! It has a hint of coconut flavour, but nothing too strong. I added in some canned Cloverleaf  Flaked Light Tuna in Water (I bought this new canned tuna for quick healthy lunches and what a great way to try it out!) and chopped up some sweet bread & butter pickles.  

Then for dessert, I ate half of the RX bar - in the flavour Chocolate Sea Salt. I've been so curious to try this brand of protein bars. This one is pretty dense and chewy, as you can see in the photo of my half eaten one. lol  It has big chunks of almonds and cashews, as well as flecks of sea salt. It is on the sweeter side (they use dates as opposed to any refined sugars) but it does have a tasty combo of sweet & salty with the rich chocolate cocoa. It also has a good amount of protein to curb the hangry moments.

They do run a bit on the pricier side. However, the ingredients are great: Dates, Dried Egg Whites, Cashews, Almonds, Chocolate, Cocoa, Natural Flavours and Sea Salt. 

There are a lot of bogus marketing claims on the shelves, but RX does a pretty good job at just keeping things simple. I just wish they would nix the "clean" ingredient mantra because to me, it promotes a disordered way of looking at food and nutrition overall and if it's not clean then it must be "dirty" - nope.

I look forward to trying more products from these brands and enjoying my 50 cent coupon to purchase more basmati rice for other dishes to make!

Have you tried any of these brands before, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Leave comments below or shoot me a private message on my contact form.

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💜  Be part of the Sampler community here: Sampler

💜  Check out RX and Tilda on their Facebook pages for more info and new and exciting product launches!

https://www.facebook.com/RXBAR

https://www.facebook.com/tildanorthamerica/