How to Make Vegan BBQ "Pulled Pork" Style Jackfruit

Have you tried jackfruit yet? It's the ultimate vegan substitute for shredded pork. I was so surprised by how similar the texture is to pork. And even though it's a fruit, it doesn't have a strong flavor by itself and will take on the flavor of the sauce or seasoning you use.

I love finding fruits or vegetables like this that make perfect vegan alternatives for meat. (Oyster mushrooms is another example worth checking out.) While I love the Beyond Burger and how popular faux meats are becoming, it's nice to have less processed options too.

I'll walk you through how to make bbq "pulled pork" style jackfruit. It's also great in tacos or other recipes that would use shredded pork or chicken. I want to try tamales or enchiladas next.

You can buy the whole fruit at some grocery stores, but it's easier to buy it canned. You can find it at Trader Joe's. One can made four sandwiches for me.

Drain and rinse the jackfruit and pat it dry with a towel. It will look like triangles.

Shred the jackfruit pieces. It's easiest to use your hands. You can also use a fork or knife. Now it should look more like shredded pork.

Saute the jackfruit with a little bit of oil, salt, and pepper. You can also add garlic and onions or other seasoning at this stage if you want. Cook it on medium-high heat until it starts to brown a little bit, about 10 minutes.

Add your favorite barbecue sauce. If you're cooking for other people who are vegan, check that the barbecue sauce is vegan because not all of them are. Lower the heat and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes (15 is ok if you're really hungry).

Now it's time to build your sandwich. This is good by itself or you can also top with vegan coleslaw.
It's good leftover too, just reheat in the microwave.

Review: Lenny & Larry's The Complete Cookie - White Chocolaty Macadamia

The Complete Cookie from Lenny & Larry's is a giant vegan cookie with added protein,  fiber, and other nutrients. They have a lot of flavors including traditional favorites and some fun, unusual flavors like chocolate donut and apple pie. 

Is it the best cookie ever? No. But for a vegan cookie that's basically a protein bar, it's not bad.

The first ingredient is their protein blend, and you can tell. It has a little bit of a nutrition bar, health food taste. I consider it a delicious vegan protein bar, but wouldn't compare it to other vegan cookies. 

It's really big and dense. I liked it at first, but it was hard to finish. I might like a smaller version more. I see on their website that they also have smaller, crunchy cookies. Those might be better.

As far as the white chocolaty macadamia flavor goes, I thought the white chips and macadamia nut pieces were too small and that there weren't enough of them. When I think of white chocolate macadamia cookies, I picture big pieces of both.

I generally prefer less processed foods with shorter ingredient lists. But the long list here makes more sense because of the added protein and fiber. Plus most vegan baked goods will have extra ingredients in order to replace the eggs. 

Lenny & Larry's The Complete Cookie White Chocolaty Macadamia ingredients: Protein blend (vital wheat gluten, pea protein, rice protein), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable glycerine, chicory root fiber, cane sugar, invert sugar, palm margarine (palm oil, palm fractions, water, salt, emulsifiers [sunflower lecithin, distilled monoglycerides], natural flavor, citric acid, mixed tocopherols [antioxidant], vitamin A, beta-carotene [color]), white chips (sugar, palm kernel and palm oil, natural flavor, sunflower lecithin [emulsifier], salt), oligofructose, macadamia nuts, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, salt, baking soda, cultured dextrose, xanthan gum, guar gum. 

Review: Lenny & Larry's The Complete Cookie White Chocolaty Macadamia

First impressions: Wow, this is big.

Taste: Some nutritional aftertaste, not too sweet, hint of cinnamon. I would like to have had more white chocolatey pieces. 

Texture: Soft, but a little dense. 

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes. 

Worth buying again? I liked the peanut butter flavor more

Overall: 4/5

What did you think? Leave your own review here!

Review: Hail Merry Cookie Dough Bites

Vegan cookie dough bites! What a great idea! 

I loved eating raw cookie dough as a kid (and adult). Vegan cookie dough makes a lot of sense. You don't have to worry about uncooked eggs, and they won't be baked so it's less important to find the best egg replacer so they rise properly. 

I really wanted to like these. They looked adorable. 

But they didn't taste as good as I hoped they would. They tasted like dry, coconut balls. I didn't finish eating them, and it's a small package. 

All of Hail Merry's products are vegan, gluten free, and grain free. I wonder if a vegan cookie dough with wheat flour might have a closer texture to what I was expecting. Although I'd like to try their other products, and am glad there's a company that caters to people who can't eat those ingredients.

Hail Merry Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites ingredients: Organic Maple Syrup, Almond Flour, Organic Shredded Coconut, Organic Chocolate Chips (Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter), Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Vanilla, Celtic Sea Salt.

Review: Hail Merry Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

First impressions: "Cute! Oh... not very good though."

Taste: I mainly tasted coconut, and wished it had more chocolate.

Texture: Dry

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe not, but you can tell it's gluten free. 

Worth buying again? I wouldn't buy this again but still want to try their other products. 

Overall: 3/5

Review: Earth Balance European Style Buttery Spread

Earth Balance has several varieties of their vegan buttery spread. I've been using the original for years as my go-to vegan butter substitute. I recently tried the European Style and compared it to the original. I'm not sure what specifically makes it European, but overall I did like this better than the original.

The European Style was very similar to the original Earth Balance but a little thicker, creamier, and slightly more yellow. As you can see, they look almost the same.

I also liked the taste more, but it was a subtle difference. It was closer to a buttery taste. I'd like to compare them for baking too. 

The ingredient list is the same as original Earth Balance, except for a different coloring ingredient. 

Earth Balance European Style Buttery Spread ingredients: Vegetable oil blend (canola, palm, and olive oils), water, salt, pea protein isolate, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, lactic acid, beta carotene (color). 

Review: Earth Balance European Style Buttery Spread

First impressions: Very similar to original Earth Balance

Taste: Rich and buttery

Texture: Thick and creamy

Can you tell it's vegan? No
Better than other vegan options? Yes, but maybe not enough to pay more for it. It's about the same price but the container is half the size of the other Earth Balance flavors. 

Worth buying again? I would buy it again if it was on sale or I was making something special. 

Overall: 5/5

Review: Coffee Mate Natural Bliss Caramel Almond Milk Creamer

Coffee mate has a new line called natural bliss that includes non-dairy coffee creamers. They have almond milk, coconut milk, and even an oat milk coffee creamer. They also make a plant-based half and half made with half almond milk and half coconut cream.

My boyfriend picked the caramel flavor because he wanted something caramelly for his coffee. He makes his own espresso and usually adds flavored syrup, but was out, so he decided to try this vegan coffee creamer. 

He said he couldn't tell this was vegan, and would have guessed it was a dairy creamer. If you usually use dairy creamer, this would probably be good enough to replace it. If you use something thicker like half and half, this might not be quite thick enough.  

He used this in iced coffee and it still mixed in well, just like dairy creamer or milk would. 

Coffee mate natural bliss caramel almond milk creamer ingredients: Almond Milk (Water, Almonds), Cane Sugar, Coconut Oil, Pea Protein, Natural Flavor, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Gellan Gum, Guar Gum.

Review: Coffee mate natural bliss caramel almond milk creamer

Taste: Not too sweet, a subtle caramel flavor, hint of cinnamon.

Texture: About the same as dairy creamer, not as thick as half and half.

Can you tell it's vegan? No
Better than other vegan options? Yes, we also tried a popular natural brand and didn't like it as much.

Worth buying again? Yes, we already have.

Overall: 4/5