Product Review: Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

Shown with Vegetable Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods. Since I grew up eating it with ground beef, I am always looking for ways to make it vegan. I thought vegan meatballs would be a good way to go and so I tried Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs. 

These are made from Texturized Soy Protein. 

I really wanted to like these. They didn't look weird...

But when I took a bite I was overwhelmed by the mushy texture. It might have tasted good, but I couldn't tell because I was so put off by how gross the texture was. 

I waited a little bit and tried another bite thinking, "It couldn't have been that bad." And yes, it was that bad. I couldn't finish one meatball. 

Review: Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

First impressions: When cooking: "looks good and smells good." After first bite: "omg gross." 

Taste: Honestly, I can't give an accurate taste description because I couldn't get past the texture. 

Texture: Disgustingly soft and mushy. I couldn't finish a whole one. 

Does it look like the picture on the package? Yes.

Can you tell it's vegan? Absolutely. 

Worth buying again? No. 

Overall: 1 out of 5. If you are not texture sensitive and don't mind the mushiness of some veggie burgers, then you might like these better. 

Making Pasta Sauce in Bulk

I love making pasta sauce from scratch, but it can be so time consuming! There is an easy solution - making large amounts of sauce in advance and canning them. I do this with my spaghetti sauce and red pepper sauce. This makes for an incredibly easy meal down the road, all you have to do is cook the pasta and add sauce. 

For this batch, I added more vegetables to the spaghetti sauce to add more nutrients and natural sweetness (a red pepper has more vitamin C than an orange!) 

I do not have a canner so I froze my jars. There are guides on how to can without a canner, but just to be safe I froze mine. To defrost, I move one jar to the fridge at least a day before I want to make pasta. 

I used the giant cans of crushed tomatoes from Costco. I used one 106 oz can for each recipe, and each recipe made 5 batches of about 24 ounces each. 

Vegetable Marinara

Ingredients

• 4 onions (I bought a 3 pound bag of yellow onions and used half in each recipe)
• 2 red peppers
• 4 carrots (or half of a 1 pound bag)
• A whole head of garlic (ok to skip some of the smaller cloves)
• About 1 cup of red wine, I used 1/3 of a bottle of Cabernet (optional)
• 106 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• About 1 tablespoon each, or enough to sprinkle over the entire top of the sauce
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• oregano

Directions

1. Chop the onions, red pepper, and carrots. 
2. Add oil to a very large sauce pot, enough to coat the bottom.
3. Add the vegetables and salt. Saute until the onions are clear and the peppers are soft ~15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and simmer for ~5 minutes.
5. Add the wine, simmer for ~5 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and other seasonings and stir to combine.
7. If you are blending do that here.
8. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, I did for about an hour and a half. 
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
10. Let cool until no longer steaming before you start canning to avoid hurting yourself (speaking from experience).

Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 onions (I bought a 3 pound bag of yellow onions and used half in each recipe)
• 4 red peppers
• 2 jars of roasted red peppers
• A whole head of garlic (ok to skip some of the smaller cloves)
• About 1 cup of red wine, I used 1/3 of a bottle of Cabernet (optional)
• 106 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• About 1 tablespoon each, or enough to sprinkle over the entire top of the sauce
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• oregano
• cayenne pepper (I used 1 tablespoon for 5 batches of sauce, the overall spiciness was about a 3 on a scale of 1-10)
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Chop the onions and raw red peppers. If you will be blending the sauce like me, you can use a rustic approach when chopping. They do not need to be the same size. If you will not be blending, I think thin, julienne strips would look best. 
2. Add oil to a very large sauce pot, enough to coat the bottom.
3. Add the onions, red peppers, and salt. Saute until the onions are clear and the peppers are soft ~15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and roasted red peppers, simmer for ~5 minutes.
5. Add the wine, simmer for another 5 or so minutes
6. Add the tomatoes and other seasonings and stir to combine.
7. If you are blending do that here.
8. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, I did for an hour and a half. 
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Vegetable Fried Rice

This vegan fried rice is inspired by food court style fried rice that typically has peas, carrots, and eggs. This version obviously removes the eggs, but also pumps up the protein by adding edamame. Broccoli and peas are a good vegan protein source too. 

You could easily customize this recipe by adding different vegetables or tofu.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients

• Oil for cooking - I used canola
• 1/2 cup white rice plus 1 cup water
• Vegetables, about 1/2 cup of each, chopped into small pieces
• Carrots
• Onion
• Broccoli
• Edamame - I used frozen shelled edamame
• Peas - I used frozen
• Seasoning
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Soy sauce

Directions

1. Cook rice separately by boiling with water and salt. When the water starts to boil, turn off the heat and cover. 
2. Saute the onions and carrots in cooking oil. 
3. When the onions are clear, add the garlic and broccoli.
4. When the broccoli starts to get soft, add the edamame, cooked rice, and seasonings. You may need to add more oil. 
5. Stir to combine and continue to stir occasionally until some parts of the rice start to caramelize. Adjust seasonings to taste.
6. Add the frozen peas last so they don't get mushy. Stir them in until they are evenly mixed. 

Note: Chopping all of the vegetables can take a lot of prep time. You can save time by prepping the vegetables in advance and freezing them, or by using store-bought frozen vegetables. 

Easy Linguini with Cherry Tomatoes

This is a quick pasta dish you can throw together when you have minimal ingredients on hand. I made this when I had just bought fresh cherry tomatoes from the farmers market, but hadn't gone grocery shopping yet.

When cherry tomatoes cook the flavor becomes more complex. As they heat up, the juice inside expands and they explode. This turns the tomatoes into a light sauce. I use the same method with my tomato and asparagus pasta.

Easy Linguini with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients

• 1/2 pound linguini
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook the pasta separately and set aside.
2. Saute the cherry tomatoes until some of them pop open from the heat. Gently "pop" the rest with the back of your spoon or spatula. 
3. Add the garlic to the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
4. Add the cooked linguini and stir with tongs. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Product Review: Boca Original Chik'n Nuggets

Because of how much I liked Boca's Spicy Chik'n Patties, I tried their vegan chicken nuggets next. They were very similar to the patties, but the original breading is a little boring compared to the spicy. 

Just like the patties, these are ridiculously easy to prepare. They would be great for a quick snack or meal. 

Review: Boca Original Chik'n Veggie Nuggets

First impressions: "This is good."

Taste: Like the Boca Spicy Chik'n Patties, but a little boring without the spice. 

Texture: The inside texture reminds me of McDonald's chicken nuggets. 

Does it look like the picture on the box? Yes.

Can you tell it's vegan? No.

Worth buying again? Yes, I will probably always have these or the patties on hand for when I don't feel like cooking. 

Overall: 4.5 out of 5