Black Chai / Berry Burst

Posted on April 4, 2017 by planetmanel

BLACK CHAI
My favourite tea by farrrr is chai tea, because I have a real chai latte addiction. I can drink it all day long.. and sometimes I do. Only I rather keep it for in the evenings, as a treat. It’s even a bigger treat when my boyfriend makes it for me and he does that very often. He is not a tea drinker himself, but he even likes this chai latte too. Chai lattes, for me, are definitely little moments of happiness. Do you want to know how I make it? Check out the Foamy Chai recipe! I used all sorts of chai tea for my latte, but the best one so far is the ‘Black Chai’ from Yogi. It has a very powerful taste and especially when you leave the tea bag in a little longer, before pouring the milk in, the taste is define. Did I mention yet that it’s organic tea? Well, it is! No nasty pesticides in your cup of love. I also really like the little quotes and messages on each tea bag, I find it very exciting to read what it says. Drinking a chai latte and reading a wise quote before bed time is a perfect combination!

BERRY BURST
As a vegan (or vegetarian) you can’t just pop any sweets in your mouth. A lot of sweets contain gelatine and if they don’t, then they often contain beeswax. Only sometimes you just really crave sweets isn’t it? I must admit that I don’t really have that a lot, but if I do I like to eat some of the Biona sweets. These Berry Burst sweets for example. They are not healthy or anything, but they’re vegan and they are organic though. Also, they are actually very tasty. Very fruity and a nice consistency. As they’re quite small, have a nice red-pink colour and are nicely shaped, they’re perfect to use for decorating ice cream or cakes.

Candy bar / VegiDeli pizza’s

Posted on March 28, 2017 by planetmanel

CANDY BAR
Ok, if they were allowed, they probably would have name it Vegan Snicker, because that is what it is. Jokerz candy bars are exactly like Snickers. There is a difference though and that is, that it tastes even better than a real Snicker. I don’t think the package looks that appealing and attractive, but I’m happy I discovered them. It’s also nice to give it to non vegans, to show them that everything they van eat, we can eat vegan. Haha! My brother who is not vegan, really likes them too and I think everybody I gave them to, likes them. They say ‘nothing artificial’ and ‘no trans fats’, but that doesn’t make it healthy unfortunately. They’re definitely healthier than original Snickers. And you know.. once in a while, you can treat yourself, isn’t it?! I always buy them at Portobello Wholefoods, but I never seen them anywhere else. I’m sure you can order them online though, so get your hand on these!

VEGIDELI PIZZA’S
A thing I kind of miss, is frozen pizza’s you can put in the oven at home. All the frozen pizza’s in the supermarket have meat or cheese on them. It would make such a difference to have a good pizza for vegans. I’m sure a lot of vegans agree with me here. A while ago I saw some advertisement for the V Bites pizza’s at Ocado (online supermarket) and I was very excited to try them. I didn’t know they existed, but I ordered them straight away. My first thought was that they’re small, haha! I expected normal size pizza’s, but these are half of it. I ordered the 3 flavours, I tried them all 3 and they’re ok. They’re not amazing, but the base gets crispy in the oven and the cheese melts quite nicely. I missed vegetables though and more taste. That taste that you feel like you could eat another one. Out of the 3, I liked the ‘Cheezly & Tomato’ the best and I think if you put some mushrooms on it yourself, they will be a lot tastier. It was a nice try, but I don’t think I’ll get them again soon. Later I discovered you can also get them at Holland&Barret btw. Try them if you think you’ll like them.

Rose jam / Fishless fingers

Posted on March 21, 2017 by planetmanel

ROSE JAM
I love everything with the smell of roses! The bubble bar Rose Jam is for that reason my absolute favourite bubble bar from Lush! When I was in Bath, last year, I treated myself to one. That was the last time I enjoyed a bath with this magic product and I need to do it again soon. I definitely need a bath in my future house, because I need to treat myself a lot more to this amazing product. First of all.. the smell is intoxicating! It’s smells like my favourite Lush product Ro’s Argan, but then you can take a bath with it. The bath water turns into a perfect pink (I mean.. who’s doesn’t want that?!) and you just don’t want to get out. Second.. it leaves your skin so soft and incredible. This is such a GO & TRY product! You can go to your nearest Lush shop to get one of course, but you can also order it online.

FISHLESS FINGERS
I don’t know where to start, because I have a very double feeling with these fishless fingers from Quorn. I want to say: they taste too good! Though, then I’m saying that they’re the perfect imitation of a dead fish’s body. I have the same with burgers which taste too good. Then again, I can’t change the fact that I used to be a meat eater and that I loved the taste of it. I also loved fish fingers, it’s something we often ate on a Sunday at home, with mayo and ketchup on a white sandwich. So it gives me good childhood memories too. I think, just because we love this taste, it’s alright to imitate and enjoy. I definitely think it’s perfect for the people who are having a hard time to make the transition because of taste. These days they can imitate so good and these fishless fingers the big proof of that. They taste exactly the same as I remember. Like 0 difference. It’s like you’re eating fish. So if there are huge fish (finger) lovers here, you have to try these. I ate them with some potato waffles (sorry, I looooveee these) and grilled some huge asparagus with them. Oh and + some yummy mayonnaise of course. It was a perfect meal. The next time I make them, I’m going to put them on a white sandwich and make them they way my dad used to make it. Yay!

Snack balls / Indian tofu

Posted on March 14, 2017 by planetmanel

SNACK BALLS
I think a lot of people know Deliciously Ella. She is a famous blogger who also owns a few deli’s: Mae Deli, with her husband. Apart from her deli’s she has also introduced these snack balls. There are 3 flavours: ‘cacao&almond’, ‘hazelnut&raisin’ and ‘cashew&ginger’. I only tried the first 2 as I’m not a big fan of ginger inside cakes. Though I should maybe try that one too, because the other 2 are very yummy! I especially like the ‘cacao&almond’ flavour. I think that is also the most popular one in general. I get that, they’re very good. One thing I really like about them, is that you can get them in Starbucks. Starbucks doesn’t have a lot of vegan snacks and now they have a tasty and healthy one. What also makes it very clever of them to sell them there. You actually see them everywhere now and they’re advertising for them a lot. So no excuses.. go try them!

INDIAN TOFU
You’re vegan, so you must eat only tofu. Well.. not only tofu, but I do eat tofu. I love tofu! One day when I was in Portobello Wholefoods (that can be a lot of days.. haha!) I was looking for a nice tofu. I always get the same one (smoked tofu), but when I saw the tofu from Clearspot, I thought let’s go for something else. The pack looks nice, doesn’t it? So I made a salad and wanted to fry the tofu for a bit, but it was quite wet and it became more like a scrambled tofu instead. I would have liked it a lot better if it was more firm. I also expected a lot more flavour actually. Maybe that is because of the picture in front of the pack. You expect some sort of rich curry sauce on it. I made a simple salad with it. I cut up some cucumber, cherry tomatoes, onions and a big hand full of lettuce. I also added some mayonnaise for the sauce I was missing. Normally I’m not even that much of a sauce-person. All together, the salad, the scrambled tofu and the bit of mayonnaise was really nice though. So I guess it’s tofu you really have to prepare in a dish (like in a curry) and it’s not that suitable to fry it with a salad. I do like that it’s organic and the overall basic flavour was good. So I like it, but I’m just not crazy about it.

Unroasted Almond Milk / Coconut curls

Posted on February 28, 2017 by planetmanel

UNROASTED ALMOND MILK
Almond milk is one of the best plant-based milks I think. One of the healthiest for sure, if you get a non-sugar one. I tested a lot of plant-based milks and what I like to use for what. I don’t like almond milk in my tea, but I think it’s great for porridge, cereals, smoothies and hot chocolates. I always bought the Alpro roasted almond milk for that, I did like the taste, but quite recently they came with a new one: Unroasted! It’s so much better. It really tastes like raw almonds and it gives a little extra to your hot chocolate, yum! I’m happy they came with this, I think it must be a little healthier too. So if you’re not into ‘milking the almonds’, I think this is a good alternative. Give it a try!

COCONUT CURLS
Last time when I was in the Whole Foods Market I saw these Ape coconut curls snack bags. Everything what says ‘coconut’ is interesting I think, because I’m in love with coconuts! I looked them up and I liked the story of how it came on the market. If you want to read about it, go to their website. Later when I was at Planet Organic they were on discount and so I bought one. They also have a peppery flavour (what is an interesting combination I think, I should try those too), but I went for the salted chocolate version (of course). First of all, I like the design of the bags, it makes you want to try them. Second.. it’s deeeeelicious!! You have to try this! Just do!

Biscoff Spread / Alphabet Biscuits

Posted on February 21, 2017 by planetmanel

BISCOFF SPREAD
If you ask me about what I think they serve in heaven, I will say ‘Speculoos’. This is what we call it in Holland, over here we call this amazing spread from Lotus: ‘Biscoff Biscuit Spread’. It’s super unhealthy, loaded with bad bad sugars and bad fat.. you really shouldn’t look at the ingredient list! Hehe.. Ok, you should, because then you hopefully can hold yourself together and try not to eat the whole jar at once. Yes, sometimes I eat it from the jar.. It’s also delicious on white bread with butter (just adding to the healthiness here), crackers, biscuits and apples (no this still doesn’t make it a responsible snack). Last Friday I posted a simple recipe with this amazing spread, ‘Spread Magic’. It’s a hot chocolate.. you should try it! At first there were only biscuits, but later they made spreads out of it too. Can I get a Hallelujah?! The biscuits are originally from Belgium and are already around since 1932. Do you want to know more about this brand? Check out their website.

ALPHABET BISCUITS
Yes, these are actually children snacks. Though, why can’t we adults eat them too?! I like the brand ‘Organix’, because they do not use any crap in their products and most of it is vegan. So if you want to give your kids a nice snack, I’d like to recommend them. But that is why it’s also a nice snack for adults. I’m not saying you can now swap your salad with packs of biscuits, but once in a while, as a snack, is totally fine. They btw, taste great with the Biscoff Spread. Though, adding crappy nutrition onto good stuff might be considered as a sin. They don’t have a very strong taste, but that is what I like about it I think. They’re just nice simple biscuits. They come in little packs, what makes it handy for on the way and perfect for sharing too. Give them a try! If you want to know more, please check out their website.

Clipper Tea / Love Me Truly

Posted on February 14, 2017 by planetmanel

CLIPPER – LOVE ME TRULY
Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! Especially for today I reviewed the ‘Love Me Truly’ tea from Clipper. Ok, I have to admit, the first time I bought this tea is because of the beautiful box. I was pleasantly surprised that it’s a Chai Infusion though. I love Chai tea, it’s my favourite. So that’s why I turned these bags of love into cups of love, as in Chai lattes. A little more than 2 weeks ago I gave you the little recipe of how I make the Chai lattes myself. Super easy, but super yummy! A good thing about this Clipper Tea is that it’s organic, so only goodness in your cup and no nasty pesticides. Check out the recipe here and make sure to make this heart warming drink tonight..

Raw Bars / Shampoo and Conditioner

Posted on February 7, 2017 by planetmanel

fullsizerender-4
RAW BARS
For this review I tested 2 of the 7 flavours of Primal Pantry bars. I was especially very curious about the ‘Coconut Macadamia’ flavour as I’m crazy about coconut and I love macadamia nuts. I can already tell you, that this one is my favourite out of these 2. I do like the ‘Brazil nut & Cherry’ too, but it’s just sweeter and I like nutty. It’s personal taste. The structure of the bars is really nice and knowing that they don’t use any junk, makes it taste even better. The bars are paleo proof and so they’re free from grains, refined sugars, soy and processed vegetable oils. I also love the simple packaging, with these lovely soft colours. Very cute! I’m curious to try more flavours. Very handy, healthy snacks for on the way.

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER
I love everything with rose smell, including roses itself, haha! I always washed my hair with Olive Branch from Lush, but my hair needed some more treatment as it became a bit dry. So I looked for a shampoo and conditioner from just one brand, because in combination it works better. I found the Urtekram Rose. I love the smell and I do like the shampoo quite a lot, but after using it for several weeks, I don’t have the idea the conditioner is making a lot of difference. In my opinion it could have been a bit more creamy too. Maybe my hair was just too dry, to notice a difference though. Something very positive I think, are the sizes of the bottles, not too small and not too unhandy big. Overall I think they’re nice hair care products. So if you have normal hair and you’re looking for a new vegan and cruelty free shampoo and conditioner, give it a go!

Pepper steak style Pies / Green Curry Paste

Posted on January 31, 2017 by planetmanel

PEPPER STEAK STYLE PIES
In my opinion, Fry’s is one of the best vegan junk food brands. I really really love their burgers, which I might review later. This time I tried something I never tried before, but what looked nice. The ‘pepper steak style pies’. I love things with pastry, I love pepper and so all together I had quite high expectations. I put them in the oven and let them cool down slightly, not to burn my mouth in all my enthusiasm. The pastry is nice and though I did like the filling too, I wasn’t blown away by it. It was very peppery and the ‘steak’ structure was nice, it just wasn’t very special in my opinion. I also think I missed having veggies in there, becuase normally I would put veggies in myself. So served with a nice salad, I might like them better. Then they’re a nice quick meal actually. It’s not the most healthy thing to eat. If you want to know what ingredients are in the pies or if you want to find out about other Fry’s products, check out their website.

GREEN CURRY PASTE
One of my favourite foods is green curry with rice. With lots of yummy veggies. There are a lot of curry pastes out there. Unfortunately a lot contain dairy or fish sauce. Luckily there is Thai Taste. They don’t believe in putting silly things in their curry paste. So quite often I fry some veggies (baby corn, broccoli, bell pepper, spring onion and red onion) in a big pan, empty a can of my favourite coconut milk in there and add a big scoop of the curry paste. I let it simmer for about 5 minutes and serve it with rice. It’s so quick and easy! Thai Taste sells the curry paste in a bag, what contains about 10-12 servings, what means you can make a lot of curry dishes with that. I also sometimes just add a little in other sauces or veggies. The taste is great and very important.. it doesn’t contain any crap! No sugar or E-numbers, just herbs and spices. Check out their ingredients on their website.

Oat Milk / Raw Bars

Posted on January 24, 2017 by planetmanel

OATLY BARISTA
A good plant-based milk.. is always quite a thing isn’t it?! It has to be free from sugar and any other crap, it has to be creamy, taste great by itself, taste great in coffee and tea and if it’s possible it should foam too! There are so many different milks to choose from, but they can’t have it all. Until Oatly came with ‘foamable’. It’s creamy, what makes it great for if you want to use it in your coffee (cappuccino) or tea, it tastes A-mazing by itself and it’s super foamable (it’s in the name.. hehe..). Oatly is a very good brand in general, because they are pure, honest and they don’t use sugar or any other crap. I always liked them from the start and I think their design looks fab! I didn’t stop buying Oatly Barista since the day I discovered it. I now make sure there is always a pack in the house, in case I want to make a lovely Chai Latte, a bowl of porridge (cold or warm) or just drink it on its own. It’s delicious, my absolute favourite milk! Check out their website if you’d like to know more.

RAW BARS
I think many people know the Nakd bars, as they sell them basically everywhere. How many of you tried them? Because I really like Nakd bars. They make a great snack for if you have to wait a little longer until your next meal. They’re guilt free, as they’re fully raw, only contain a few ingredients and they don’t contain any processed crap. My favourite one is the ‘peanut butter’, but I also really like ‘cashew’, chocolate’ and ‘carrot’. I do like the soft bars, with the nutty flavours best. I’m not a big fan of the crunchy and fruity flavours. I mostly eat them after or before my work out. They’re great to provide you with a little energy boost or to fill you up after burning up your energy. I think they’re great. One of the good things is, like I said earlier, that you can buy them almost everywhere. What is very perfect when you want a good healthy snack, but you’re on the way. They have a lot of flavours, so I’m sure there is one you like. You can check out all the flavours on their website and find out which one in your favourite?!

Planet Manel

Happy Planet. Happy You.

Category Archives: Reviews