Yves Veggie Ground Round Mexican - non-dairy

Here comes a confession - I do not know Yves. I have never received a free veggie burger from the company that makes Yves. I have never visited the website. I try to be objective.

I am not sure Yves exists, but the products that bear his name are mostly very good. This one is exceptional. Really.

I followed the recipe for tacos on the package and everyone in our family loved it. Even our daughter who wanted me to use real meat. This ground round tastes like chopped meat. Lean chopped meat. What we used to call minced meat back in Dublin. It has the right look and texture too. It is completely dairy free and not too much fibre, which can be a problem with a vegetarian diet. This was one of my most successful efforts at cooking.

On the down side, this is not an organic food. And it contains added vitamins and minerals which may be from the chemical plant. Certified as OU kosher and vegan. I give it 5 out of 5.

Ryza oganic whole brown rice beverage - non dairy (COR DE)

I like rice milk. Not everyone does. It has a slightly chalky texture and a pleasantly dry taste. I really like this taste and texture and I really like Ryza products. Ryza is made from organic brown rice with no added sugar. Since I gave up dairy, I drink it straight and pour it on my breakfast cereal every day.

I seem to be allergic to uncooked soy, so this is a very good choice for people with food allergies. It works well in cooking and adding a dairy-like element to soups and cakes. The vanilla, chocolate and fruit flavours are amazing. On our evolving scale, 5 out of 5.

Look carefully at the kosher certification symbol COR DE. The Kashruth Council of Canada has an informative web site. You can call or email and ask about specific foods under their supervision.

Generally, and this is my explanation, DE stands for made on dairy equipment. That means the production line also makes something with real dairy ingredients and the cleaning process between the dairy and non-dairy does not measure up to kosher standards for completely removing all traces of dairy. Believe it or not, dairy by products can turn up anywhere, including water used to wash the equipment.

In Jewish religious terms, this is enough to keep it off the table when we eat meat. It's OK after meat if you rinse your mouth first. In our house we drink this only with a salad course or desert of a meat meal. The Orthodox Union does not label anything DE, it's either dairy or it's not. The more I read on the subject, the more I see this is a very wise decision for safety and religious reasons.

With this type of milk substitute, there is often a D or DE next to the kosher symbol. D means real milk inside. DE means no milk in the ingredients list, no further claim is made. If milk harms you, be aware. It's worth the effort to be fully informed.

Tivall – Chargrilled Simulated Beef Burgers - Parve

Here is another great product from Tivall – Chargrilled Simulated Beef burgers. In our house, we have previously tried the two different simulated burger products offered by Yves including the "Cheese flavoured" ones. Overall we prefer the Tivall burgers by just a hair and a bit.

Neither product truly tastes like real meat, but the Tivall has a bit firmer consistency than the Yves burgers. It is this consistency that made it the winner in our household.

The burgers come frozen with grill marks included but do require cooking prior to serving. You have the option to prepare them in the microwave, oven or on a grill. My personal favourite method is on a portable grill as they cook up nice and firm (approximately 11 minutes without defrosting).

The burgers are made primarily from soy protein, yet don't taste like or have the consistency of typical soy burgers. Other ingredients include onion, sunflower oil, wheat protein and dried egg whites plus a few others items including a slew of vitamins.

Nutritional Values according to facts on the package for a single burger are:

• Energy – 95Kcal

• Protein 12g

• Calcium – 8%

• B6 – 15%

• B12 – 40%

• Folate 10%

• Iron 10%

One has to remember that Tivall burgers unlike the Yves are Kosher Parve and not Kosher Dairy. So if you only eat Cholov Israel dairy, then the Yves are not for you. The presence of egg whites makes these burgers inappropriate for vegans. Regardless of your reasons, these burgers taste great either on their own or on a bun with all the fixings.

Overall rating 4.1 out of 5

The Three Philosophies of Butter

I could not resist sharing this picture with all of our readers.

It connects to my last post here, about non-dairy butter and also to my other blog www.thebookofisaiah.com

Also, my son is a big time student of philosophy.

I do not know if all of these products are kosher. I really just think it's funny.

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Soy Garden / Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spreads - NON-DAIRY

I gave up dairy products three months ago. I have Crohn's and it really has made a difference. I feel better, I have less difficulties (nice euphemism) and I have lost a couple of pounds. The problem is, I like butter. I grew up in Ireland, so everything good is creamy and buttery.

Earth Balance, used to be only available in health food stores and it was always in short supply. Now it's in the local supermarkets in sticks for baking and tubs for spreading.

There are two varieties - Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread and Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread.

I did a scientific taste test. I put them on a bagel this morning and then tried them "straight" on a spoon as well. The difference is small. Soy Garden contains crushed defatted soybeans and Earth Balance has soy protein instead on the list of ingredients. The first, in the white tub tastes like margarine. The second, in the yellow tub, tastes almost like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Earth Balance is a bit saltier and more like butter. That's good in my book. The firmer consistency doesn't bother me, it makes it even more butter like.

I like the yellow tub Earth Balance better. The Soy Garden is OK too. Both contain no frankenfoods, nothing genetically modified and ingredients that I can recognize without a degree in chemistry. The sticks are very good for baking and my daughter, an expert baker, will now use nothing else.

I still crave real salted butter made from real cream. This is a good alternative, especially when you remember that dairy products are made from milk that was never intended for people. On our evolving scale, an overall score of 4 out of 5.

Yves Prima Cheese Flavour Veggie Burger - DAIRY

Our son just became a vegetarian, but only on weekdays. He is now known in our family as the Sabbath Carnivore. Yves prima cheese flavour veggie burgers are one of his favorites. He takes one to school on a roll for lunch.

They are amazing. The burgers come fully cooked, just heat in the microwave and they look and feel like real meat hamburgers. Well done hamburgers. There are people who like their meat rare. I am not one of them, but that is the only "beef" I have about this excellent product. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Maybe the next project for the research kitchens at Yves could be a rare or medium cooked burger?

Cheese flavour? I do not taste it. The ingredients do not list it. All I see is "natural flavour (with milk ingredients)". That's not cheese in the English I learned. It doesn't matter to me. I have no desire to eat a cheeseburger and this product does not present itself as a cheeseburger. It says cheese flavour on the packet and the flavour is different and better than all the other veggie burgers I have ever tried. On our evolving scale, 4 out of 5.

Tivall – Breaded Simulated Chicken Nuggets (Parve)

My wife stumbled across the Tivall – Simulated Chicken Nuggets (Parve) and other products a few months back. Since then these little nuggets have become a staple in our house. My two children (ages 5 and 8) can't tell the difference between them and commercially prepared real chicken nuggets.

As an adult, I can state that the Tivall Chicken Nuggets don't taste as good as home-made chicken fingers made with real chicken; however, when compared to something deep-fried you might get at a fast-food place consisting of ground-up chicken bits, there isn't much difference. In my opinion these are one of the tastiest soy based chicken nuggets that I've had in a long time.

The nuggets are quick to prepare taking only 10-12 minutes in the oven or a toaster oven. There's no frying involved. As such, if you're looking for a healthy alternative to process chicken nuggets or just looking for a meat alternative, these simulated chicken nuggets make a great choice. Plus they cost a lot less then kosher chicken nuggets.

Overall rating 3.5 out of 5