Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

Product Reviews

Ninja Cooking System Recipe: Vegan French Yellow Split Pea Soup (Slow Cooker)

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Back in August I attended the International Food Blogger Conference and attendees were able to secure a brand new Ninja Cooking System for free should they choose to try it. I was very interested because it’s not just a slow cooker, but you can use it for baking or stovetop cooking as well. So if you like to start off some of your soups, stews or roasts by sautéing and then turning on the slow cooker, you will love this kitchen gadget. It comes with a little cookbook in the box, but naturally none of the recipes are vegan. There is one “can be made vegetarian” lentil soup recipe in the book, but I tried it and was not impressed. (It uses chicken stock and cheese and I used vegetable stock and it was rather bland, naturally.)

So I decided to pull it out and make a vegan split pea soup. It is rather chilly in Calgary, Canada where I am and it sure makes the house smell delicious with soup cooking away all day. What’s nice about the Ninja Cooking System is that it has a non stick lightweight pan. So there’s no fear of food getting stuck to it making it hard to clean, or it being so heavy you might accidentally drop it and break it. It also has a handy digital timer for the low/high/buffet (keep warm) setting, and simply an on/off setting for the low/medium/high stovetop section.

Since I will be using it only for bean, lentil and soup recipes (and not roasts or meat stews) I will be playing around with it. But for my purposes it works just like a slow cooker so it’s very easy to use. Don’t be intimidated! Just select the setting you want by using the dial. Although I still have my regular slow cooker, I suppose I don’t need it anymore as the Ninja is quite convenient to use AND clean too. It also comes with a little metal pan for roasting/steaming/baking and a metal roasting rack.

If you’re interested in getting a Ninja Cooking System you can get it on Amazon here. I suspect it would also make a nice gift for that family member pressed on time, who likes to toss ingredients into the pot and “set it and forget it” until they come home from work for fast meals.

Although I’m not skilled in the art of French cooking (as they use butter, cream and meat predominantly) I still enjoy using some French ingredients and especially French herbs. Here’s my version of a simple and hearty Vegan French Split Pea Soup.

Vegan French Yellow Split Pea Soup (Slow Cooker)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups yellow split peas (rinsed and picked over)
8 cups vegetable broth (low sodium or homemade)
1 large sweet onion, or 2 small, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 celery ribs, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 tsp Herbs de Provence (or a mix of rosemary, thyme, savory and/or basil)
3 small bay leaves
1 tsp Dijon mustard (do not use yellow mustard or spicy mustard)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Herbamare or salt (or to taste)

Directions:

Place ingredients into a slow cooker such as the Ninja or a pressure cooker.

Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Alternately you can cook it in a pressure cooker for about 7 minutes.

When split peas are at desired tenderness, mash or blend part of the soup for a creamier texture.

Add dijon mustard and stir and season to taste with Herbamare or salt and pepper.

Serve with whole wheat bread or over rice.

Additional Tips:

Make sure to use fresh split peas (meaning not ones sitting in your cupboard for the past year, and preferably not from a bulk bin). Using “old” split peas that have been through various temperatures and humidity can leave them hard and difficult to break down. You’ll know you had old peas if at the end of cooking time they are still rather hard and intact. No amount of cooking will soften them, you’ll just end up burning the bottom of the soup to the pot. (I have had this happen many times from bulk split peas) Pick up a fresh set of split peas for your soup recipe instead.

Because I cooked this in the Ninja some of the moisture escaped from the hole in the lid at the top, so my soup is really thick. If this happens to you, you can add a little more broth or water as needed for desired consistency and then season to taste.

Additionally you can add diced potatoes or other seasonings to this soup to mix it up.

Have you ever made split pea soup? What ingredients do you like to add?

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Bean And Rice Burrito Non Dairy

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This was my first time trying one of Amy’s burritos. The bean and rice burrito sounded like a good bet for a vegan version. I was a little surprised at the calorie count for it though because at 320 calories it’s way more than a snack, but the burrito is fairly small so it looks more like a snack or part of a meal.

Nutritional Info and ingredients.

It tastes pretty standard for a pinto bean and rice burrito, good, but not amazing. It’s a little too high in fat and sodium for my liking, but maybe for a small meal it will work for others. It reheats really easily which makes it an easy meal. I think I will make a recipe for this myself because it’s pretty simple to create. 🙂

Here’s my overall review score.

Basic Nutritional Info: 300 calories 8 grams of fat 24% fat by calories 10 g of protein

Price: $1.98 USD  In Canada about $4

Taste: 4/5

Texture: 4/5, tortillas is a little dry but that’s to be expected in lower fat tortillas

Healthfulness: 2/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: No

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes, but I think I’m more apt to make one myself.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and lower the sodium content. It’s a little too high to be considered health food.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever had Amy’s Bean & Rice Burrito? What did you think?

 

Questions Answered: Is Cooking Spray Ok To Use and Can You Make Oil-Free Kale Chips?

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After posting about The Myth of Moderation: The Impact of “Just a Little Oil”. I got some questions so I decided to answer them so everyone can benefit.

 

Q: Veronica – what is the impact of using  the cooking oil sprays? 

We all have probably heard about Pam non-stick cooking spray. On the front of the container it actually says “fat free” which they are legally allowed to advertise if 1 serving is less than 0.5 g of fat.

 

Look at the back of the container and it says that 1 serving is actually 1/3 of a second spray.

 

Do you know anyone that can spray a fraction of a second?

 

I don’t either.

 

Read the ingredient list and it says: canola oil, grain alcohol from corn, lecithin from soybeans, and propellant.

 

So is it possible for any food to actually be fat free, when the first ingredient it contains is oil?

 

No. Absolutely not.

 

The primary ingredient in all cooking sprays is oil. They’ve just conveniently changed the serving size to something absurd to weasel around food labelling laws.

 

This only serves their purposes, not yours.

 

When you use cooking sprays, do you spray for even just 1 second?

 

Doubtful.

 

Usually it takes a few seconds to cover a pan or some vegetables on a tray with cooking  spray.

 

So at best you’re adding a fraction of a teaspoon of oil to your dish, and at worst it’s a teaspoon or two.

 

But it’s really hard to know for sure.

 

And that’s not all, they use propellant in cooking spray which is a pretty vague term.

 

Propellant in cooking spray can include n-butane, isobutane, nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide.

 

While they are used in small levels, it’s not something you want to be consuming and using every day in your cooking.
 

Every little bit can add up.

 

Have I used cooking spray ever? Yes.

 

Do I use it regularly? No. Almost never in fact.

 

Instead of using cooking spray and oils, why not master the art of oil-free cooking?

 

For cooking in a non-stick pan, use some water or vegetable broth to sauté. If you’re doing only onions or mushrooms, you actually don’t even need any liquid, as they will naturally release them while cooking to prevent sticking.

 

For baking or roasting, try using a little balsamic vinegar and water with seasonings, or vegetable broth in a roasting pan and seasonings.

 

While we cannot replicate cooking with oil, we can increase the healthfulness of our cooking while still achieving good flavor.

 

There’s far too much oil in restaurant and prepared food as it is to need to use any of it at home.

 

All oils and cooking sprays are highly refined foods and should not be a regular part of your cooking.

 

Q: I made kale chips awhile back and they were very good…both my wife AND i LOVED THEM BUT…IT TOOK A COUPLE OF TABLESPOONS  OF OIL which was rubbed on the kale  to prepare them for baking… is ther[e] a better way to make kale chips?

 

While I haven’t made kale chips in the oven, I have made them in a dehydrator (as they started out as a raw vegan snack at first.)

 

I would suggest using another liquid such as balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice instead to toss the kale in and using seasonings such as nutritional yeast, soy sauce and chili flakes instead.

 

I even found an oil-free oven dehydrated kale chips here. For oil-free raw vegan kale chips go here.

 

A quick google search will often yield oil-free versions of your favorite recipes. So don’t be afraid to use it.

 

If you’re looking to learn how to cook without oil and transform your body with the power of plant-based cuisine I highly recommend my Comfort Foods From Around The World recipe ebook.

 

It contains over 60 low fat recipes that will wow your taste buds and make eating healthier a whole lot easier and tastier.

 

 

Just take a look at the photos and your mouth will be watering for these delicious meals that are not only good for you, but good for your waistline too!

 

No more diet foods. No more bland and boring recipes. The secret is to learn how to cook your old favorites a healthier way that will satisfy your hunger and suit your family’s needs.

 

We’ve all been guilty of not eating enough fruits and vegetables, and my way makes it much easier to do so. When you’re filling up on plant-foods it won’t even feel like a diet and the weight will melt right off.

 

Go to:

 

 

You can do it, and I can help. 🙂

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Roasted Vegetable Tamale

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I’ve actually never had a tamale before (you don’t often find them without meat or cheese). But I quite like this Roasted Vegetable Tamale by Amy’s. It’s much different than Amy’s Enchiladas and has some good flavor and texture to it. The tamale portion is delicious and different, the black beans? Mmm not so good. I absolutely love black beans, but these ones crushed my expectations and not in a good way. All I could taste was salt and nothing else. 🙁

Ingredients all vegan!

Nutritional information. This recipe is lower in fat than some of their meals, but seriously high in sodium. Over 2 1/2 times the amount health experts recommend per calorie (mostly in the beans).

I wish these tamales came by themselves because I would enjoy eating them again. They were flavorful. But the beans are too salty. I’m not sure if they are catering to the lowest common denominator in salt lovers or what. I like some salt in beans but I don’t know why Americans eat such salty black and pinto beans, it’s hard to taste anything else but salt. Other seasonings like cumin and chili powder can add some interest and reduce the amount of salt needed in a recipe.

On to my overall product review.

Basic Nutritional Info: 280 calories 7 grams of fat 23% fat by calories 9 g of protein

Price: $3.38 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6.29

Taste: Tamale 4/5 Black beans 1/5 way too salty

Texture: 4/5

Healthfulness: 3/5 (high in sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes, but not the black beans portion.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and much less sodium in the black beans and other seasonings instead.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever tried Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Tamale? What did you think?

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Indian Vegetable Korma

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This is probably my favorite Amy’s meal that I have tried so far, because there are 3 distinct dishes in it. It’s not spicy, but has some nice flavors to it. Most of Amy’s Indian meals have cream or paneer cheese in them, so I was happy I could try one that was vegan.

They even make it easy to tell on the ingredients list that it’s all vegan. 🙂

Nutritional Information for Amy’s Vegetable Korma. It has about double the amount of sodium per calorie that health experts recommend so it’s a bit too high. It’s also over 34% fat by calories.

Taking it out of the package.

After it’s reheated. It looks a little bit messy, but it tastes better than it looks! Here’s my overall review of it.

Basic Nutritional Info: 310 calories 12 grams of fat 35% fat by calories 9 g of protein

Price: $3.38 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada $6.29

Taste: Vegetables 4/5 Rice 4/5 Dal 3/5

Texture: Vegetables 4/5 Rice 5/5 Dal 4/5

Healthfulness: 3/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: No

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes for a quick meal.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipes and a little less sodium in the dal, it was pretty salty.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever tried Amy’s Vegetable Korma? What do you think? 

Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

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So can you use green powders in green smoothies instead of fresh greens? Why yes you can!

I think a lot of us are guilty of not getting enough green leafy vegetables in their diet day after day. Myself included. Sometimes I don’t have enough room in the fridge to have salad ingredients every single day, and sometimes I get tired of chewing salad every day. So I often opt for a green smoothie to get more greens in my diet and it’s pretty fast and simple.

You kind of need a decent blender to blend the fresh greens though otherwise they can end up a little chunky or not so smooth. So you may consider using green powders in your smoothies instead for texture.

Or you may not have access to the best fresh greens all year round so a green powder is a more attractive option for you as well.

You can find a variety of green powders at the health food store and on Amazon.com. Some are based on wheat grass, barley grass or a mixture. I picked up a new one the other day to try out called Vitamineral Green. I’d heard people talk about it before and really liking it so I thought why not give it a shot.

I first tried mixing Vitamineral Green into some water and stirring well in an attempt to drink it.  I figured I could manage it. I was dead wrong! It’s not very edible this way! So instead I’ve been playing around added it into smoothies instead of my regular baby spinach or baby greens or kale.

As soon as I started drinking this green smoothie I immediately felt more alert and had a very positive reaction to it. My body definitely enjoys getting more greens!

This is my favorite version that I came up with so far and it definitely tastes like a fruit smoothie with some greens in it, instead of a strong green drink so I think you’ll enjoy it.

Veronica’s Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup filtered water
2-3 large bananas (I use 3 so it’s filling)
1-2 heaping tablespoons of Vitamineral Green (I use 2, but you can work up to it)
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen cherries or blueberries

Directions: 

Place ingredients in a Vitamix or blender in the order listed and blend on high for about a minute until smooth and creamy.

*Note: You can adjust the thickness of the smoothie as desired by added more or less water and banana. If desired you can add some ice and blend again.

Other Tips:

Make sure to add enough water and sweet fruits such as banana or mango to help mask the strong flavor of Vitamineral Green or other green powders.

You don’t have to use Vitamineral Green, you can use another green powder. Be careful as straight wheat grass or barley grass powder may be stronger in taste. Use a small amount of Vitamineral Green or green powders to start until you get used to them. Gradually increase until you use 1 – 2 heaping tablespoons per smoothie.

Try using 1 banana and 1 fresh mango and frozen berries.

Try 1 Hawaiian papaya 2 bananas and frozen berries.

Try 3 bananas, 1/2 cup almond milk and a scoop of cocoa powder.

 What’s your favorite green powder to use? How do you drink it?

Product Review: Amy’s Tofu Scramble With Hash Browns and Veggies

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Here’s my product review of Amy’s Tofu Scramble with Hash Browns & Veggies.

From Amy’s website: “Generous portions of tofu scrambled with organic vegetables with hash browned potatoes on the side make up this delicious meal.”

I have never seen the tofu scramble before and since it was on sale I thought I’d try it to see if it was a good quick breakfast. It comes with tofu scramble, some shredded hash browns and 3 raw tomato slices.

Looking at the ingredients it looks like a lot of normal sounding whole foods and doesn’t contain any fillers, sugars or strange chemicals. This is good.

Nutritional info. This dish is pretty high in fat (I’m guessing from the olive oil in both the scramble and hash browns) but has a good amount of protein if you’re looking for that in a breakfast meal. It’s also a little too high in sodium for the amount of calories.

Taking it out of the box this is what it looks like frozen.  It says to microwave for 4 minutes on high and turn it 1/4 turn half way through.

All ready to eat! Once the meal is microwaved there is a little too much liquid at the bottom coming from the tomatoes so it makes it kind of wet. I drained it out before eating.

The flavor of this product is fairly mild (which seems the norm with Amy’s cuisine). You can tell that there is oil in both the scramble and the hash browns, I believe that’s why this is a much higher fat recipe than others. The scramble portion is not bad, it has some chewiness to it and veggies so that’s good. The hashbrowns are what you’d expect shredded potatoes microwaved to taste like. Similar to shredded mushy potatoes. The raw tomatoes I couldn’t eat. I don’t know of anyone who enjoys the taste or texture of microwaved raw tomatoes. Maybe they are there for color.

Personally I don’t think the hash browns add anything to this dish, they are not very flavorful or appetizing. Having just tofu scramble in a frozen meal is probably what I’d prefer instead. But they probably wanted to create a whole breakfast.  Perhaps roasted potatoes would have stood up better in the microwave compared to the shredded ones which became mushy. I don’t find any benefit to adding oil to sautéed shredded potatoes if they are still mushy and never get crispy.

Basic Nutritional Info: 320 calories 19 grams of fat 53% fat by calories 22 g of protein

Price: $3.74 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6-$7

Taste: Tofu Scramble 3/5 Hash browns 2/5 Tomatoes 1/5

Texture: Tofu Scramble 3/5 Hash browns 1/5 Tomatoes 1/5

Healthfulness: 2/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 3/5

Low fat: No, high fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: No

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? I’m not sure. I don’t find the hash browns or the tomato appealing so probably not.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and switch out the hash browns for mini roasted potatoes. Also skip the raw tomatoes in favor of a vegetable that microwaves better.

What do you think? Have you ever had Amy’s Tofu Scramble?

Product Review: Amy’s Bowls Brown Rice & Vegetables

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I wanted to do a few reviews on some vegan products my readers might be interested in trying. This one is a frozen dinner by Amy’s and is a brown rice and vegetables bowl.

From Amy’s website “Organic brown rice, tofu and vegetables in a delectable sesame tahini sauce. A flavorful, nutritious high protein meal, containing no dairy or gluten. Satisfying at any time of the day. (Amy’s dad eats his for breakfast on the way to work.)”

Let’s check out the ingredients:

ingredients

So the ingredients look pretty good overall, considering most frozen dinners have things like high fructose corn syrup, sugar, MSG, preservatives and chemical flavors in them. It also has food ingredients first and not oil or sugar, so this is good.

nutritional info

Now let’s check out the nutritional info.

This is not a low fat meal, but it is not a high fat meal either. The fat in this product is mainly coming from olive oil, tahini and safflower oil. I’m not sure why there are two kinds of oil in this food. That’s the only thing I find strange about this product.

Now let’s see what it actually looks like out of the package.

frozen, removed from box

Microwave directions: Cut slit in package and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes.

Now that my frozen dinner is hot and ready it’s time to eat!

While it has a nice mild taste and some colour, I would say it tastes more like a creamy mushroom sauce rather than a sesame tahini sauce (tahini means sesame paste.) The tofu had a nice flavor. It kind of reminded me of the tofurky flavor, but maybe that’s just me.

In any case it’s a nice mellow flavored bowl and if you like mushrooms, broccoli and flavored tofu you will like this. Here’s a little review breakdown for you.

Basic Nutritional Info: 260 calories 9 grams of fat 31% fat by calories

Price: $3.74 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6-$7

Taste: 4/5

Texture: 3/5

Healthfulness: 3/5

Looks: 3/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Sure for a quick mini meal on the go. But I won’t likely buy it again soon as I enjoy homemade rice bowls better.

What could be improved? More rice so it’s not so moist and wet (and more filling) and remove the two kinds of oil which is kind of overkill and unnecessary.

*Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Hope you enjoyed my review! Let me know what you thought of your Amy’s Bowls Brown Rice And Vegetables.

Want to Peek Inside a Successful Raw Fooder’s Kitchen and See What They Eat Every Day?

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Have you ever wondered what exactly a raw foodist eats? Or more specifically what a successful LONG TERM raw foodist eats? I sure have. There are SO many different versions of a raw vegan diet that the differences from one person’s meals to the next is astonishing.
Well my good friend Nomi Shannon (author of the amazing raw recipe book The Raw Gourmet) has compiled day to day journals, recipes and dietary regimens of 48 long term raw and high raw food eaters.

 

The list includes well-known raw foodists such as:

 

  • Matt Monarch (from the Raw Food World)
Plus, a variety of people who eat a 50-90% (aka. high raw) raw diet such as:

 

Although you may not be able to bust in and check out their kitchen, but I’m going to let you in on the next best thing. Nomi Shannon’s new collection called  “What Do Raw Fooders Eat?” is now available and it’s going to blow your mind with just how jam packed full of fascinating information it is. Nomi had 48 raw fooders keep meticulous food journals for an entire week and submit them along with their personal dietary habits and health stories.

 

Nomi also compiled a MASSIVE number of bonus ebooks that she includes along with her “What Do Raw Fooders Eat?” collection. All in all you get hundreds and hundreds of new raw food recipes, everything from simple juices, smoothies and salads to gourmet raw food recipes for entertaining. It’s quite impressive.

 

Right now she’s doing a special promotion for me and my readers, and the first 300 people to order get all of these bonus recipe ebooks and videos absolutely free. (A $393.67 value!)

 

Insane right?

 

Check it out here:

 

 

This special bonus offer of $393.67 worth of freebies ends as soon as it hits 300 orders. They’re going fast….

Is There A Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Butter? (Like Nutella) Why, Yes There Is!

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Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend (It's Vegan!)

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend with Strawberries

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Is there a chocolate hazelnut butter or spread that is vegan?” I have. And when I previously googled it, I came up with nothing but homemade recipes for chocolate hazelnut butter spread. Hazelnuts are expensive, and I didn’t plan on making it for just a small sample. Plus if it’s fresh it also goes bad within a week and I was not about to eat the whole batch in one week.

I think everyone remembers eating Nutella as a kid, or if you live in Europe, you probably ate it or still eat it regularly. They have this serious OBSESSION with Nutella in crepes filled with fruit. Very decadent indeed… That get’s me thinking I need to make a vegan chocolate hazelnut crepe recipe soon, I’ve never had one… but for now we’re going for chocolate hazelnut butter on toast with strawberries.

Since I’ve traveled in Europe a lot and there are also many creperies in Vancouver, Canada many places I’ve seen serve crepes with Nutella and because it had dairy in it, it’s not vegan. (The crepes are also not vegan as well.) I’ve often wondered if ANY company was going to get up the guts to actually make a healthier chocolate vegan hazelnut spread without the dairy and for the longest time could not find any. I checked the health food stores in Canada and no dice. I checked a bunch in the USA as well, and just recently found 2 different brands that were dairy free! This was a surprise to me because I had been casually reading labels for a while.

Since the dairy industry has been so adept at lobbying for companies and restaurants to put milk and cheese into everything, it can be very hard to find plain chocolate ANYWHERE. Almost every chocolate and chocolate bar EVEN DARK CHOCOLATE that is manufactured in the USA contains milk fat solids.  They do this because dairy is highly addicted, just as addictive as opiates are actually and it makes people eat and crave more. So they now put dairy in all of the dark chocolate to make you eat MORE. How rude!

Same goes for creamy chocolate hazelnut spreads, they put dairy in it to make it more addicting and get you to eat more. Plus it probably is cheaper to add milk to it and less hazelnuts as those are more expensive.

I started looking for vegan alternatives a while ago, but never found any until now. It’s not something I would eat regularly, but more of a treat to put on a slice of toast or a crepe or for a vegan waffle or something.  You know, a healthier-than-the-original-version treat.

Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend on toast with strawberries. A filling snack or treat for you or your kids.

The strawberries are nice because it makes it not too sweet and has a little tartness to it.

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend (It's Vegan!)

This little baby I found in Portland, OR at Whole Foods Market on a recent trip. I have sampled Justin’s peanut butter cups (the dark chocolate variety are vegan) and was quite impressed at their not too oily or  too sweet peanut butter cups. (Christmas treat).

Here they had an entire line of natural nut butters. Including chocolate peanut butter and chocolate almond butter. Crazy! I know…

Let’s take a look at the side. Ah a nice note, it shows they are trying to make a product that is healthier than the major competitors. Who eat’s frosting for breakfast indeed? Nutella eaters that’s for sure. Here are the list of ingredients in Nutella from their website: INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, PALM OIL, HAZELNUTS, COCOA, SKIM MILK, REDUCED MINERALS WHEY (MILK), LECITHIN AS EMULSIFIER (SOY), VANILLIN: AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR.

Ingredients and nutritional information. It still contains some oil in the form of palm oil (saturated fat), so sad face 🙁 but at least it’s not hydrogenated and it’s one of the last ingredients on the label, not the first.  It’s 90 calories and 7.5 g of fat per tablespoon. Ok good to know. One or two tablespoons max is all you should use for a serving.

Nutella comes in at 100 calories per tablespoon and 5.5 grams of fat, so  it’s a little less fat than Justin’s… but Nutella’s first ingredients are sugar and oil and then it’s hazelnut taste is watered down by milk and whey. Justin’s doesn’t have sugar until the third ingredient, and oil is the third last, before vanilla and salt. If you were going to pick one that was a healthier option between Justin’s and Nutella, Justin’s would win. It definitely has more natural ingredients and whole foods in it than mass produced Nutella.

Here is Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend inside. It’s quite thick. There’s no oil on top and it doesn’t look rock solid like coconut oil does at room temperature.

Here’s another vegan Hazelnut Butter. This is the first vegan chocolate Hazelnut Butter I found by New World Natural Foods, it’s from a local health food store in Bellingham, Washington. I thought they were the only brand that made a vegan hazelnut butter, so I picked it up.

Upon closer inspection though, it is fattier than Justin’s. 100 calories and 8 grams of fat per tablespoon.

They use cocoa butter instead of palm fruit oil. This butter is stable at room temperature (a saturated fat), which means it is a solid at room temperature and not a liquid. So this must be why they chose to use it in their butter.

Here is what the chocolate hazelnut butter looks like inside. It’s very solid looking and actually looks like cacao or coconut butter. If you seen these you might see the resemblance. There’s little white solid flecks in it, and this is the oil, solidified.

Here is a comparison on warm toast for you. Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend is on the left and New World Natural Food’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is on the right.  Immediately I could tell the difference in the two. The one on the right melted very quickly into a liquid. Justin’s was a little harder to spread but more like a nut butter.  New World Natural Food’s was more like chocolate sauce when spread.

Here it is again from up top.

So there you have it, there are at least TWO options for vegan chocolate hazelnut butter for you. Justin’s also makes chocolate peanut butter and chocolate almond butter (it is cheaper than the hazelnut butter) if you’re looking for a more affordable treat for your family.

Like I said I was mostly curious because there was a lack of vegan options for this kind of product and I remember eating Nutella as a kid. If it’s your only source of nuts for the day and you have 1 or 2 tbsps, you should be ok. If you’re still eating oils, lots of nuts and avocados and meat and dairy however, this may be a diet of too many rich foods already. Adding this on top of it won’t be healthy.

So which one do I prefer? Hands down I prefer Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Blend.  I like that it isn’t too sweet, it’s a little thick, it doesn’t melt into chocolate sauce and it’s ingredients are much more natural than Nutella. For an occasional treat I like this product and they make a ton of different nut butters you can get at Whole Foods Market as well.

Have you ever tried a vegan chocolate hazelnut butter? What did you eat it with?