"Why do you have to eat a sausage now if you're vegan? You can just as well buy the original?" This sentence has been uttered more than once at family barbecues. And compared to other arguments, I can't understand these objections to my lifestyle at all.
Most people who eat a plant-based diet don't do so because they can't stand the taste of meat or cheese. On the contrary! Most people like the ethical approach, but don't want to miss out on the delicious taste of their meals.
At first, the change wasn't easy for me either. Meat and other substitute products can be real lifesavers. You can fall back on your veganised "comfort foods", especially at the beginning, when you are perhaps not very keen on experimenting with new recipes.
I've tried quite a few products over the years and the shelves of vegan substitutes are also growing very quickly (which of course makes me and my taste buds immensely happy). Below you'll find a list of my 10 favourites (in no particular order) from all sorts of different areas. You will see that there are some rather expensive products among them, which I only treat myself to in exceptional cases. But even for these, there are now cheaper alternatives that can keep up very well in terms of taste.
If you haven't tried this vegan chicken alternative yet, you're missing out. My boyfriend even thinks it tastes better than the meat original because the consistency is just perfect - crispy, yet tender. Personally, I like the version with the Hiltl marinade especially well, because the chicken simply already has a perfect taste and you can use it directly like that for whatever menu ideas you have. The only criticism is the price. At Migros, the 175g pack costs a hefty 6.95 Swiss francs - so it's rarely something for the small purse.
A new discovery that very much deserves to be on this list. This is by far the best vegan vanilla milk I have ever tasted. Not only does it have a wonderfully intense flavour, but it also has a creamy consistency. I especially like to use it to make my vanilla pancakes or my matcha latte recipe. You can buy the drink at Aldi for just under 2.00 Swiss francs per litre (it’s also available at Coop but for over 3.00 francs).
For other recipes where the taste of milk is not that important, I use the Alnatura soy drink, because at 1.50 per litre, it's a lot cheaper in the long run. For a delicious brunch, I sometimes add the V-Love Oat Barista Drink (Migros, 2.95 Swiss francs per litre) to my coffee or tea.
I've tried a few egg substitutes for my baking recipes and couldn't really warm up to most of them until I came across the VollEy egg substitute. It doesn't make the cake soggy, but gives it a very "normal" and desirable consistency.
A little tip about “eggs”: For salty dishes like scrambled tofu, Kala Namak salt is a must in the store cupboard. The increased sulphur content gives the salt a natural egg flavour that comes through beautifully in the cooked dishes.
If there's one food combination I love above all else, it's chocolate and whole hazelnuts. There's nothing better than melt-in-your-mouth chocolate with a satisfying crunch on top. So, I was all the more delighted when Migros made my dreams come true with this in-house product.
One bar (100g) costs 2.60 Swiss francs and is therefore not too expensive. But beware, it is addictive!
My absolute favourite product when it comes to fitness! I've tried countless vegan protein powders and none of them could convince me either in taste or consistency - until I came across the protein powder by nu3 by chance a few years ago. The main components are pea protein concentrate (80.2%), rice protein concentrate (5%) and sunflower protein concentrate (5%). If you follow the application recommendation, you drink just under 22g of protein per shake. However, I personally prefer to integrate the product into my recipes rather than drinking it straight (more on this soon in the recipe section).
The product is available in seven flavours (Iced Coffee, Cookies-Cream, Strawberry, Coconut, Neutral, Chocolate, Vanilla). Personally, I have only tried chocolateso far, but I am so excited that I buy the same one every time. The product costs 28.95 Swiss francs per kilo.
If anyone thinks you can't veganise soft cheese, they're wrong. The V-Love Softy is the best proof that this works brilliantly. Not only the taste but also the consistency is reminiscent of the "real" cheese. Simply delicious 😊
Little tip: I particularly like to integrate the cheese into a brunch, especially incombination with vegan “Zopf”. 100g cost 6.70 Swiss francs.
There are many vegan butter alternatives that come very close to the "original taste". My personal favourite is the "Flora Butter". It is nicely spreadable and tastes incredibly delicious either directly on bread or for baking - and one thing above all: like butter.
If we come back to brunch: A "Zopfbrötli" with this butter and homemade strawberry jam... well, I can't resist. The butter block (250g each) is available at Coop for 2.95 Swiss francs.
There are also countless alternatives for burgers that are really tasty and come very close to a "real" meat burger in terms of taste and consistency. My go-to product here is the Cornatur Burger from Migros. At only 3.50 Swiss francs per pack (2 burgers each), it's one of the cheapest I've tried so far -and one of the best. A big thumbs-up from me.
For me, definitely the tastiest vegan cold cuts I've ever tried (and there have been many). I wouldn't say "salami" is the right term. It doesn't resemble a certain other meat cold cut in terms of taste either, but rather has a really good peculiarity about it. Very spicy and smoky with a consistency that is neither too firm nor too soft. There's only one thing to do: try it for yourself.
The cold cuts are available at Alnatura or Migros for 2.95 francs (100g each).
No, the product doesn't quite come close to Nutella, but which does? In my opinion, it doesn't have to be, as long as the "alternative" tastes just as good in its own way.
If you look at the list of ingredients, you will probably quickly notice that there is a lot of sugar in this spread. So, for me, it's not something that goes on the table every day, but after all, it's all about balance. If I want to treat myself to a chocolate roll, then definitely with Bionella. The spread tastes really intensely of chocolate and seems less greasy than the big original, at least when spreading. You can buy Bionella at Coop for 5.30 francs per 400g.