Help! What are the best products to buy for a vegetarian christmas? And where from?

Question

Need a turkey style roast, a vegetarian friendly stuffing (notice all the sage and onion one's have pork in them), chipolata style veggie sausages (can only see full size ones in Tesco, M&S etc) also need veggie bacon to wrap the 'sausages' in -

Thanks so much in advance..

Answer 1

You can try a tofurkey, but really, it's not necessary. Usually the side dishes will suffice.

Instead of buying Stove Top, look for Mrs. Cubbison's. They are generally meat-free and you can alter the recipe to fit a vegetarian's needs. Instead of chicken-stock, use vegetable stock. Instead of Sausage or Pork, add roasted chestnuts and golden raisins.

If a 'meat' main course is required, look up some of the veggie loafs that you can make. They are quite tasty and will fill the meat void that some feel.

As far as sausages wrapped in bacon; skip it. You don't have to do a veggie version of every meat thing that you usually do. Instead, do garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, steamed brussel sprouts, homemade cornbread (sans lard or bacon drippings), fresh homemade cranberries, etc. Be sure to check that pie crusts are lard-free and not to use marshmallows on anything.

Answer 2

Quorn Roast
Quorn or Morningstar Veggie bacon - both from the Frozen Veggie Section of Sainsburys (also ASDA and Tesco though products vary slightly shop to shop)

Paxo Sage & Onion Stuffing (basically all the "posh" stuffing will have animal fats in them so stick to good ol' Paxo!) - Any supermarket eg Sainsburys/Tesco/ASDA

Most Bisto gravy granules are veggie (even the chicken/turkey/brown gravy flavours) but not the Bisto powder (better than Vegetable Gravy - more tasty but only a personal choice)

Holland & Barrat have the chipolta sausages
However the wrapping the sausages in the bacon might not work as the bacon tastes like cardboard (though more flexible!)
An alternative would be Linda McCartney Sausage Rolls (mini sausages in pastry) also from H&B

A trip to H&B and Sainsburys should sort it out, or you may be lucky and find the whole lot in ASDA. You will have to go to the largest store near you for largest selection as some stores don't stock much at all. It also depends where you are - I can hardly find any "fake meat" products in e.g. Wales where I am from but loads in Surrey where I now live.

And of course there is online shopping........

Answer 3

"What are the best products to buy for a vegetarian Christmas?"

I would try an Austin Martin DB9 V12. most veggies would appreciate that.

Its great that you are catering for a veggie, millions of animals appreciate it !

Are you sure you need all this fake meat stuff though? I'm veggie and haven't had any fakemeat for Christmas dinner in the 26 years i've been a veggie.

Think of all the great winter veggies that are around..a mixture of roasted, boiled, steamed and fried veggies with herbs etc tastes great. .Having a centre piece , like a nut roast ( god help us ! ) is just a meat-centric point of view. there is no need for a centrepiece on a plate.

But if you really need it:

Roast - Quorn do one, sprinkle with herbs before hand.
Stuffing - perhaps look a bit harder ? there are plenty of instant stuffing mixes that are veggie, including sage and onion.
veggie bacon - You can't get morning star in the UK supermarkets anymore, they pulled out last year. Tesco's and Quorn do their own versions.

remember to avoid cross-contamination ( juices, spitting, utensils ) if you are cooking some guests a veggie meal as well as a meat meal for other guests.

Answer 4

I can't really help with the meat substitues, but I can give you a recipe for stuffing that doesn't contain any meat products. It is not vegan though.

1 package/bag cornbread stuffing
1 onion (chopped)
1 8oz container of mushroom (sliced or chopped)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 stick of butter (room temperature is best)
3-4 celery stalks (chopped)
sage to taste

I pulse the celery and onion in my food processor a few times until it is just a little bit chunckier than I want it then add the mushrooms and pulse a few more times to get the right consitency. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until all ingredients are distributed evenly.

I usually put this in a turkey, but I think you could add vegetable stock and cook in large covered dish. I would cook it very slowly in a 250 degree oven and check it often to make sure it doesn't dry out. Add stock while it is cooking if needed.

Answer 5

Have you heard of a store called "Whole Foods"? They're an organic store, but they carry a whole lot of vegetarian and vegan stuff. Everything you named is at Whole Foods and there are about 4 different brands, lol.

Morning Star Farms has good vegetarian bacon, and Smart Bacon does, too. I can't think of brands for the rest right now (except tofurkey, which everyone else said, lol).

Good luck!

Answer 6

As far as stuffing, make your own. All you have to do is either cut up day old bread or get plain "croutons" at a health food store and add your own sage and onion. There are some recipes on line that are vegetarian friendly.

Answer 7

well 1st of all tesco do one or two nut roasts, check for organic but best off all if you eat egg white..is the frozen quorn roast aroud £3 you cook just like a turkey roast but is 100% vegetarian

also quorn do bacon rashers which are fresh not frozen with a nice taste if fried in olive oil

you are making a difference

Answer 8

the best thing to get is from holland and barrent and its called cheating turkey roast it tastes fantastic and they also do a combination one which is a celebration pack and has the cheating turkey, sausages wrapped with bacon (near imposible to do yourself!) and gravy. been veggie for 13yrs and i love it! hope this helps

Answer 9

Tofurkey is tasty, and can be cooked similar to a real turkey. I also found this vegitarian stuffing recipe, which I think sounds really yummy - http://vegetarian.about.com/od/sidevegetabledishes/r/cranstuffing.htm

Hope that is helpful. Happy Holidays!

Answer 10

The Bush meat Co. is doing a nice line in Gorilla and King Cobra kebab sticks, also high on the must have list is Panda burgers, and Croc steaks, apparently very low in cholesterol, Dolphin sausages are the new trendy thing to be seen with it would appear God I bet that's pi$$ed off a few tree huggers.