I found it at Safeway a few weeks ago next to other Yves and Gardein veggie products in the refrigerated section. It was expensive compared to any other veggie product I've ever bought -- about $7 for a 6 ounce package (about 2 servings). I'd never been a fan of shrimp, but the fact that I'd never seen vegetarian seafood before, plus curiosity, plus the fact that I haven't tasted seafood in years all meant that I had to buy it.
The package sat in the fridge for a few weeks simply because I had absolutely no idea what to do with them -- until finally my boyfriend said, "Why don't you just cook them with pasta?" Duh! :) So I did, adding fresh peppers from my garden and a little alfredo sauce. It was a bit of an experiment all around, since it was my first (and possibly only) pepper harvest of the year, and both the sauce and the veggie shrimp were new to me. I'd say it turned out pretty well, though. I had to eat several shrimp before I could get past the weirdness of eating something fishy-tasting, but they did grow on me.
The package mentions two other Yves Veggie Seafood products -- a veggie shrimp scampi and a veggie tuna steak in sesame ginger sauce. I would really like to try the veggie tuna steak, but wish it was available plain -- just because versatility is nice in a meat substitute.
I tried looking this product up on the Yves website to borrow a picture for this post, but I couldn't find it. In fact, there is no mention of any veggie seafood at all. I can't help wondering whether this means the seafood line has already been discontinued (which would make me sad) or if they just haven't updated their website in a while. I may have to contact them directly to find out...
Protein source: Whey
Allergens: Milk, potato
Vegetarian
Allergens: Milk, potato
Vegetarian
3 comments:
The tuna steaks come with a sauce packet, we ate them without the sauce and they are great
Beware. The tuna steaks are not vegetarian. They (or the sauce) contain whey, which is a meat product. The package states that the product contains milk and egg. It doesn't say "may contain," as is usually the case when they're talking about trace amounts from processing contamination.
I called their customer service and the man I talked to couldn't tell me if the animal-based ingredients were in the steaks or in the sauce, which was sort of lame. He said the company thought of vegetarian as just not eating meat, which is even lamer.
Brandymom: That's good to know. Thanks!
JamesT: Thank you for the information. I agree that the customer service guy you spoke to wasn't very helpful; however, there seems to be a lot of variation and different opinions about what is considered "vegetarian". For some people, it does just mean not eating meat. Others do not include any products of animal origin in their diet (including eggs, milk, honey) and may call this "vegan" or "strict vegetarian". And many fall somewhere in between.
I've never heard whey referred to as a meat product, since it is a by-product of cheese production. Either way, there are many fantastic food products out there (faux meats and more) which are vegan, and many are now labeled as such on the packaging. Still, I always read the ingredient list on a new food before I buy it and I encourage others to do the same.
Post a Comment