Plantifull Food Co. Plant-based Ready Meals Review
A review of four plant-based ready meals, making for quick, easy and healthy go-to meal options for those nights you just don’t feel like cooking.
Have you ever come home from a long day out at work or university and wished there was a healthy, plant-based meal ready and waiting that could be prepared with pretty much no effort? I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen probably a bit more than the next guy (I did just start a food blog after all), but to be honest I actually feel like this all the time. Life is busy and often the last thing I feel like doing after an exhausting day is think about what to eat, let alone cook up a complicated meal (though let’s be real, hardly any of my meals are complicated =P).
I’ve generally avoided ready meals in the past because the vast majority I’ve seen in stores look processed and unhealthy. Becca and Adam, the founders of The Plantifull Food Co., had similar frustrations with the lack of healthy plant-based ready meals on the market, and so they came up with their own! Their pots are all:
- 100% Plant-based
- Vegan
- Free from anything artificial
- All but one is gluten-free
For the summer season there are four flavours of ready meals currently available, so I’ll focus on those for this review (there are two more winter flavours – Three-Bean Chili and ‘Schroomy Risotto – coming back when the weather cools down, so I’ll review those pots then).
Coronation Chickpeas 5-a-Day Pot
Recently released in May as one of two new summer pots, I think this may be my new favourite! I don’t remember ever trying coronation chicken before going vegan because it never sounded appealing to me (I had very plain tastes growing up). While I cannot really say how it compares, I can say that this pot is delicious! It’s flavourful, creamy, and filled with lots of my favourite foods – chickpeas, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, AND apricots! Plus loads more goodness, like five servings of vegetables – your recommended daily intake sorted, which is not too shabby.
Serving Tip: I served with some chopped avocado to add even more creaminess to the meal.
Ingredients: Chickpeas (29%), Green Beans, Sweet Potato, Apricots, Tomato Paste (Tomatoes), Buckwheat, Coconut Yoghurt Alternative (Organic Coconut Milk, Tapioca Starch, Live Vegan Cultures), Lime Juice, Curry Powder (Coriander, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Salt, Mustard, Garlic, Corn Flour, Fennel, Chilli, Celery, Sunflower Oil, Bay Leaves), Mango Chutney (Sugar, Mango, Acetic Acid, Spices), Rapeseed Oil, Vegetable Stock Powder (Salt, Sugar, Yeast Extracts, Dried Vegetables: Onion, Leek, Carrot, Sunflower Oil, Ground Turmeric, Black Pepper, Parsley), Paprika.
Asian Teriyaki 5-a-Day Pot
This second new summer flavour was also a big hit for me. I’m half Korean, and love Asian-inspired food and flavours, and so was really excited to try this Asian teriyaki pot. It’s got a lovely flavour that’s not too sweet or too salty, and the sauce is thick enough to properly cover all the beans and vegetables. And speaking of veggies, there’s a huge variety in this pot, and they all pair so well with the black beans and edamame.
Serving Tip: With 18g protein, I found the pot super filling on its own, but I also want to try it over rice or noodles.
Ingredients: Black Beans, Red Peppers, Edamame (Soya), Broccoli, Spring Onions, Tomato Paste (Tomatoes), Lentils, Rapeseed Oil, Tamari (Water, Soya Beans, Vinegar) (2.5%), Brown Sugar, Rice Vinegar (Water, Rice, Salt), Cornflour, Garlic Powder, Ground Ginger, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, Fennel Seed, Anise Seed, Salt.
Gluten-Free Creamy Mac
When I first tried the gluten-free creamy mac, I was having massive cravings for mac and cheese. I grew up with Kraft macaroni being a staple meal in my week (my diet has changed pretty dramatically since then). But since going vegan and avoiding gluten, I’ve struggled to find a replacement, let alone a good one. I’ve been meaning to make my own cheezy sauce, but haven’t yet found the time or mustered the effort to make it happen.
But this pot completely satisfied my cravings, and then some! Using Violife-cheese, the sauce is thick and creamy and honestly soo much better than the Kraft boxes I grew up on. This tastes much more like a homemade mac and cheese, and the peas add little hints of sweetness to every bite.
Serving Tip: I recommend adding extra peas because you can never have too many, and I like to throw in extra spinach or kale as well to get in some extra greens.
Ingredients:Soya drink (Water, Soya beans), Gluten free pasta (Rice flour, Corn flour), Sweet potato, Potato, Nutritional yeast, Vegan cheese alternative – Violife (Water, Coconut oil, Starch, Modified starch, Sea salt, Natural flavourings, Olive extract, Colour: B-Carotene, Vitamin B12), Peas, Miso (Water, Soya beans, Rice, Salt), Mustard, Lemon juice, Garlic powder, Cornflour, Rapeseed oil, Vegetable stock powder (Salt, Sugar, Yeast extracts, Dried vegetables: Onion, Leek, Carrot, Sunflower oil, Ground turmeric, Black pepper, Parsley), Black pepper, Nutmeg, Salt, Paprika, Chilli powder.
Creamy Mac
I try to avoid gluten when I can as I just feel much better when I do. I gave this pot a try anyways though because I wanted to give it a proper review. (Is that not dedication?!) It tasted quite similar to the gluten-free version, though I really liked the addition of spinach and tomatoes, giving a slightly different profile to the pot. The durum wheat semolina noodles were beautifully soft and really held onto the cheese as well, so if you’re happy with gluten definitely give this a try!
Serving Tip: I don’t have much to add here – add some extra veggies and greens if you’d like. Either way, you need to try the cheesy goodness of these mac and cheese pots.
Ingredients: Soya drink (Water, Soya beans), Durum wheat semolina, Tomatoes, Sweet potato, Potato, Nutritional yeast, Vegan cheese alternative – Violife (Water, Coconut oil, Starch, Modified starch, Sea salt, Natural flavourings, Olive extract, Colour: B-Carotene, Vitamin B12), Spinach, Miso (Water, Soya beans, Rice, Salt), Mustard, Lemon juice, Garlic powder, Cornflour, Rapeseed oil, Vegetable stock powder (Salt, Sugar, Yeast extracts, Dried vegetables: Onion, Leek, Carrot, Sunflower oil, Ground turmeric, Black pepper, Parsley), Black pepper, Nutmeg, Salt, Paprika, Chilli powder
Fast Five Reasons to Try: Plantifull Food Co. Plant-based Ready Meals
- Healthy meals with nourishing plant-based ingredients
- Ready to eat in 3 minutes
- Can be frozen for future easy meals
- Add extra veggies/starches/something else – or don’t! It’s tasty either way!
- Vegan mac and cheese – enough said
Where to Buy
You can order these pots from Plantifull’s website: www.plantifullfood.com
They cost £4.50 per pot, with a minimum order of £18
If you want to try them out, you can get a 10% discount on www.plantifullfood.com using the code BC10!*
You can also find them at stockists including Planet Organic, As Nature Intended, Green Bay, and more.
* This post isn’t sponsored, but I am a brand ambassador for Plantifull Co. because I genuinely love their ready meals and the ethos of their company!