Sea Sogood Fish-free Tuna (Albert Heijn)

Available in natural, olive oil, and lemon and black pepper versions.

Back in the day, when I was pescatarian, canned tuna was one of my go-to protein sources. I loved me a tuna-salad sandwich, a tuna-pasta casserole, or a good-old tuna melt. I’ve always found that of the many animal products that have vegan analogues, seafood are the most difficult to emulate. So I’m always both excited and wary about trying new products that claim to mimic seafood. The vegan tuna that I’ve tried in the past has often had a problem with texture, taste, or both. So when I found out that Albert Heijn was selling these little cans of fish-free tuna, I was intrigued.

I love the design of these cans. They’re really reminiscent of the real thing, and were even located near the canned seafood in the store. Upon opening, I was surprised there was no liquid to drain, even in the olive-oil version. The “tuna” looked more realistic than some others I’ve tried in the past. (Some look like little pebbles of pea-protein.) I nibbled a piece right out of the can and was surprised at how fishy it tasted. I mean, like overwhelmingly fishy. It was a bit too much for me and I don’t remember actual canned tuna having such a pronounced flavor. That said, the real test is how it would taste when made into a sandwich. I mixed it with some vegan mayo, a bit of mustard, a splash of lemon juice, and some dried dill, which helped to tone down the fishiness a bit, but it was still lingering in the background. My impression is that in an attempt to make sure it was a convincing fish analogue, the folks at Sea Sogood went a bit overboard with the algae oil. (I’ll admit, I’ve yet to try the lemon and black pepper version, so that may temper the fishiness a bit.)

So would I recommend this? If you really like a fishy taste (or a seaweedy taste), and really miss canned tuna, this might be the product for you. If you’re not a fan of the taste of algae oil, this might be too “fishy” for you. If you want to give this product a try, you can find it at the canned-fish section of the Albert Heijn or order it from the AH website.

Peren IJsjes from Albert Heijn

Please excuse the little bit of schmutz on the box.

We haven’t had much of a summer here this year, but there have been enough sunny days in the last couple of weeks to enjoy a frozen treat or two. And one of my favorite ways to give myself an ice-cream headache are these delicious pear ice-pops from Albert Heijn. I discovered these years ago (before I was vegan) when I was living in the Netherlands and fell in love with the crisp, peariness of them. Unlike a lot of ice-pops that taste vaguely of the fruit they claim to represent, these really do taste like they were made from actual pears! I completely forgot about them until Albert Heijn recently opened up not too far from where I live in Belgium and I was so happy to rediscover them. These accidentally-vegan treats are super refreshing and taste of summer to me.

These can be found in the ice-cream section of Albert Heijn supermarkets.

Dunkin’ Vegan Donuts

They shifted a bit in transit. Clockwise from top left: raspberry crumble, chocolate cookie, pistachio, confetti, Boston cream, and Mr. Happy.

As someone who grew up eating Dunkin’ Donuts in the US, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was when I heard that they were opening in Belgium and would be selling a number of vegan donuts! Unfortunately, I don’t live near any of their locations, so I had to wait to try them until I was able to get to a city that has one. Last week, I finally had the opportunity when visiting a friend in Antwerp!

We had eaten our way through the day so the plan was to order half a dozen and take them home with me for a decadent breakfast over the next few days. I had heard rumors of there being up to 41 different vegan flavors to choose from, but on the day we went, there were seven available. (I just checked the website and saw 24 different vegan options, so I suspect they rotate flavors in the stores.) I was (only a little) disappointed that the selection (not just of vegan donuts but in the store in general) was not very reminiscent of the Dunkin’ I grew up with. In particular, the absence of cake donuts in addition to the yeast donuts on offer made me a little sad. But hey, vegan fried dough with sugar! Who’s complaining, amiright?

So, how are they? Well, I can tell you one thing; they are SWEET! Like, super sweet. The cream-filled donuts are wonderfully creamy, but all tasted a bit similar to me. I think my absolute favorite was the pistachio donut. This one was slightly less sweet than the others, and had a nice nuttiness to it. All in all, I don’t think I’d be buying them too regularly if I had easier access, but I’d definitely drop in for an occasional treat if there was one nearby!

Dunkin’ Donuts currently has numerous stores in Belgium, including (I believe) three in Antwerp and at least five in Brussels. Check their website for a full list of locations.

Vegan Snacks (Frikandel, Kibbeling, Wings) from the Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn is really stepping up their vegan game! Every time I’m there, they seem to have added new vegan items, and recently, they’ve added a bunch of new vegan meats, including these mini-frikandel, kibbeling, and boneless wings.

I tried these all last night, fried up in a pan, and I was impressed with all of them. The flavors are all really good! They’re not the kind of meat replacement that will “fool” meat eaters, especially as the textures are a bit different than the animal versions. The kibbeling is a bit firmer than real fish and the wings have a slight bready quality. (I never had Frikandel before I went vegan so I can’t compare that one.) They’re all really delicious, though! The Frikandel has a nice combination of spices, the wings are a step above the usual nuggets, and the kibbeling really tastes fishy! These would all be a great addition to a party platter, or having a “frituur” night at home.

You can find these with the refrigerated vega/vegan meats at the Albert Heijn.

Delhaize Bio Vegan Cocktail, Tartar, and Bearnaise Sauces (Delhaize)

Back in the olden days (ten years ago), finding a creamy vegan sauce was like a treasure hunt. Most (but not all) health-food stores had some sort of vegan mayonaise, but there weren’t a lot of other choices out there.

The vegan landscape has changed so much in recent years. A number of supermarkets have recently started adding vegan mayos to their selection, so it was only a matter of time before other mayo-based sauces started showing up. I bumped into these sauces on the Delhaize website recently and knew I had to try them!

So how are these? I’ll be honest. I wasn’t as crazy about these as I’d hoped. To me, they tasted very strongly of vinegar, more so than anything else. I feel like the basis of a sauce like this has to be a good mayo, and until now, nothing has come close to the Bio-Keuken Veganaise available in a lot of health-food stores. I would love to have more sauces based off of a mayo like that. Unfortunately, these weren’t it. Am I happy to see more vegan choices like this in the supermarket? Absolutely! But I don’t know if these will be going into my regular rotation.

If you want to give these a try, they’re available at the Delhaize.

Délio Plant-based Salads (Delhaize)

For a while now, I’ve been bumping into Delio’s “no-mayo” salads and getting frustrated to discover they’re not even close to vegan. They’re basically your standard meat-based salads but somehow, supposedly “healthier”. But with so many new vegan products coming on the market, I held out hope that if they were doing “no-mayo”, they might try their hand at vegan salads. And they have!

I recently found these on the Delhaize website and knew I had to try them. I was especially excited to try the tonino, because while other brands have vegan versions of chicken curry, and even more so, préparé (even Delhaize themselves have versions of these two salads), I had yet to come across a vegan version of tuna salad.

And I have to say, these are pretty good! I can’t compare them to their meaty versions because I never had these types of pre-made salads before going vegan. I used to make my own tuna salad, and while growing up in the US meant that I added different ingredients for a slightly different flavor profile, this definitely comes close enough to scratch that itch!

They are a bit pricier than the Delhaize version of the same things but I will be getting them again from time to time, for the tonino and for the variety. Plus I always think it’s great to send a signal to non-vegan companies that there’s a market for vegan products.

I’ve only seen these at the Delhaize so far, but if they’re available elsewhere, do let me know!

Violife Greek White Block

Vegan cheeses have come a long way in recent years, in terms of taste, variety, and increasingly, accessibility. Violife slices and shreds are now available at most supermarkets, filling that sandwich/pizza cheese niche, and they even have a spreadable creamy variety for those bagel mornings. And while tastes in vegan cheese are quite subjective it seems that Violife, both in terms of flavor and supermarket availability is considered by many to be a game changer.

One of their products that I recently decided to try when ordering from the Delhaize is this Greek White Block, which is, I suspect, meant to be a feta analogue. And I have to say, it does a really good job! I’ve seen other items trying to be like feta such as marinated tofu, and while this can also be tasty, it was mainly the marinade that was doing the heavy lifting, while the taste of the blocks themselves were still very much, well, tofu. Don’t get me wrong, I love tofu, but it’s not feta and it felt like this was one food masquerading as another by trying to dress up as something it wasn’t. The Violife Greek White, however, doesn’t seem like it’s “wearing feta’s clothes”, so to speak, but rather like it’s a close relative of feta, say a plant-based cousin. The texture is a bit less crumbly and a bit more creamy than the feta I remember, but the cheesy umami and saltiness that I associate with the real thing is absolutely there, and it works in all the same applications. I tried it in a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and Kalamata olives, and it really stood out! I threw it into a pasta and it added a nice, creamy tang. This Block will definitely be making it into my regular rotation!

The Violife Greek White Block is available at the Delhaize and at Albert Heijn.

Greenway Plant-Based Gourmet (Delhaize)

Mr. VSiB introduced me to the holiday tradition of “Gourmetten” when I first moved to Belgium, and it has become a tradition for us to do it for all our yearly celebrations. Until recently, I had assembled my own gourmet packet from various bits and bobs – a vegan nugget here, a bit of seitan sausage there – and that has always served me well. But I couldn’t help but be envious of the non-vegan, pre-assembled gourmet packets that were available in the supermarkets.

Enter Greenway who for the past couple years has been making plant-based gourmet packets! It contains four each of two different kind of veggie balls, two mini burgers, and four mini chipolatas. (Important note: they also sell a “flex pack” that contains a mix of vegan and meat products – to share with your meat-eating friends/family – so make sure you’re buying the right pack!) I especially liked the mini burgers, which are breaded and take on a nice brown color, and the little chipolatas, although I wasn’t sure if the casing was edible so I cut that off (which I suspect was not necessary). The veggie balls were nice and firm, with two different sauces. One of them had a strong rosemary essence to it, which I’m not a huge fan of, but they were still good.

These packets are made in co-operation with Delhaize so they’re currently only available there. Last year’s packet was only available until mid-January, but I can’t find any information about how long these will be available this year. But I wouldn’t be surprised if these are indeed only assembled for the holidays.

Belviva Duchesses Potatoes with Carrot and Truffle Flavor – Limited Edition (Delhaize)

Always on the lookout for new products to try in the airfryer, I checked the ingredient for these on a whim and was delighted to discover that they’re vegan! These type of frozen potato products quite often have dairy in them, so I jumped at the chance to try these.

I baked them up tonight in the airfryer in ten minutes (the package says eight minutes, but I hadn’t preheated). The edges browned nicely, and they stayed soft and moist in the center. The truffle-flavored ones tasted strongly of truffle oil and while I liked them ok, I prefer truffle oil in small doses, so I found them a bit overwhelming. I really liked the carrot ones, which contained a good balance of carrot and potato coming through.

These lovely little potato packages are limited edition – I suspect just for the holidays – so if you want them, don’t wait too long! According to the Igloo/Lutosa website, these are being sold exclusively at Delhaize.

Kettle Sheese and Red Onion Chips (Delhaize)

Although plain potato chips are vegan and there are certainly enough vegan flavored chips around, I think we all know the frustration of that moment while reading the back of a bag of salt and vinegar, or pickle chips and seeing “MILK” in giant letters in the list of ingredients. I’m usually happy if I can find accidentally vegan flavored chips, but I certainly never dared hope I’d eat any kind of cheese and onion chip again. Enter Kettle Chips made with Sheese and red onion!

So how are these? It’s been years since I’ve had any kind of cheese and onion chip, and it’s also been a while since I ate Sheese, so I was curious what my tastebuds would think. Well, at first bite, they definitely taste like vegan cheese, so I don’t think you’d fool a cheese eater with these. But Sheese is a brand I like so I tried a few more, and I was quickly convinced. They’re super crispy (like all Kettle Chips) and both the Sheese and the onion shine through. They’re definitely moreish! Great to share with your vegan friends and colleagues!

As far as I’ve seen, these are only available at Delhaize for the moment.