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.

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.

Fior Fiore Gianduiotti (Delhaize)

Delhaize carries a range of products from the Italian Fior Fiore company with a few hidden vegan gems, including these little Gianduiotti. These gold-foil-wrapped morsels are a traditional chocolate from the Piedmont region and consist of the winning combination of chocolate and hazelnut. Similar to the Schnouggi from Vantastic Foods, they remind me of the smooth center of a praline-filled chocolate. And in contrast to the Schnouggi, you don’t have to go to a vegan-specialty store to get these! Great for a little pick-me-up next to your coffee or as a wee sweet end to your evening meal!

As far as I know, these are only available via the Delhaize.

McCain Röstis

I’ve been frustrated to find that a lot of frozen potato products (aside from fries) seem to contain dairy or potentially non-vegan e-numbers. Not these! The only ingredients in these McCain Röstis are potatoes, sunflower oil, onions, and salt. They can be made in the oven, the air-fryer, or in a pan. I made them in the air-fryer and they crisped up nicely (although I had to give them a few minutes more than instructed on the package to get the browning on the edges I like).

Rösti are the closest product I can find to the tater tots of my youth. The shape is wrong but the savory flavor comes pretty darned close. I know that I could make tater tots, but let’s face it, I probably won’t. And in the meantime these definitely scratch that itch.

These are available in the freezer section of Delhaize and Carrefour and possibly other supermarkets that carry name brand products.

Almdudler

For some of you, this will be nostalgia, for others, a new discovery (probably depending on your age and nationality).

Almdudler is an Austrian, carbonated soft-drink with herbal extracts which, according to Mr. VSiB was quite popular in Belgium (and other parts of Europe) in the 1970s. Recently, it seems to be making a bit of a comeback, and along with that comeback is a vegan logo on the label! A lot of sodas are accidentally vegan, but few in Belgium proudly wear it on their sleeve.

Mr. VSiB likens the flavor of Almdudler a bit to Canada Dry Ginger Ale. It’s not exactly the same, but if I had to think of a more well-known drink to compare it to, that’s probably indeed the closest comparison. It’s not too sweet, and it’s got a light, herby flavor. With the weather turning spring-like, I can see a chilled bottle of Almdudler being a nice refreshing change from the usual soft-drinks out there. (And according to Wikipedia, it makes a good mixer with both wine and beer.)

I found this at the Delhaize Shop & Go, but it’s probably available at a variety of different supermarkets.

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Succès du Jour Filled Waffles (Colruyt)

Mr. VSiB always keeps his eyes out for new (to me) vegan products I might miss while shopping, and recently, after a trip to the Colruyt, he came back with this huge box of filled waffles! Not only are they 100% plant based, they’re made in Belgium!

I was intrigued. I’d seen these kind of waffles before but they had always been non-vegan. Having lived in the Netherlands, I was familiar with stroopwafels, but Mr. VSiB told me that filled waffles were a different beast. So I was excited to be able to try a vegan version!

What can I say? These are soooooooo good! I’m a little embarrassed to admit how quickly I went through this rather large box of waffles. They are indeed different to stroopwafels. These are softer, with a layer of fine vanilla sugar inside. (According to the company’s website, they also make a brown sugar variant, but I’ve yet to run across that.)

So far, the only place I’ve found these has been at the Colruyt, but I’ll be keeping my eyes open in other stores.

Fruit Bowl Peelers

The Carrefour Express near the station has a wall of gummy candies and sometimes when I have a few minutes to kill before my train, I’ll browse the ingredient lists on the packages there in the hopes of stumbling upon an accidentally vegan candy. I’m usually disappointed, but one day, I noticed these promising-looking packages tucked in between all the others and was pleased to discover that my initial impression was correct. Not only are these vegan, but they’re also free of added sugars and gluten free. They’re basically made from just fruit and pectin.

So what are they like? They’re basically strands of pressed, dehydrated fruit purée bundled together to form a type of rope, from which you can peel and eat the individual strands. Excuse the non-vegan comparison, but in terms of experience (not taste) they’re reminiscent of string cheese. In terms of taste, they’re very intensely fruity, not overly sweet, but very flavorful, and the texture is firm and a bit sticky but not chewy. For the North Americans out there, I can best describe them as being like the love-child of Twizzlers and Fruit Roll Ups.

I found these two flavors at the Carrefour express, and soon after that I found a third flavor – black currant (not pictured) – at the Kruidvat. So they might be available at other supermarkets and drug stores.

Strawberry Cheesecake Oreos (Limited Edition)

As many of you know, the US is blessed with a large variety of vegan Oreo flavors that aren’t available in European supermarkets (although you can often find them for a steep price at specialty import stores). Recently, European Oreo manufacturers seem to be trying to introduce new varieties in the form of special limited-edition flavors. Earlier this year they introduced limited edition Peanut Butter Oreos, which to my dismay were NOT VEGAN. 😦 (The Peanut Butter Oreos from the US are vegan and are one of my favorite flavors.)

So I was super excited to find out that their newest limited-edition flavor – Strawberry Cheesecake Oreos – are vegan! I immediately bought four packs on finding them on the shelf at the Colruyt. These are good. The strawberry scent hits you the moment you open the package, and even Mr. VSiB (who is not generally an Oreo fan) liked these.

I’m not sure how long these will be available. Considering that I still see the Peanut Butter ones occasionally on the shelf, I would think these should stick around for at least a few months. But you would not go amiss stocking up on these before they disappear.

I found these at the Colruyt, but I suspect they’re available at most any store where you can find Oreos.

La William Mayella (Colruyt)

Ever since Dutch vegans started getting their hands on an accidentally-vegan mayo in the Netherlands, I’ve been hoping against hope that we’d get something similar here. I kept picking up reduced-calorie mayonnaise from different brands and checking their ingredient lists with no success. Then last week in the Colruyt, Mr. VSiB happened to check this little bottle of Mayella from La William at the BBQ display, and lo and behold! Accidentally vegan!!

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In the bottle, it seemed a lot more fluid than normal mayo, and in use, that first impression was confirmed. I tried it with fries, and while it sticks to the fries, it doesn’t hold a peak like other mayos and tends to form a puddle on your plate. It definitely seems more suited for, say, salads, and I did try it on a salad, where it was more successful than on the friet. I’ve tried the Remia Mayolijn (friends from NL brought it once) which I’ve found overly sweet, and this Mayella comes closer to the slightly sour flavor profile of Belgian mayo, but it’s still a tad sweeter than Bio-Keuken Veganaise. I think I prefer the Veganaise over this both in terms of flavor and texture, but it’s nice that there’s now an accidentally-vegan mayo option in the supermarket! That’s assuming that this stays in their selection. I couldn’t find this product on the La William website, so it may be just a summer special edition product.

So far, I’ve only seen this at the Colruyt in their summer BBQ product section.

Delhaize Kids Choco Puffies (Delhaize)

After I posted about finally finding a vegan breakfast cereal a few weeks back, a bunch of people contacted me pointing out other vegan cereals they’ve stumbled upon, and an interesting trend seemed to emerge. There are more accidentally-vegan store-brand cereals than name-brand cereals. There tends to be less hidden dairy, less honey, and less vitamin D (the three main culprits that seem to push cereals into non-vegan territory) in these cheaper brands than in “fancy” cereals.

So recently in a tiny Delhaize Shop & Go, I casually picked up their store brand of Kids Choco Puffies, read the ingredient list several times to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, and happily dropped a box into my basket!
It’s been years since I’ve had a kids’ cereal, so this felt a little decadent. These are nicely crisp little chocolate flavored puffs. I don’t know why, but to me, they had a slightly “burnt” taste, for lack of a better word. That didn’t stop me from eating several bowls in a row right away. And I made a happy discovery: chocolate cereal and hazelnut milk are a winning combination!

These are from Delhaize’s home brand, so that’s where you’ll find these.