Textured Tasty Treat - Better Get Those Butternut Squash Roasts Again and Again! (Goodlife Butternut Squash Roasts)

Member Name: flutel

Product:	Goodlife Butternut Squash Roasts
Date:	05/09/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: These would be good enough to serve in a good veggie cafe!

Disadvantages: Cost more than other veggie convenience food.

This is yet another product I bought after reading a favourable Dooyoo review. I was not disappointed.

I found the pack in the vegetarian frozen section at Sainsburys. They cost me around £2.50 - which I think is quite expensive comparatively; most veggie and vegan convenience food usually is under £2 in supermarkets. Also, there were only two cutlets in the pack. In many other packs, there are at least four cutlets/burgers. However, I had already decided I wanted to taste them and I bought them.


Packaging
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The 'roasts' come in quite a compact recyclable box. There is an appetizing image of the 'roasts' on the front and an attractive description: ' A delicious combination of butternut squash, peanuts, cashew nuts and almonds served with a tangy oven roasted tomato sauce'. I think that this is quite an accurate description of them. The box announces that they are inspired by the chef, Paul Gayler who, I think, was one of the first chefs to create pure vegetarian dishes for his customers. I write, 'I think' as the text and font on the back of the box telling you about this is very, very small! The box also gives a list of ingredients, nutritional info, cooking instructions and a posh serving suggestion - even recommending a couple of wines that might go with the meal! Clearly this is no bog-standard convenience dinner.
Inside the box is a cellophane wrapper containing the roasts and two tomato sauce sachets.


Cooking
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They were very easy to cook - just place in a medium oven for 30-35 minutes. The sauce packs need to be popped in a pan of boiling water for two mins. The product is not suitable for microwave cooking.


Eating the roasts
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I have got to say, the roast I ate was delicious. Not only did it taste good but it had a great texture. The softness of the butternut squash combined well with the harder texture of the many different nuts. I have never before tasted a veggie convenience food that had this fully nutty texture. I was aware, when eating it, that at one point, my mouth was full of different nuts and chomping on them was a delight! The sauce that is poured over each roast,was a tasty compliment to the roasts - rich and full flavoured - and just the right sort of tomato taste to go on the chunky nuts of the roasts. If I had been served this in a restaurant with some interesting salad or side dishes I would have been very satisfied. This is saying something - as I am often disappointed with food served in cafes.


Nutrition
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The box claims that the product is made using only ingredients that you could find in your own store cupboard. I appreciate this commitment as it means that there are no nasties in the roasts. The ingredient list is actually full of things that are in my cupboard (why didn't I make this myself then? Mnnn - it would take me a long time to get a meal as good as this).

The ingredients are all vegan - and the company that makes these roasts, 'Goodlife', only uses a meat-free environment - fabulous! They are Vegetarian Society approved.

I feel that I do need to flag up the fat content of each roast. The box details it as 15g of fat in each roast - which is quite high compared to the 4g that can be found in some veggie burgers. However, much of this fat is the kind that is necessary for heart, circulation and brain health (Omega 3 and 6) and only 2.8g is actually saturated fat. I wish that more distinction was made concerning these fats; perhaps Omega 3 and 6 should be called something other than a 'fat'!


To Conclude
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I loved these roasts. Each portion is sizable and every mouthful is a textured and full flavoured experience. What more could you want from a meal? They are quite pricey - but well worth it as it would be time consuming and quite expensive to actually create these in your own kitchen - especially if you were oven roasting tomatoes and the like.

Summary: Healthy and delicious!