You Can Go Nuts In An Emergency! (Goodlife Fairtrade Nut Cutlet)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Goodlife Fairtrade Nut Cutlet
Date:	04/05/09 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious and healthy burgers.

Disadvantages: None unless you are allergic to nuts.

Well summer is coming and for veggies like me outdoor eating can't be all about meaty treats, so I look for alternatives which are animal friendly and tasty too.

One of my favourites "Goodlife Nut Cutlets" have been on my shopping list for years, but they have just got a whole lot better, the package has been redesigned, the ingredients are fair trade, and the taste of these delicious burgers is really good.

Goodlife are based in Cheshire and they make a range of good vegetarian products, mostly for the freezer, and are quite widely available in supermarkets and whole food stores.

An ethical company they give a percentage of their profits to the charity called "The World Land Trust" who are currently involved with the preservation of land for wild cats in the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil. So much of this area has been cleared for coffee plantations, and for the logging of hardwood, endangering species and ruining their habitats.

The Goodlife Nut Cutlets are £1.99 for 4 and I buy mine from Waitrose.

The packaging is really lovely. A rectangular box you will find in the freezer. The front has four windows, the first a heart shaped cut out, the second the cooked burgers as they will look after preparation, thirdly the nuts themselves, and finally a field which has been planted with vegetables and stretches off into the distance as far as the eye can see.

Inside are 4 burgers which are literally bursting with fresh and natural ingredients. They are made from carrots, onions, parsnips, spinach, fair- trade peanuts, cashew nuts, breadcrumbs, oil, fair-trade basmati rice, rice starch, salt, sage, garlic puree and fair-trade black pepper. In each burger there is 223 calories and they contain wheat and gluten, as well as nuts of course, so beware if anyone has any allergies these are not suitable.
(This is really important if you are cooking them for a family gathering or a party and sharing the method used for other items, as you could transfer some nut particles and for a serious nut allergy sufferer you could make them very ill.)

For anyone else who is vegan or veggie these are pure heaven.

I cook mine for about 10 minutes either under the grill or on the bbq, and I am always impressed as they stay in one piece making transferring them to a plate or to a burger roll easy. The thing is also that they are absolutely crammed with the fresh ingredients, and you will be treated to peanuts and cashew nuts whole in their entirety, not just nut shreddings.You can also oven cook them for about 20 minutes turning once at 200C/400F /gas mark 6.

I make quite a lot of different burgers myself and these easily rival mine. They taste fresh and wholesome and they go really well if you add chutney to them, and some fried onions and maybe some sweet corn.

I love the summer when you can sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy the fresh flavours of these. It allows veggies to join in with the pleasures of outdoor eating and cooking, and to enjoy some good healthy food as well.

They are full of fibre and protein and have no added colours flavourings or preservatives at all.

Approved by the vegetarian society and also absolutely fine for vegans too which pleases me as my daughter follows this way of life.

You can also break them up and use them instead of mince in a bolognese sauce with chopped tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, and this is absolutely delicious making them really versatile.
Just a final point don't put them in the microwave as it ruins them.

I find them so handy to keep in the freezer where they can languish for months until their use by date. Emergency burgers they can be, but why wait for an unexpected guest?- these are very very tasty any day of the year!

Summary: A great emergency burger!