As a health and environmentally conscious mum, I am keen on cooking homemade meals as often as I can. But family life is busy and in the mad rush between work and kids’ after school activities, I sometimes find myself reaching out for convenience food. This is when things can get a bit complicated. I try to look out for good meat free options, as my husband and I are mostly vegetarian at home. Most days I prepare only one meat free dish for the whole family so I sometimes add a side of organic meat or fish for the children.
I tend to keep healthy vegetarian options in my freezer, avoiding food that is too high in fat, salt and sugar. Because it is a family meal the food has to suit everyone and, of course, the kids can be the hardest ones to please.
So when last week, I received some of the Goodlife vegetarian range to review, I made sure the children got to try it too.
Established in 1989, Goodlife consider that vegetables should be the star of the show. Based in Warrington, Cheshire they source the healthiest vegetables from the best farmers in the UK to create nutritious vegetarian meals.
We received a selection of mushroom and spinach Kiev with a creamy garlic and cheese sauce; French bean and spinach sausages with Wensleydale cheese; and falafel with chickpea, cumin and coriander.
I baked the mushroom and spinach Kiev with a creamy garlic and cheese sauce in the oven for 20 mins and serve them with green beans and sauteed potatoes. The kids loved them, in spite of the garlicky taste. Against the crunchy top, the inside is moist, soft and creamy. Each vegetarian Kiev contains 8g of protein and 4.6g of fibre while being not too high in salt (1.12g) or fat (14g). Rating: ★★★★★
Next we had the French bean and spinach sausages with Wensleydale cheese. They took just under 20 mins in the oven and I served them with some leftover mash. Each sausage contains 2.6g of protein and 1.5g of fibre. Compared to meat sausages (9.4 g of fat), these only contain 1.8g of fat per sausage. These really pack some taste but they lack a bit in texture. The inside was slightly too soft for my liking. Still, a good option for a vegetarian sausage. Rating: ★★★★✰
We all love falafels and Goodlife’s falafel with chickpea, cumin and coriander certainly did not disappoint. After 15 mins in the oven, we stuffed them in pitta pockets with grated carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and chopped coriander. With a drizzle of yoghurt, these made a very satisfying lunch. Delicious flavours of cumin and coriander give them a lovely taste. Each falafel has 1.5g of protein and 2.4g of fibre for only 2g of fat. Rating: ★★★★★
Finding good vegetarian options for all the family can be difficult, so I am glad I came across Goodlife. Their range of 10 frozen products are stocked in Waitrose, Ocado and Iceland Food Warehouses. A chilled product range is coming soon.
French bean and spinach sausages with Wensleydale cheese (£2.00), falafel with chickpea, cumin and coriander (£1.69) and mushroom and spinach Kiev with a creamy garlic and cheese sauce (£2.00) are stocked by Iceland Warehouse stores. The mushroom and spinach Kiev will also be available in Iceland stores from February 20th.
For more information about Goodlife please visit their website, follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook. You can also find them on Instagram
This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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