Sophie's Kitchen Sea Salt Vegan Toona

I'm always excited to see another Vegan Tuna on the market! I loved real tuna back in the day and I've been hopeful that there would a perfect Vegan analog. Sea Salt Vegan Toona from Sophie's Kitchen is the newbie and I scooped up a can from Vegan Essentials asap. I wish I could stop this review right now and tell you Vegan Toona is awesome and you should buy it. Unfortunately, I cannot...

My first red flag was the smell. It had a beefy aroma which was off-putting to me. But you know, once you mix it with Vegan mayo it should be fine, right? No, not really. Still smelled. The Toona looks like cat food, dark and unappetizing. The taste was kinda' indescribable. Sulfur-like with a beefy taste. I'd like to believe I got a bad can, but I don't think so. Maybe Sophie's Kitchen has a different idea of what canned tuna tastes like? I took one bite and had to throw it all away. I'm a cheap bastard and never toss stuff, but I had to do it.

In closing, if you've had Vegan Toona and you love it, please make your voice heard. I hated it, but maybe I'm in the minority. This review has been harsh, but I stand by my opinion. What makes it hard is Sophie's received another negative review from me over their Vegan Breaded Shrimp. I have no problem with Sophie's Kitchen, in fact, I wish I could support their all-Vegan line of seafood analogs. I hope the next thing I try from them is a home run.

Meatless Select Fishless Tuna

I've had this Meatless Select Fishless Tuna from Atlantic Natural Foods on my radar for awhile now, but I was having trouble finding it. I ended up getting a can from Vegan Essentials, but it looks like it is also available from other online and brick & mortar retailers. Tuna was one of the last things I gave up before going Vegetarian and it was one of my favorite meals, totally easy to make and super convenient. So I'm pretty much destined to try faux tuna!

Opening and draining the can definitely brought back memories. It even had a bit of that fishy smell that would cause your cats to go nuts. I drained the liquid out of the can and then mixed the tuna in a bowl with some Vegenaise. Then I lightly toasted some bread, cut some lettuce and put it all together.

So, let's start with the good. Texture-wise, I thought it was similar to real tuna. Perhaps not as dense, but close enough for me. Taste-wise, I thought it was lacking in the tuna tasting department. It needed some brininess, or something to tart it up a bit. Some spices or oil might have helped, but right out of the can it just wasn't the best. I still think it's worth trying, just have your expectations in check.