Review: Veestro Nature’s Cuisine

When a package arrives in the mail at my house, it’s a big day. When a HUGE package arrives in the mail at my house, it’s a HUGE day. One day, a giant package arrived, and I was stoked. Stacked neatly inside many layers of foil and liquid ice were a bunch of individually packed frozen meals. I had just received a giant sample of products from a new vegan delivery service called Veestro. Veestro’s goal is to provide healthy, natural, frozen entrees for families short on time or energy, “the healthy alternative on those days when you’re too busy or too tired to cook.” Their meals are all natural, plant based and preservative free. They had contacted me earlier offering a sample pack. I gladly accepted (editor’s note: yes, this was a free, review sample). Have a gander at this box.

The Box

I wish I had a better picture because it was huge. The box contained 5-6 frozen entrees, 2 desserts, an appetizer and two soups. Unfortunately, some of the packages were sealed poorly and two of them had ripped open and leaked. The bottom of the giant box was a mash of veggies and tofu scramble. Bummer, as I am a fan of both.

I started off pretty simple with the Chocolate Chip Cookie. I thawed the first one in the microwave, and allowed another to thaw over night.

Unfortunately, despite my high hopes, neither cookie tasted good. They both tasted like sawdust, with a dry crumbly texture to match. There was none of the chewy, melty, crisp, chocolate-ly goodness you expect from a cookie. As far as cookies go, these are a fail. I understand they are supposed to be healthy treats BUT they are also supposed to be cookies. If I worked for Veestro, I would drastically change the recipe or discontinue this product. I mean, how can you make a cookie that doesn’t even contain sugar (not sure I count fruit juice reduction or the cane sugar in the chips towards that goal)?

Next up was the Pan Seared Tofu With Veggies. This was a pretty standard fair of veggies and tofu. I had this one day for lunch, and was satisfied with the flavor. It had an appropriate amount of spices, but the serving size was pretty petite. It definitely would have benefited from a side of brown rice (and a pinch of salt).

The Veggie Lasagna was my next lunch endeavor. This one frightened me. It called for 4 minutes in the microwave. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked anything (besides popcorn) for that long in the microwave. I gave it a go, rotating and flipping half way through. I even busted up the marinara and heated that. Looking back, I wish I had cooked them separately as one component was real watery, and the lasagna was still cold in the middle. Overall, the taste was good. Not excellent, but good.

Next up was the Lentil Meatloaf which came with came with vegetables and a gravy. I’m biased as Mrs. IsItVegan makes a delicious lentil loaf.

Sadly, the spice combination in tis dish was WAY off. The gravy was super salty, and the loaf tasted like nothing. And it wasn’t very loafy. It started as a block, but quickly crumbled into a mound. While filling, I found the lentil loaf to be bland and the gravy was too overwhelming. I was hoping the combination would taste great, but it just tasted like salt. Bummer. Thankfully, the “side” steamed veggies tasted great.

Following the loaf, I grabbed the Marbled Cheesecake. You’ll notice I was so excited to eat this treat that I forgot to snap a picture before hand.

Unfortunately, I was met with another bland frozen dish that really didn’t taste much like anything. It didn’t even taste sweet. It wasn’t until I hit the thick vein of chocolate near the outer crust that I actually tasted the chocolate. The crust, much like the chocolate cookie was bland and crumbly. While the texture of the cheesecake was spot on, I wouldn’t be looking for another piece.

Finally, we sampled the Savory Croquette Appetizer, which comes with two croquettes and marinara sauce. I was genuinely interested in getting into one of these as I am a big rosemary fan. Unfortunately, where most of the entrees had bland flavors, this one hammered your tongue with rosemary. Now remember, I like rosemary. I’m a fan. But whoa, these things were over the top. Much like eating breaded rosemary needles. It was overwhelming. The marinara wasn’t much help either. It had a little kick, but wasn’t enough to make this a good appetizer.

To sum it up, I clearly wasn’t overwhelmed by delicious foods in this sample box. (And no, I have yet to try the soups.) But I will say this, Veestro has started with a great idea, they just need to see it all the through to something awesome. The recipes and the packaging still need work. As it stands now, I won’t be placing an order to supplement my home freezer. (But if my office kept some of these in the kitchen, and I had a big enough bottle of hot sauce, I wouldn’t refuse.) I really do like the concept and I hope they are able to work out the kinks. Good luck, Veestro team!