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Is Tofurky any good? Will my kids eat Tofurky? A Review

Posted on by Cindy
23
Nov

I half jokingly asked on my facebook profile a couple weeks ago if anyone was going to have a tofu turkey this year at Thanksgiving. Honestly, it didn’t sound too tasty to me. I’m not vegetarian or vegan although I have nothing against it. My sister actually was vegetarian for many, many years. When Turtle Island Foods, the makers of Tofurky contacted me for a review, I gladly accepted. Mostly out of curiosity but also because my family likes to try new dishes.

Turtle Island Foods & Amy’s Kitchen Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

What comes in the Tofurky Vegetarian Feast? Quite a bit comes in the relatively small box.

picture of What is in a Tofurky Vegetarian Feast
What is in a Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

Contents include:

  • Stuffed Tofu Roast (32-ounce), including Wild Rice and Bread Crumb stuffing
  • Amy’s Kitchen Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake (11-ounce)
  • Tofurky Giblet Gravy (14-ounce)
  • Tofurky Jurky Wishtix (the vegan version of a wishbone)

Turtle Island Foods are the makers of the famous Tofurky brand. Turtle Island Foods offer a full line of vegetarian foods including: tempeh, deli slices, sausages and hot dogs. Amy’s Kitchen is the country’s leading source for natural and organic convenience foods. In the feast is her Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake.

What is Tofurky made of?

My biggest question was: What is Tofurky made of? Their Tofurky products are made from organic tofu and gourmet, non-genetically modified ingredients.Here’s a simple list: Wheat gluten, organic tofu, canola oil, soy sauce, corn starch, white bean flour, garbanzo bean flour, lemon juice, onion, carrots, celery, salt, and calcium lactate from beets.Mystery solved!

Is Tofurky any good? Will my kids eat Tofurky? Hands-On Review of Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

Like I said, I was curious and a bit skeptical. I like to introduce new foods to my kids of every cuisine so I was ready to enjoy this adventure. I purchased the Tofurky around noon and had hoped to prepare it for dinner. It requires 24 hours to defrost in the refrigerator so I waited until today. However, once I read the full directions today, it stated that if it is not defrosted, it can just cook an extra hour and be fine.

My 3 year old, Elizabeth has become quite the cook lately. I cannot make any meal without her help! She happily helped me prepare the Tofurky Vegetarian Feast. Being that I have never prepared a Tofurky before, I was happy to find a couple recipes on the box. There are more recipes online too. I decided to prepare the Tofurky Roast with sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions.

You can cook the Tofurky in a roaster with tight-fitting lid or cover with foil. In addition to the vegetables, the recipe calls for a baste of olive oil, soy sauce, and sage. Cover with foil and cook for 2 hours 20 minutes at 350 degrees, then add the rest of the baste and cook uncovered for 15 minutes longer. So, Tofurky is a simple dish to prepare!

picture of Tofurkey Roast before being cooked
Tofurky Roast before being cooked

To my surprise, my house had delicious smells floating through the air. Who knew Tofurky smelled good?! The Tofurky is stuffed with a wild rice stuffing, I think this is part scent we were smelling.

In addition to the Tofurky, I made Candied Sweet Potatoes and Corn Bread Muffins. The Candied Sweet Potatoes recipe was included in the box, however that recipe was a vegan version, I made mine with ingredients I already had.

Even with the smells filling up my home, I still had doubts about the Tofurky. Check out the cooked Tofurky Roast below.

picture of Cooked Tofurky Roast
Cooked Tofurky Roast

So, I still had doubts when I pulled it out of the oven. And then I cut it open and  my doubts were erased. It looked delicious and the smell was just amazing. I knew we were in for a treat!

picture of Delicious stuffed Tofurky
Delicious stuffed Tofurky

The feast came with a Tofurky Giblet Gravy, which I also wasn’t sure would taste “real”. Below is a picture of the Tofurky Roast with Giblet Gravy.

picture of Tofurky Roast with Giblet Gravy
Tofurky Roast with Giblet Gravy

Now comes the test. Will my kids eat Tofurky? Is Tofurky any good? Below is a picture of our entire Tofurky Vegetarian Feast, plus the sweet potatoes and corn bread muffins.It is a rather full plate of food! Kinda like Thanksgiving!

picture of Is Tofurky any good? Will my kids eat Tofurky?
Is Tofurky any good? Will my kids eat Tofurky?

I set the table, with Elizabeth’s help of course as she loves to help. My husband and I eagerly sampled it first, because we were curious if Tofurky was any good. I kept my eyes on the kids, waiting to see their reaction. “Wow, this is Good!” was the first comment I heard, from my husband. “This is really great, Mommy!” from my son. I didn’t hear anything from Elizabeth because she was eating it up!

picture of Kids Love Tofurky
Kids Love Tofurky

Finally, “Mom, I like your food” came from Elizabeth. We were all very, very pleasantly surprised at how delicious Tofurky was. It has an incredible meat-like texture and taste. The wild rice was moist, flavorful, and just plain excellent. The giblet gravy taste just like turkey gravy in taste and texture. The Tofurky Vegetarian Feast is very gourmet-like in taste and presentation (after it is sliced).

See how much my kids like Tofurky! Remember how full their plates were from above. Now, look at their empty plates. They ate way more than they normally do at dinner time. Empty Plates say it all: Kids love Tofurky! I didn’t think that the small box could contain a “feast”, however it is very filling! We had a few leftover slices of the Tofurky. The Vegetarian Feast is suppose to feed 6 people and I feel that is right on. The roast recipe however needs a few more veggies to make it enough without adding side dishes like I did.

picture of 3 year old's finished plate of Tofurky
3 year old’s finished plate of Tofurky
picture of 5 year old cleaned plate of Tofurky!
5 year old cleaned plate of Tofurky!

For dessert, we enjoyed the Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake from Amy’s Kitchen. Again, skeptical me wondered how good vegan cake could be. This was the moistest chocolate cake I’ve ever had. It was rich and scrumptious.  What have I withheld from my family from being so ignorant about these products? I just wish that the size of the included cake was larger. They are sold apart from the feast, I will be finding this for my family.

picture of Amy's Kitchen Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake
Amy’s Kitchen Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake

Tofurky is an excellent alternative for vegetarians and vegans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is no reason to be left out of the holiday celebrations and dinners when there is Tofurky!

And for us, meat-eaters, this is a great meal any time of year to enjoy with family and friends. I would not hesitate for one moment to serve this meal again to family and friends. In fact, I’ll be purchasing the Tofurky Vegetarian Feast to have on hand this holiday season. This serves 6 people easily,

Buy Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

You can buy Tofurky and other Turtle Island Foods in stores such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Wild Oats, Publix, Kroger, Fred Meyers, Harris Teeter, and natural food markets. I found mine at Mustard Seed Market in Fairlawn, Ohio. The Tofurky Vegetarian Feast runs from $19.99 – $29.99. You can also buy the roast separate.

This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Turtle Island Foods who provided the products for review & giveaway.

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Cindy
Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms
Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!
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168 thoughts on “Is Tofurky any good? Will my kids eat Tofurky? A Review”

  12. Tom Vigen II says:

    I’ve heard of Tofurky before, but never had the guts to try it. Did not know they had lunch “meat” though and would love to try Oven Roasted Tofurky Deli Slices, but haven’t seen them locally. Thanks!

  21. Teegan Briggs says:

    I’m newly vegan and have not tried ToFurky yet! I’m actually hoping to have my first Tofurky feast for my Christmas dinner…I’m hosting it this year for the family (won’t they be surprised when they find out I’m not serving meat? lol). I would love to win this!

    I’d also love to try the pizza:

    http://www.tofurky.com/tofurkyproducts/pizza.html

    I had no idea they even made pizza!

    May the random selection gods be with me!

  22. Debbie Chioffe says:

    I “Like” Tofurkey on facebook and I also let them know that AkronOhioMoms.com sent me! Thanks for the recommendation!

  23. Debbie Chioffe says:

    Wow! I learned alot, there is so much info packed into this site and so many great sounding products! One thing I learned is about Tempeh and the some very exotic ways that the Tofurky Website offers it..for instance marinated thinly sliced Coconut Curry Tempeh, or Sesame Garlic, among others! I can really make some interesting dishes!

    Debbie C.
    dksugarpaws@yahoo.com

  39. Vicki S says:

    I would like to try the Oven Roasted Tofurky Deli Slices, they sound delicious!!!

    sswpss at yahoo dot com

  50. Yolanda says:

    I just looke at the Tofurkey website and I can not wait to try the Marinated Tempeh. A TLT sounds great. I normally just do grilled onions in place of the Bacon but sometimes I do miss that “meaty” texture. I would also love to try their hot dogs and sausage. Some veggie hot dogs don’t tast great when cooked but a friend of mine said these are great.

  61. Meaghan F. says:

    I’m actually a huge fan of Tofurky products, but the closest store that sells them is over 2 hours away, so I rarely eat them. I’d love to try the Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza.

  63. Kimberly M says:

    I’m a long-time vegetarian and have enjoyed many a Tofurky, but adding the Chocolate Cake to the feast is new for them, so I really want to try the Amy’s Kitchen Vegan Organic Chocolate Cake! Also new to the website is the Tofurky pizza – I definitely would like to try those, especially the sausage one!

  97. Andrea Roshong says:

    I really loved the review, i’ve been a vegetarian for a couple of months and have stayed away from the “fake” meats because I thought they would be gross but now I think I’ll try them.

  139. Brian N. says:

    I LEARNED A TON….what an eye opener…..how about this for starters!

    Percentage of:
    •soybean crop grown to feed livestock: in the US: 90%
    •corn crop grown to feed livestock: in the US: 80%
    •all grains grown to feed livestock: in the US: 70%

    World meat production :
    (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Livestock’s Long Shadow, 2006.)
    •1950: 44 million tons annually
    •Today: 253 million tons annually
    Percentage of overall greenhouse gas emissions:
    (United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization)
    •due to livestock: 18%
    •due to transport vehicles (cars, trucks, airplanes, etc.): 13%
    If 1/3 of Americans switched from eating one 3 ½-ounce serving of beef, one egg, and a one-ounce serving of cheese each day to a mix of vegetables, fruit, beans, and whole grains:
    (United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006.)
    •Acres of cropland spared: 180 million (an area larger than the state of Texas)
    •Tons of pesticides eliminated: 9,375
    •Tons of fertilizer eliminated: 2 million
    •Tons of manure eliminated*: 570 million (* Livestock manure and flatulence generate 30-40% of total methane emissions from human-influenced activities.)

    ——————————————————————————–

    Pounds of grain needed to produce enough meat and other livestock products to support a person for a year: 2,000
    (M.E. Ensminger, former chair of the Animal Sciences Department, Washington State University.)
    Pounds needed to support a person for a year if grain is eaten directly: 400
    (M.E. Ensminger, former chair of the Animal Sciences Department, Washington State University.)
    Total area of ice-free terrestrial surface of the planet occupied by grazing: 26%
    (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Livestock’s Long Shadow, 2006.)
    Livestock production accounts for 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the surface of the planet.
    (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Livestock’s Long Shadow, 2006.)

    Number of additional people who could be fed if all grain grown in US for livestock was used to feed people: 800 million
    (David Pimentel, Professor of Entomology, Cornell University.)
    Amount of meat consumed by the average person worldwide 50 years ago: 45 pounds, today: 90.3 pounds
    Tons of American cropland lost to erosion each year due to animal production: 2 billion
    (Center for Science in the Public Interest.)
    Percentage of human-influenced nitrous oxide* generated by livestock: 65% (* Nitrous oxide has nearly 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.)
    (United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006)
    Methane is 23 times more powerful in global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
    (Center for Science in the Public Interest, in the book Six Arguments for a Greener Diet, 2006.)
    Average American diet produces more than 15 pounds of CO2 per day which equals 5,600 pounds of CO2 emissions per person per year.
    A vegan diet results in eliminating 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions annually, or eight pounds per day, when compared with a non-vegan diet.
    (Eshel G, and Martin P. Diet, Energy and Global Warming. Earth Interactions 10:1-17; 2006.)

    ——————————————————————————–
    Did you know?
    Pounds of grain needed to make one pound of turkey meat = 4.87lbs.

    Pounds of grain needed to make one pound of Tofurky Roast = .47lbs.

  157. Marilyn Wons says:

    This feast sounds so good!!! I would also like to try the Tofurky Sausage Pizza. That would be a real treat for the family. thank you

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