Christmas is now just days away and everyone I know is getting excited about tucking into the big festive feast.
But every year for the past few years I've been met with the same problem - underwhelming vegetarian food. I eat fish as well, so for the last two years I've just given up and opted for some salmon and you can't go wrong with that.
Even so, this year I've been getting more tempted with the meat-alternatives this year, although I'm really not keen for more Christmas disappointment.
So with my saved up rewards points, I set out to Asda, M&S and Sainsbury's to taste test before the big day. Read on for my thoughts on the vegan offerings that looked tasty enough to pluck off the shelves.
Asda Plant Revolution - 12 Stuffing Baubles
I was quite looking forward to these wee things as they looked like a solid plate filler, but I wasn't so sure about the taste.
They're made from mushrooms and taste a bit like Quorn's fake meat, whereas I was expecting it to taste a little more like stuffing. While that fake-meat taste itself wasn't necessarily bad, it didn't really pair well with the cranberry flavouring.
I won't be eating the "baubles" this Christmas, but it's maybe worth mentioning that my partner really liked them so don't let my shoddy pallet sway your opinion.
M&S Plant Kitchen - Vegan Pigs in Duvets
This offering included two different kinds of veggie sausages, both made of soya and wrapped in puff pastry (hence duvet).
The first one, the chorizo flavour,was quite nice, but a bit of an odd pairing with the pastry. I ended up plucking them out and eating the two separately.
I really liked the mushroom ones though - so much so that I double checked the packaging to make sure that it wasn't real meat.
These mushroom and soya pigs in duvets have more than earned a spot on my plate this year.
Taste The Difference range - No Turkey Crown from Sainsbury's
I make a rule of avoiding fake bacon. It's never anywhere near the real thing, but I broke that rule to give this a bash.
It was the one Christmas main that looked somewhat appealing to me and I'm happy to say that it was really tasty.
The bacon was as expected, but the turkey - again made from soya and mushroom - had a really nice taste and texture to it, probably thanks to the sage and onion stuffing.
My one note though - it looked weird. I know that's a strange complaint for veggie food, but when cut up, the inside appeared almost bread-like.
Nevertheless I'll be adding this to my plate this year as it fed both me and my partner while costing £6.50, which isn't too shabby, all things considered.
Final thoughts
Maybe It's because I've been avoiding it for a while, but meat-free Christmas food seems to be getting better and better.
Maybe it's because more people are turning that way. An online poll carried out by Product of the Year this month found that 29 percent of Brits revealed they'll be going vegetarian this festive season.
Helga Slater, MD, Product of the Year, said: "Product innovation is cheering up Christmas time for all – no matter your dietary requirement or budget.
"It's very exciting to see new takes on old classics and total reinventions of what Christmas dinner could/should be. All helping to make it a time of celebration and joy."
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