Fry's Family Meatless Monday

 

So hey, I'm not Vegan or Vegetarian. Not even close. I don't have a private chef that sorts it out and can't really afford those Beyoncé-like food delivery services. (Interested tho'? Fitchef has options) I don't have time to go to the store/ market to buy fresh daily. So basically my vegetarian options are salad and Mac'nCheese.

A while ago I was wondering around the frozen food section and saw a fridge top to bottom filled with green. Nuggets, pies, Burger patties, sausages and schnitzel. I bought the Golden Crumbed Schnitzel and I was amazed.

Now, I don't have a problem switching up food. I like cooking and eating unusual things. But I'm not going to be the only one eating it. I have a meat lover husband. I don't know if you know Portuguese cuisine but it's nothing for them to have pork, beef and poultry in the same casserole. Add rice, potatoes and bread and you have a meal.

My meat stash for the month

So I scouted Fry's Website for a month planning delicious things and thinking of how to get bae to participate. Should I sit him down, send an e-mail, Whatsapp an e-card, idk? Eventually end of the month grocery shopping comes up and we are standing in front of the fridge. I asked him “What do you think of meatless Monday?” We picked up a whole lot of Fry's.

Please Note: I have not been paid to say these things. I also bought the products with my own money. Here is how it went:

Monday 1:

First meal was Chicken Stylestrips. In a wrap. I was sick with the flu cough thing everyone seemed to be sick with. I thought it was going to be an issue. New food, I feel like a walker. I was already making backup plans for KFC. I followed the cooking instruction (I just used a damn hot frying pan instead of a wok). Chopped tomatoes and lettuce and served with sweet chilli sauce in a wrap.

[NO PHOTO BECAUSE I WAS A WALKER]

My Feelings: I would try this again but make it with pasta. I don't like that it's suggested to be served with sweet chilli sauce but it help us omnivores eat it the first time.

What did he say: “It was good.” But I could see it wasn't excellent. I like wraps like this, he likes KFC's crispy type chicken wraps.

I give it 6 leaves out of a 10 salad. I'll try it again before I judge it harsher. Cough flu had too much in-flu-ence. (Ba-dum-dum-tish)

Ad-doc Meal – Saturday Fauxlony Breakfast wrap:

I was intrigued by the Polony. I think anyone who grew up in South Africa, your life got touched by polony. (Baloney for other places) Either a friend's school lunch or after school sandwiches, picnics or fried up with breakfast.

I like Breakfast wraps. Mine is usually Mexicorn's Whole-wheat wrap, turkey or chicken loaf slices, scrambled egg and spinach or finely chopped Swiss chard. Delicious, full of protein and fibre. Instead of my normal sliced chicken/ turkey loaf, I sliced some faux-lony.

My feelings: I dunno, for me it was not that great. On the packed it said 'or lightly fried' so I put some coconut oil in the pan and it was still weird for me. It's not so much the taste than the texture. It's kind of like a paste texture.

Monday 2:

A lot of my food choices is that of a child. As an adult it's frowned upon but I wish I had the option of eating of the kiddies menu at some restaurants. I think it's because it's uncomplicated. Cue Chicken style Nuggets. 

My baby gas oven doesn't have a grill so I lowered my oven rack and set my oven to its highest temperature. (295°C) then let it heat up for 15 minutes. Poured a film of oil on the bottom of a baking tray, arranged the nuggets and pushed them into the hot oven for 4-5 minutes. Flipped them and cooked for another 5-6 minutes.

Served with Oven baked wedges and a Salad. (Here it the dipping sauce recipe. I added a few drops of Tabasco).

My feelings: This is all I can think about. Delicious, fast and easy cooking, crispy. You know how some idiots say it, but this is everything. With or without sauce, it is just that good.

What did he say: He just enjoyed chicken nuggets. Until it was Wednesday we were talking and I said something about Meatless Monday, he was all “Meatless Monday?? But we had chicken nuggets?” BOOM! SUCCESS Fry's! You just became a BOSS in my books!

I give chicken style nuggets a 'I bought two boxes of these and I don't know if I should keep it for a dinner or eat it all myself' out of 10.

Monday 3:

I choose you battered prawn style pieces. It's going to be hard to follow the success of the nuggets but my hopes were high. The suggestion on the box was to deep fry. I didn't really feel like filling a pot with oil and waiting forever for it to come up to temp. I cooked it the same way as the nuggets.

I saw up scale ramen on my Pinterest suggestions. So that is the application I would use these for. I sautéed garlic, ginger and the white part of a few spring onions in coconut oil, just until they were soft. Then I added water (just enough to cook noodles) and flavouring packets of two minute noodles (I used Fatti's and Moni's Prawn flavoured ones) then cooked the noodles. I also boiled some eggs for 7 minutes.

To finish I just added the green of the spring onions, peeled the egg and dropped some soy sauce in and added the cooked prawn pieces on top.

My Feelings: I know it's maybe not full vegetarian as I do not know about how the noodles are made. So super delicious. I think any person these days (even if you didn't go to college/ university) between the age of 18 and 25 had gone through a time where 2 minute/ instant noodles was a staple meal. Dinner and/or lunch. So by the time you touch 30, the enchantment is gone. It's my emergency meal. This was next level of next level. It was a filling flavourful meal.

What he said: He thought it was good. He said he would have liked another egg. I'm sure I could make it again.

This gets a 'I want to eat this everyday' out of 10

Ad-dock Meal: Tuesday Lunch:

Country Mushroom Pie is something I wanted to try since I put it in the trolley. In South Africa we have a strong pie culture. It doesn't matter what language you speak or area you live in, there is a 100% chance that you've had a pie from a garage (petrol station). This product falls right into that line.

My feelings: Like any pie, even though it was baked in a civilian, everyday oven, the inside it like molten lava. So a check to that. The pastry is crisp and flaky. The sauce has the taste of traditional Chicken mushroom but the mushrooms themselves taste like freshly cooked mushrooms and they actually look like mushrooms. (sometimes, bits in a garage pies are suspect)

What he said (after making it that Saturday): Also a big garage pie lover this pie ruined other pies for him. After having this he had a garage pie and was very disapointed. All he could think of was that it wasn't a Country Mushroom pie.

I give it 'I'm disappoint that I didn't bake the other pie in the packet as well' out of 10.

Monday 4:

Golden crumbed Schnitzel was the first product I ever tried. Usually after I run errands it feels like a big deal to get home and make lunch. I didn't really feel like eating a sandwich or instant soup or deal with prep to cook something and there are days a smoothie won't cut it. I served this with an easy side salad and mash.

My feelings: It's a bit tricky to cook with a baby oven with no grill. The first time I was more successfully in cooking them. Second time was a bit not so great. It was still good though.

What he said: It was a just okay reaction. I thing next time I'll serve it with a onion or mushroom gravy.

In Conclusion:

The next Monday I made some meat dish and got scolded because it was Meatless-Monday. Since then, Fry's has always been on my shopping list. I've also bought the burgers but don't burger them. I buy bigger wraps or rotis and they are delicious with fresh lettuce tomatoes and a dollop of spiced up Mayo. Also bough the mince and made some Old El Paso Tacos. (Skipped out on the cheese but used cottage cheese instead of sour cream) 

Do you Meatless-Monday?

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