Cooking is just not my thing.

I spent most of my life preparing stuff out of boxes and using the microwave a lot. When I had children, I didn’t want them to eat junk so I took to the task of being the main cook in the house—begrudgingly. Then later on, I became vegan.

Being vegan in a small town in the midwest means I don’t have a plethora of choices when eating out or even buying food in the local grocery store. Oh sure, there is plenty of fresh produce, but when it comes to the stuff that makes cooking easier like special vegan cheeses or alternative meats, the choices are limited. This is probably for the best since those foods usually aren’t the healthiest choices either. I learned to get creative with food out of necessity.

So when I get  the opportunity to review Vegan and Vegetarian friendly spices and sauces, I take it!

The group of spices I tried are from Doxy’s Fine Foods.

All spices are vegan, gluten-free and made without MSG. Each spice came in little plastic baggies inside of cardboard boxes. Each mixture came with instructions on how to prepare the spices with buttermilk or Greek Yogurt, but since I do not consume dairy products, I used them as a marinade with vinegar or simply sprinkled them on potatoes. My favorites in the group were the Chipotle Starter and the Ranch Starter. I’m sure I could mix up a batch of vegan mayonnaise and add one of these for a yummy salad dressing!

Check out their Facebook Page because they offer specials and promotions there if you are interested in checking them out.

The next group of products I had the chance to try was Robbie’s Natural Sauces.

I received Barbecue, Worcestershire, and Garlic Sauce!

Hands down, my favorite of the group was the Worcestershire sauce because usually it is not vegan, but this one totally is! My kids still prefer the taste of meat, and I added it with the Barbecue sauce to Textured Vegetable Protein for Sloppy Joes, lentils to cook up some Vegan Lentil Tacos, and marinated some portobello mushrooms for Mushroom Burgers! The combination of Worcestershire and Barbecue Sauce gave each dish a meatier flavor which definitely satisfied my family’s carnivorous tastes.

The Garlic Sauce we used on homemade pizza and dipped our bread into on Pasta night. It was good, but I still like the other two the most.

Have I suddenly found a love of cooking? No. Do these sauces make my job a little easier? Yes. Will I continue using them in my cooking? 100 percent yes!

Note: elephantjournal.com received these review items for free, in return for a guarantee that we would review said offering. That said, we say what we want—good and bad, happy and sad.