BYPASS or BUY - GARDEIN STuffed Turk'y

Every single holiday that has come and gone for at least the past 5 years, I've searched for this stuffed turk'y to no avail. The elusive product has been on my radar for years, but it has been nearly impossible to find here in Windsor Ontario, Canada. With that being said, on a chilly April day a few weeks back, I randomly spotted it at the grocery store and snatched it up right away. It's not the holidays, nor is it a time for celebration, but it was time for holiday approved stuffed turk'y. 

I don't know what I was expecting. I love the GARDEIN chik'n and turk'y products that I've tried to date, so I'd expect hat these were equally as fabulous. One thing I was curious about is how that stuffing actually looked / tasted. Here's what I thought!

WHAT I LOVED

• The stuffed turk'y came out of the oven in all of its crispy and golden brown glory. I t was exactly the crispy texture I was hoping for.
• The turk'y itself was actually quite juicy and had a great texture as well.
• The stuffing inside was flavourful
• It was both filling and light enough that 1 piece paired with a salad was a good meal.
• The overall flavour and texture of the stuffed turk'y as a whole were perfection in my opinion.

WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE

• It was so uniform when you sliced it open that it really read as heavily processed.
• Sodium. One stuffed turk'y was over 500mg of sodium. If you felt the desire to eat two or paired it with something other than a salad, there was potential for over consumption of sodium.
• The gravy - It was bland, and unless you wanted to start adding salt and flavourings which would have jacked up the sodium even more, it was just not really that special. JUst make your own.

BYPASS or BUY?

BUY! - Look, the gravy was less than stellar and the stuffing was visually about as processed as can be but overall, the flavour and texture were absolute perfection. Avoid a sodium disaster by pairing it wisely with a lower sodium, fresh component to minimize the possibility of sodium overload. Each bag comes with two pieces along with a pouch of gravy for both and for the price, it's well worth it if you get two meals out of one bag.

Have you tried them? What were your thoughts?
Visit the GARDEIN website for a collection of their products, recipes, and other goodies.
www.gardein.com

HAPPY VEG