Holland and Barrett

[cobweb]

Did anyone else see the piece about Holland & Barrett last week on 'Watchdog', btw?

[leedsveg]

Did anyone else see the piece about Holland & Barrett last week on 'Watchdog', btw?

Hi cobweb

Didn't see it. Tell me more.

lv

[cobweb]

^ basically saying they rip people off, specifically with their in-house 'allergy testing service' which costs £45 and is a load of old cobblers.

[ems.w]

H & B sucks near us ( is really really small ) the only good thing is i can buy bananna soya milkshake as i can't get it from the suppermarket.....But i do think its over priced

[leedsveg]

^ basically saying they rip people off, specifically with their in-house 'allergy testing service' which costs £45 and is a load of old cobblers.

I used their allergy testing service many years ago and did not find it useful. (Leedsveg could be more explicit but would prefer to have no need of a good solicitor.) H&B are not cheap but to be fair, they do bring together in one shop health/food items of interest to veg*ns, although I appreciate that the range of such items can vary greatly from store to store.

lv

Just seen your post ems and welcome to Vegan Forum.

[Risker]

^ basically saying they rip people off, specifically with their in-house 'allergy testing service' which costs £45 and is a load of old cobblers.

They've been in trouble for this before. I'm sure it works for some people even if it isn't scientifically accurate, placebo treatments can have a very powerful effect and if the NHS are funding shams like homeopathy it's hard to criticise H&B for doing the same thing.

[cobweb]

Risker you make me chuckle (usually in a positive way though!). Can I divert off topic for just a sec and ask you what your opinion (as a vegan specifically) is on 'mainstream' medicine?. I myself have very mixed feelings about both H&B, and the use of mainstream and 'alternative' medicines. I'd really like to be able to make up my mind on the medicines at least!.

[Risker]

Well, it's terrible that they're all animal tested but they are tested and proven to work. I avoid medicines as much as I can but my opinion is that if you need them then you need them and there's not a lot you can do about it. A sick vegan isn't a very good advert for veganism and I'd rather we all be well and able to encourage others to become vegans even if it's just by living by example.

Homeopathy like I've said is only good as a placebo, it's been tested and shown not to be effective. There's a good website called 'How does homeopathy work?' but an even better one is wikipedia.

[cobweb]

Risker I know about Homoeopathy, I was studying to be a practitioner years ago but gave up the 3 year course half way through because I lost my faith in Homoeopathy I'm afraid. I suppose I was thinking more along the lines of herbals and supplements vs pharmaceuticals. Of course I share your disgust at the animal testing, but there again herbals are often tested aswell. I think there tends to be a feeling that 'all prescribed medications are evil' but as you say they can change lives and the quality of people's health for the better. I suppose sometimes our minds and bodies need a helping hand.

[kikifromscotland]

I had the quiches the other night, yum!! I love the frys sausage rolls and chickn nuggets too, I was off meat alternatives for a while but these products are a lifesaver when too tired to cook.

I did see the h&b on watchdog, and the company i work for were on the same night, lol.

[aliaslotte]

I tried the 'steakless slice' and sausage roll. Both were very nice, particularly the former. I don't make a habit of eating them all the time but I work long hours at the weekends and have no access to cooking equipment, so these have proved to be a great weekly treat. Paired with an apple/banana/some grapes they make for a filling meal.

I was disappointed when I went to my local store at the weekend though. The lights were on but there were no staff in store. There was a notice on the door that said "back in 5 minutes". I returned after going to the cinema - around 3 hours later - and the situation was exactly the same. I had to come back home without any yummy goodies.

I am heading back into town tomorrow though. Hopefully I will actually be able to buy some stuff from H&B!

[Clueless Git]

My local H&B is the only palce I can get vegan ice cream and the brilliant range of Fry's products.

The 'porkless pies' they sell at H&B are pretty cool too!

H&B staff freak me out though ... I'm obsessed with the Black Ops Zombies game at the moment and 50% of H&B staff look slightly 'less well' than the Zombies in that game ...

[aliaslotte]

I managed to buy stuff today lol.

As a treat, I got one of those strawberry vegan cheesecakes. I've cut the latter up into 8 pieces in its 'starting to defrost' state before putting it in the freezer. Will make it easier to have a piece whenever I fancy one. I used to love cheesecake, so it is nice to know I can have some now and again.

Plus, I got some raspberry Swedish Glace ice cream and a couple of those pastries [they are in the freezer too - as mentioned, they are useful for my long shift at work, so now I have one a week for the next couple of weeks].

I really wanted to quinoa but that was rather expensive in H&B. The little independent vegetarian coop sells it at a much lower price but I didn't get chance to pop in. I'll have to remember for next time.

[leedsveg]

I really wanted to quinoa but that was rather expensive in H&B. The little independent vegetarian coop sells it at a much lower price but I didn't get chance to pop in. I'll have to remember for next time.

Everything at H & B still "buy one, get one half price" but the offer ends shortly. I bought 2 jars of Natex low salt spread yesterday for £5.23. Price in the Out of this World store would gave been around £7.60. Maybe once a year, H & B have a 'buy one get one free ' offer but in between, I get my 10% discount for being in the Vegetarian Society.

lv

[Risker]

Are you sure they still do the buy one get one free offer? I didn't think they'd done that for a few years now.

[harpy]

The "buy one get one half price" offer is a "mix and match" one, so you don't actually have to get two of everything, I don't think, although I find it difficult to get over the idea that you do.

[Tish]

Oooo, I love the vegan foodstuffs you can get in Holland and Barrett. Their party food Christmas range (especially the wee breaded pepperjack cheesley melts!) were great.

Just wish they could stock nutritional yeast flakes.

Anyway, they do have a fine selection of swedish glace ice cream flavours so I am very happy with that.

[leedsveg]

Are you sure they still do the buy one get one free offer? I didn't think they'd done that for a few years now.

They do BOGOF rarely but I'm sure they did it at least once last year.

lv

[leedsveg]

The "buy one get one half price" offer is a "mix and match" one, so you don't actually have to get two of everything, I don't think, although I find it difficult to get over the idea that you do.

Know how you feel, harpy. But I always buy 2 of everything, just to be on the safe side. I think the till receipt details your purchases in descending order of value and you get the half price element on every other item, if I understand the system correctly. I always check my receipt outside the shop because Christmas 2009, I was overcharged by over £4 (but got the money back when I queried the bill.)

lv

[Gwydion]

I am 99% sure that if my receipts for H&B were tallied up over the years, they would have been incorrect more times than they would have been correct.

They taught me the fun side of shopping, 'is the price right?' I like to call it.

[harpy]

Yes, lv, I expect you can get a better discount by buying 2 of everything but after filling the whole place up with red lentils one time I decided that more mixing and matching might be the way to go I probably ought to go and buy some pairs of staple things such as small cartons of soy milk (we don't get through it fast enough to buy large ones) before the offer finishes though (do we know when that is?).

[leedsveg]

Yes, lv, I expect you can get a better discount by buying 2 of everything but after filling the whole place up with red lentils one time I decided that more mixing and matching might be the way to go I probably ought to go and buy some pairs of staple things such as small cartons of soy milk (we don't get through it fast enough to buy large ones) before the offer finishes though (do we know when that is?).

I only buy stuff (usually the more expensive stuff) that I know we will gobble reasonably quickly.

Just checked with a Leeds branch and was told "offer finishes 17 February". I presume that it's nationwide.

lv

[harpy]

Cheers lv for that info - will get in there then. (If we cleared our cupboards out we'd have a bit more room to store things, but let's be realistic )

[aliaslotte]

I am 99% sure that if my receipts for H&B were tallied up over the years, they would have been incorrect more times than they would have been correct.

They taught me the fun side of shopping, 'is the price right?' I like to call it.

They are quite bad at getting the prices right. They tried to charge me £44 the other week for one of those sausage-less sausages rolls. The woman read it out and then realised it couldn't possibly be right lol.

[leedsveg]

Only £44? That's nothing. When Mrs Lv's book The Dark Threads first went on sale on Amazon, the quoted price was over £1300. Within a day, they reduced it to £5.99.

Lv

[VeganZee]

The Co-op tried to charge me £505 for some bananas. I think their produce code for bananas must be 505!

[kikifromscotland]

Oooo, I love the vegan foodstuffs you can get in Holland and Barrett. Their party food Christmas range (especially the wee breaded pepperjack cheesley melts!) were great.

Those were amazing!! I wish I had bought more than one pack but I wasn't sure if I'd like them. I might write to Redwoods and see if they can trial them as a regular rather than just seasonal item... Yum!

[aliaslotte]

I bought some cheesley(?) cheddar today. I've never tried vegan cheese before. Do I use it like you would animal cheese?

I stocked up today with quite a few things as I might not get into store again before the current buy one get one half price offer ends [on Feb 17th].

[harpy]

Did you get the "melting" kind of Cheezly, aliaslotte? If so it's good for using in cooking. For example, you can put a thin layer on top of dish of pasta and vegetables and bake it in the oven. Or you can have it sliced on toast, perhaps with chopped avocado and tomato (yum). It doesn't melt in exactly the same way as dairy cheese but produces reasonable results.

If it's the other kind, you can still cook with it, but you might be better of having it with crackers etc. I would have some mustard or chutney with it as it is a bit bland-tasting on its own IMO.

[Risker]

There's a good chance you won't like it aliaslotte, there's a big divide over the preference of vegan cheeses. A lot of people don't like any vegan cheeses either, especially if it's not long since you had the real thing.

[VeganZee]

I have just made a three layer terrine replacing dairy cheese in the cheese and breadcrumb layer with the mozeralla style melting cheezly. I've used it before for this and it works really well. I have also used the melty cheezly as a dairy cheese replacement in a lentil and coriander cannelloni - this also called for cottage cheese so i substituted plain alpro yoghurt. And I have used the melty type as a topping for veggy lasagne and a baked wholemeal spagetti. I've also used it to make cheese and onion toasted sandwiches which were yum! i did not like the non-melty kind - in fact I think most vegan cheeses are pretty rank but the melty cheezly ones i do like.

[pusskins]

I find the melty Edam works and tastes well on pizzas, better than the mozzarella! Very easy to get from H&B. However, I have noticed they have stopped stocking the sour cream from Tofutti. Is that just in my branch, or has anybody else noticed this too?

[harpy]

Don't think mine has ever had the sour cream, Pusskins.

[VeganZee]

I find the melty Edam works and tastes well on pizzas, better than the mozzarella! Very easy to get from H&B. However, I have noticed they have stopped stocking the sour cream from Tofutti. Is that just in my branch, or has anybody else noticed this too?

Oooh you just reminded me of my pizza!! I make the base in my bread maker then halve tomatoes and roast them in the oven with a slice of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil on each tomato half. Then push the tomatoes through a sieve and spread this sauce on the pizza base and thinly slice the melty mozarella - it is absolutely lovely. Now I want it this weekend

[cobweb]

Cheezly is lovely!!!!!

[aliaslotte]

It is Redwood Cheezly Cheddar Style...

It would be amazing if I could cook with it. I used to munch on cheese just by itself or with fruit but I am not sure I want to do that with this - not at first anyway lol.

[mansi]

Cheezly is awesome, love it! The Edam Style melts beautifully on sandwiches in the oven, yummm! But yeah, I can munch on Cheezly by itself without a problem. (Can't stand Sheese though...)

[Risker]

^ Even though sheese is far superior to cheezly in every way?

[mansi]

What do you mean? I guess it's down to someone's taste. I find Sheese too thick, can't like something just because it's superior to something I do like.

[harpy]

Yes, I don't think we're going to change one another's minds on this one - seems to be a matter that divides opinion sharply, like brussels sprouts.

Please let us know your verdict, aliaslotte!

[pusskins]

CHEEZLY RULES OK

[cobweb]

CHEEZLY RULES OK

Yay!
Melty Mozzarella is my favourite for toasties and cooking, cheddar for eating on its own with an apple or whatever.

[pusskins]

After a bit of a wait, I've just received an email about the sour cream:

Dear ********,

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact us regarding Tofutti Sour Supreme.

We go to great lengths to ensure that all the products we sell meet the highest standards for quality and are manufactured with strict adherence to the appropriate good manufacturing practices.

Unfortunately this product has now been discontinued by us, this is due to a poor sales history country wide.

Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this may have caused you.

Yours sincerely
Elaine
Customer Service Team.
NBTY Europe.
The home of Holland & Barrett, GNC, Julian Graves, Nature's Way and De Tuinen.

Oh, poo! I really liked the stuff. Obviously my spending power is too weak at the moment!

[mansi]

If I don't find sour cream I just "spice" plain soya yoghurt with a bit of squeezed lemon juice (salt and pepper if you want to lose all the sweetness)!

[pusskins]

Yeah, I've gathered a few recipes together to give making some sour cream a whirl. I'll try yours first, as it's easy

But it was well nice, the Sour Supreme...

[xwitchymagicx]

I was disappointed when I went to my local store at the weekend though. The lights were on but there were no staff in store. There was a notice on the door that said "back in 5 minutes". I returned after going to the cinema - around 3 hours later - and the situation was exactly the same. I had to come back home without any yummy goodies.
!

So many times they've done that to me.

They've started selling those whatsit things now..keeshes lol or however you spell it. haha But I've not tried them. Expensive!

Plus the ice cream is so much more expensive, but rubbishy supermarkets only sell vanilla or that dreadful one that tastes like ice.

[harpy]

Today I actually found something I wanted that was included in the H&B "buy one, get one for a penny" offer - organic sunflower seeds, which the local hedgehogs are partial to.

[aliaslotte]

I looked around for that penny offer but came out without anything. I had hoped that the vegan multi-vitamins would be included [their own make or the branded ones] but neither were. It is a shame because that would have been a good deal, not least because I will have to go buy some soon anyway.

[xwitchymagicx]

Most of the penny things are things no one wants!

[kikifromscotland]

Oooo, I love the vegan foodstuffs you can get in Holland and Barrett. Their party food Christmas range (especially the wee breaded pepperjack cheesley melts!) were great.

Was in Glasgow centre H&B at the weekend and they had the party range in... including the breaded pepperjack cheezly bites!!! Excited!