This month the long waited Vivera vegan steak and plant based ‘meats’ ranges hit the shelves in lots of stores.

The first thing to say is that it took me a while to be able to get my hands on the Vivera range, especially the meat free steak - every time I’ve been on to Ocado they’ve been sold out!

But last bank holiday, while everyone was on their holiday, I went to my local Tesco store in the morning to get my hands on them.

Finally I did. I noticed that still lot of people don't know about this brand here in the UK. So I decided to do this special feature about them. Vivera is made in the Netherlands but are going to be big over here.

Vivera steaks cost £2.99 for a pack of two [making it way cheaper than beef steak] and even come on a vacuum packed tray.

There’s more about the brand and their ranges here (burgers, chicken shwarma style pieces, mince etc.) and Sainsbury’s (kebab etc.)

They don’t sell all of them yet, but they do have a few good ones. You do have to watch out, because though most of it is vegan, a few of their products are vegetarian and not vegan. But they will go 100% vegan before the end of this year.

The steaks are really nice, very different from other burgers I know.

They definitely look like the real deal. The instructions say to cook for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. I followed the cooking instructions exactly for the first piece of steak.

I pan fried one for about 5 minutes in total and served it with oven cooked chips and grilled tomatoes.

The result

The texture of the Vivera vegan steak is very similar to a medium cooked beef. Truly similar. They also look very convincing! Tastes great too - smoky and juicy - and better than Quorn's take on it.

Only plant-based ingredients like wheat and soy are used in the production.

I know there are lots of vegans and veggies out there that aren’t keen on the idea of eating things that are meant to replicate the texture and taste of meat, for obvious reasons, but I’m not really that fussed by it – so long as it’s plant based, I’m happy.

Overall - I did like these and would definitely buy them again, especially as they work out at £1.50 per ‘steak’.

I’m also looking forward to trying the KFC meat free fried chicken this year. And, If you're on a mission to become healthier, ahead of the summer months, then this is an ideal opportunity to explore the different vegan and veggie dishes out there.

Do you know Vivera and have you tried their products before? Please let me know in the comments or show me by using #Dine_with_danika on Instagram