It has been a year ago since I first posted this IKEA plant balls dish. When this dish was first served, we were so thankful that the mashed potatoes & sauce were also plant based, no eggs & no dairy. The feeling was like heaven on Earth.
Ever since then our family has been eating at IKEA cafe regularly. IKEA cafe has also become my regular go-to place for my me-time. A time to unwind over a cup of tea & the delicious plant balls. During this time with myself, I read a book, journal my thought & feelings, & draw.
Yet, in the recent few months, I started to doubt whether the mashed potatoes and sauces are really plant based. They taste so good …like too good to be true. After many years of being a vegan, my taste buds are able to pick up products that contains dairy & eggs. IKEA mashed potatoes & sauce taste really as good as those with dairy & eggs inside.
I guess the doubt also comes from my experience which businesses manipulate words as they ride the vegan wave while I was researching vegan products in the supermarkets. Meatless doesn’t means without eggs & dairy. Just m-e-a-t-l-e-s-s. Ingredients list contains eggs & dairy. Plant based doesn’t mean without eggs and dairy, it just mean this dish is b-a-s-e-d on P-l-a-n-t-s. It doesn’t mean 100% plants. I was totally in disbelief how in the world can some businesses do this thing. Where are their ethics.
In the recent days, @soy-orbison reviewed IKEA plant balls, & @parismelody left a comment in his review. There were contradicting options about the mashed potatoes & sauce are vegan or not.
The very same day, I wrote an email to IKEA telling them we are a vegan family & asking two questions- is the mashed potatoes vegan? Is the sauce vegan? 4 days later, today, I received their reply & IKEA confirms that their mashed potatoes & sauces in their plant balls dish are plant based.
For these 4 days, our family waited in suspense. Occasionally, we miss the plant balls & will make a special trip just to eat the plant balls. We really love the plant balls. When I received their confirmation, we were cheering!
Vegan is here to stay for good. Finally, the tide has changed. For the better.
38 likes
soy-orbison It’s definitely a step in the right direction. We never saw this coming ten years ago when big restaurant chains and cafes offered vegan options. 5 likesReply
fulfilling Yes, we have so many options now when we eat out now. It was difficult to create change at the top level across all nations for many years, but, the world has seen the power of individual, one by one, collectively, we can make change & progress. Money goes where demands go. Money leaves where supply falls. Sunrise industry vs sunset industry. Never undermines the power & potential of one person, every reader, & I meant you. You can make a difference in any way. Never give up. 3 likesReply
ziggyradiobear I still wouldn't trust haha. Because in year 2022, someone in Telegram Vegans groupchat mentioned that the gravy was not vegan. Maybe ikea did change it to vegan after that, I dunno. Because they did change the cones now to vegan. But personally, I dislike having to wonder and worry whether it is vegan or not when I eat so I might as well dun eat it. And also not very good to eat too much (ultra) processed food too. 3 likesReply
fulfilling Yes, I agree with you the dilemma whether it is vegan or not when vegans eat out. The safest option is not to eat. Yes, most of IKEA food can be purchased at its market place, the frozen section. The ingredients list isn’t ideal… whole food is definitely better than processed food. Thank you for your advice 🙏🏻2 likesReply
ziggyradiobear It's okay to eat those food once in a while la haha. I see you cook a lot of your family meals, your fridge looks great with the selection of ingredients2 likesReply
fulfilling I have a soft spot for IKEA plant balls :) I can choose the ingredients when I cook at home :)3 likesReply
ziggyradiobear Maybe make your own gravy to go with the ikea plant balls :)2 likesReply
ziggyradiobear What I'm trying to say is, we never know if they decided to change it as and when they like it. So maybe now it is vegan then suddenly they change it to become non vegan and we dunno it.3 likesReply
dafnelately I actually went to IKEA with @m1tch9i, @waterlily, and @misskittysfantadisco some time ago and they actually showed us a menu showing some of the “plant based” items contained dairy — Perhaps they meant possible allergens due to cross contamination?
We really had to press them for it, but we’ve been burned before & coming from Malaysia I have zero trust in food safety or labels at all.
We didn’t take a photo & if I had I would’ve reported the dishes but it definitely did not inspire confidence.
None of the staff even knew the #vword by the way. This was all at IKEA Alexandra. 2 likesReply
fulfilling I can totally understand how you have felt regarding the labels. I can my share of being misled by food ingredients. In my case, it was the dried bamboo pits commonly sold in Singapore supermarkets. I love the texture & had them generously in steamboats before & the Chinese New Year. During this period I experienced very bad itchy skin rashes without understanding the reason. It was many months later in the news that the local authorities recalled the product for having unauthorized chemical preservatives over the legal limit & one of the symptoms of consuming such preservatives is itchy skin rashes. I was totally in disbelief. How in the world can a product which has has been dried to contain preservatives? Isn’t being dried a good preservation of itself? At least I knew what cause my skin rashes. When I stopped eating that product, my skin healed. Hence, I could understand the reason you have zero trust in labels. The bamboo pit is from China.
I have replied to IKEA just now & awaiting their response. I will update here when I receive their reply. 3 likesReply
ziggyradiobear Many eatablishments just use the term plant-based blindly. Hard to trust anyone now. Btw, all of you please note that Yi Xin at Chinatown is not fully vegan. Be careful when you order. Need to find out if the dishes you want to order has dairy. I spoke with the lady in-charge and she said they had to accomodate elderly ard the area because they are 'not used to' not having no milk in their soups/dishes. The spinach mee hoon kueh has a little milk in it(as what she'd told me). 2 likesReply
fulfilling It is always the person in charge who knows what goes in the food. There was a restaurant whom we know the founder. We placed order with the waitress & asked her questions like, “Does this contain cow 🐄 milk?” I could read her face that she wasn’t certain & I would suggest ,” what about you ask the chef? He will know the answer.” She came back & told us there wasn’t any milk inside. We ordered the food happily. After dinner, we met with the boss of the restaurant & we told him how delicious the food was & his reply was, “ I added a secret 🤫 ingredient - yogurt!” Our family was shocked 😳 secret ingredient…maybe the chef wasn’t even aware of it, or maybe he was but he couldn’t share as it was a secret ingredient. (Speechless) 2 likesReply
dafnelately That’s crazy! Please help report any dishes you discover that aren’t vegan so @abillion can update the labels 🙏 1 likeReply
fulfilling Hi @dafnelately , I still haven’t receive a reply from IKEA for my 2nd email. But, @parismelody has received a reply from IKEA confirming that the sauce & mashed potatoes are vegan. You can read her reply in this commentary somewhere below. 2 likesReply
huanglee So.. does their definition of plant based mean no dairy/eggs? 🤷🏻♂️ 2 likesReply
fulfilling I have replied to IKEA just now & awaiting their response. I will update here when I receive their response 4 likesReply
fulfilling Hi @huanglee , I still haven’t receive a reply from IKEA for my 2nd email. But, @parismelody has received a reply from IKEA confirming that the sauce & mashed potatoes are vegan. You can read her reply in this commentary somewhere below. 2 likesReply
berryveganplanet Curious to hear what they say! The only items I’ve eaten from there (like 3 years ago) was salad, steamed veg, and a Moroccan lentil soup. Oh I did have the meatballs but no gravy. Not big on gravy lol 😂 don’t judge!1 likeReply
fulfilling I am not going to judge you :) IKEA has salad bar some years ago. We had so much fun. It is a flat fees per bowl & each time we had to strategize how to get the most vegetables in the bowl together with the plant balls. We learnt the best way is to stuff the crunchy vegetables as the base & then pile the heavy plants balls on top to press them down. 🤣 we didn’t use any of the dressing provided as they weren’t vegan. Salad greens & tomato 🍅 & corns taste so good on its own :) @ziggyradiobear suggests making my own gravy, which plants a seed of possibility in me, & you’ve also plant a seed of possibility (no gravy) in me :)2 likesReply
berryveganplanet Love how you describe making your own IKEA meal creation of veggies and meatballs all stuffed in a bowl! Sounds like crazy fun! I think it’s a great idea 💡 making your own gravy ! Can’t wait to see your creation! 1 likeReply
parismelody Hi gal! Reproduced verbatim bout the same time you received your ans 👉
With regard to your email, we had confirmed with team that for the plant ball the sauce and mash potato also vegan.
Hope above information was helpful.
Should you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best regards,
KINA
Customer Care Centre
IKEA Singapore2 likesReply
fulfilling Thanks 🙏🏻 for your help to write to IKEA too. The more people write to them, the more IKEA is aware of the vegan community. At this point of writing, isn’t vegan community in itself a separation of human. Me & you. Hopefully, human beings, collectively, heads towards vegan lifestyle 3 likesReply
helena12345 Note to everyone ‼️⚠️ Not in all countries I know for a fact in Ikea Belgium the sauce and mashed potatoes are not vegan, they list the ingredients on their site. I always order with fries and ask for no sauce Happy this isn’t the case in Singapore and hopefully it comes to the rest of the world!!2 likesReply
fulfilling I didn’t receive any reply from IKEA to confirm that the plant-based plant balls are vegan in my 2nd email. I guessed somehow Kina, who replied to my first email, knows replying to @parismelody is sufficient. Hence, I will close this investigation as IKEA plant balls, with its sauce & mash potatoes, are vegan. But if you doubt it, it is better to avoid it. Trust your instincts:) 1 likeReply