Panago Vegan Pizza

I cook dinner pretty much every night. Add in lunch, breakfast, and snacks – for five people – yep, I log some kitchen hours. But, you ask… “don’t you have great vegan restaurants in Vancouver?“

Yes. In Vancouver. We are in White Rock, so a trip to a vegan restaurant involves up to two hours of driving. So, it’s not a regular option for us, especially when Paul already commutes to the city for work on weekdays.

As much as I enjoy cooking, every mama needs a break! So, that’s usually ordering pizza. Years ago we’d order pizza, and simply omit all the cheeses. Wasn’t optimal, but I’d either add vegan cheese at home or top with avocado or balsamic drizzle.

Then one day last year… hallelujah! I learned that Panago started carrying Daiya cheese. Hey now! Finally, we could order a full-on vegan pizza.

Panago reached out to me recently to feature some of the vegan pizzas and offer a giveaway. I was already a fan (I share my reasons below), so this is truly a treat for me to share with you.

Here are 10 reasons I love Panago:

1. As already mentioned, Panago now offers Daiya cheese. Obviously wonderful for us vegans, and also for families with dairy allergies.
2. Panago will easily sub out any dairy cheeses with Daiya cheese. So, you can customize any veggie pizza you want. It’s easy, and their staff are very familiar with modifying pizzas to meet vegan dietary needs.
3. Panago even has a specialty vegan pizza listed on their menu – this Vegan Pepperoni Deluxe (pictured below). In addition to the Veggie Mediterranean (pictured above) this is another one of our regular pizza orders. (However, we do usually sub out the onions, olives, and green peppers for pineapple… you know, the kids!). *note: the caramelized onions and mushrooms are sautéed inq butter, not vegan!
4. Panago strikes a good balance with the Daiya cheese. Sometimes Daiya cheese can be topped too heavily, and it takes away from the other toppings. On the other hand, we’ve had meals where Daiya cheese is just barely there and it’s almost pointless! Panago seems to get it just right every time.
5. For our family, Panago offering vegan cheese and vegan pizzas has been a blessing for hockey parties. As many of you know, our girls have played hockey for years, and every time there’s a hockey party or tournament, there’s pizza. Always pizza. They usually choose Panago – score! In the past, I’d pack premade vegan pizzas for the girls to take to their parties. Not a ton of fun for kids. It’s so very ‘normalizing’ for the girls to have pizza just like their friends.
6. Another thing I love about ordering with Panago is that they keep a record of orders. Again… score! Whenever we order pizza, Paul and I try to pass off on the actual ordering process. Any vegan knows how much fun it is to order with “remove the cheeses and substitute with Daiya cheese – that’s no dairy cheese of any kind”… and then repeat that with each pizza along with any veggie substitutes. Now, when we call Panago, we just ask them to bring up our last order. They repeat it back to us and we say “yep, we’ll go with that“. Love it.
7. Panago offers a detailed allergen chart for their menu items (scroll to page four).
8. In addition to toppings, Panago offers choices of sauces and crusts. Just be sure to ask about vegan options or check their allergen chart (above).
9. Panago has locations in almost all Canadian provinces. Vegan pizza can be ordered (& delivered) in so many areas, especially in Western Canada. In fact, last spring break we took a short trip to Hope, BC. There weren’t a lot of food options there for us, but guess what? There was a Panago! Yes, we ordered.
10. While I’m happy to make pizzas at home without vegan cheese (I often do, adding umami ingredients like olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic reductions, etc), it sure is wonderful to have the option to order vegan pizzas with cheese. Yes, Daiya cheese isn’t a whole foods product. But most of us enjoy some processed foods within the scope of a whole foods diet. This is a good balance I think in life, and having these options are particularly important for busy families and kids in the ‘real’ world.
11. Bonus: Their pizzas are yummy, and mama gets a break. 🙂

Panago also offer organic juices/lemonade, and salads. Especially wonderful for parties when you’d like drinks for the kids, and a little something extra for the adults.

Pictured are the Mediterranean Salad with Simple Italian Dressing (and no cheese/no croutons) and the Antipasto (without cheese) along with the organic orange juice and organic lemonade

Now, it’s your turn to get to know and love Panago! My thanks to the team at Panago for providing this giveaway to one of you:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter by commenting: tell us what you would pizza you would order, or tell us what your current fave vegan Panago pizza is!

Good luck, kids! x Dreena

Photo credit: All photos by Anna Pelzer

This post has been sponsored by Panago, as alwayst the opinions and text are all mine.