Friday, 03 December 2010
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Are Meat Substitutes As Good As The Originals?
Whether you feel my cat is a good barometer of judgment or not, it’s true that meat substitutes have come a long way.
See, earlier this week I was working on my laptop on the couch, with a sleeping cat by my side. I sat down with a fake-ham sandwich, and all of a sudden a purring beast emerged. This cat climbed all over me and eventually left me no choice but to eat at the kitchen table (the horror). Granted, this cat has never been spoiled with human food before she met me, but I think it’s a pretty solid testament to the quality of this meat substitute if it can entice my cat.
I’ve been a vegetarian for a year and a half now. Growing up I was never much of a meat eater and hated fish, so my mom would create special dishes to get me to eat meat. Or, as I’m sure she sees it, to only have to cook one dinner for the whole family. Several of my friends in college became vegetarians, which I found interesting but that was it.
After college I started to seriously think about going meatless. Sometimes, however, we all need a big push to commit to a new lifestyle. So you may want to chuckle as I inform you that I’ve also been dating my boyfriend for a year and a half. It may have begun as an effort to impress, but I’m really happy with this change in consumption and plan to stick with it.
It’s possible to be vegetarian without incorporating meat substitutes. Most of the time, I can make meals with typical panty items, such as peanut butter, rice, beans, etc. For me, fake meat products come in handy when I’m craving meat or want to mix things up a bit. Who knew they made fake Italian sausages? Not me!
Some products have been hits and some not so much. Every brand is different, and everyone has different tastes, so I can’t say what’s best. Store-package deli meats made me squeamish, and I’ve loved the fake-meat options in this area. However, I find the fake bacon to be gross, although my boyfriend liked it. In college my friends handed me Tofurky and I remember hating it, but today I think it’s pretty good. It's game of trial and error, but it's pretty exciting when you find something delicious.
What do you think about meat substitutes? Do you eat any meatless products even though you don’t have specific food restrictions?
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About the Author
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- From: susie013@xanga
- Name: Susie
- Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States
- About Me: I'm 24 and live in Brooklyn. I love thrift shopping and sewing, though both are challenges sometimes. I'm a cat lady in training. I like running and tennis. I love the beaches in Southern California, the PNW and traveling around the world. Oh, and writing.
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Comments (31)
I am not vegetarian. I have had limited experiences with "meat substitutes." I didn't make too much out of it because I don't feel compelled to be one, but if I wanted (or had to according to dr's orders) to cut back on the meat, it's good to know that there are meatless products out there that are good looking and tasting to substitute for meat products. I'm open to try new things. When I saw your entry with the picture of the cat, I got a bit concerned because I am a bit of a cat person. Your cat is adorable
fake meats are hit or miss. I hate the texture of some of them.
I really LOVE Morningstar's Buffalo Wings, Bacon Strips and Chik Patties. Those are what I get when I have "meat" cravings.
lol @ panty items.
I'm mostly vegetarian, but I don't really like the taste of most meat. It's been a while since I had a meat substitute, but it was disgusting. I think it was a Boca burger.
Also, just thought I'd let you know, you typed "typical panty items" instead of "typical pantry items." =P
I find they are really hit-or-miss. Certain brands are good, and certain styles are good; others are awful. Ech.
I used to be a vegetarian. I really couldn't handle the fake deli meat or the fake hot dogs. I did find some fake chicken nuggets that I really enjoyed.
I am all veggie and I love some meat subs for some things...for example, I love that when my family or friends are grilling burgers, I don't have to eat something COMPLETELY different -- just throw a Boca burger on too :) That is pretty much the only one that is a staple in my diet, but morningstar sausages are quite good -- even my omnivore boyfriend likes them!
I <3 meat substitutes. I don't eat them every day, but around 3-4 times a week. I actually just had a morning star farms burger. The substitutes make being a vegetarian much easier for me.
I've been officially vegetarian for 3-4 months now...but a meat minimalist for about a year.
One of my favorite brands of meat substitute is qu'orn. Good stuff. Really.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I love tofu and other meat substitutes... but I was also raised in an asian household and soy is pretty common for my family. I really dig boca burgers.
MorningStar Farm's veggie dogs were better than regular hot dogs in my opinion. Loved the things.... I can't believe they don't make them anymore.
I like Boca and MorningStar farms products...the Morningstar Farms chicken nuggets, buffalo wings, and "ground beef" crumbles taste pretty similar to real meat except it has less fat :)
there are some meat substitutes I love. I love anything Quorn makes. I think it's really yummy! Some things you have to stop pretending it's meat to enjoy it.
I also think there's nothing wrong with a meal that doesn't taste like meat! I love vegetables, so being a vegetarian was pretty easy for me, with or without meat substitutes.I am no longer vegetarian, but I was up until this past May for 7 years. It's definitely true - meat substitutions have come a long way. I remember when I first started my options were pretty limited (at least, plain) like veggie burgers, fake chicken patties, that's it. But over the years there were different flavors, variations, types, etc.! It was great.
I felt my veg time was done..but I'd totally tell anyone thinking about it to do it since it is so easy now.
boca all the way.. morning star has some decent products as well = P
from my experience, that morningstar italian sausage was not the best creation... it lacked salt and kept crumbling slightly. maybe its because i used a microwave? but boca's cheeseburgers<333333. orgasmic.
my school serves boca burgers in the caf, and i usually eat those. only thing is, the wrapper says "chicken" on it because the "veggie burger" label is too much of an investment, apparently. so people dont know i try to be vegetarian.
have you seen fast food nation the movie? it is the most life changing movie ever. i can't look at fast food without thinking about hacked cow heads and people throwing dead chickens around.
but that's just me-- my brother is a KFC addict, and my parents cook chicken like 24/7 because its "cheap" -- but vegetables are cheaper; especially beans! beans are a good source of protein, we dont need meat in our diet.
and beans/soybeans don't need to have their bloody heads chopped off. and they have no hearts to be broken, or, er splayed apart.
I eat a lot of meatless products despite not being a "true" vegetarian. I just prefer to have a diet low in animal protein, but have to have a little bit due to dr's orders. Morningstar Farms black bean burgers are my favs, as are a lot of other Morninstar products. I've gotten better over the years at doing tofu stir fries and such, but I try to keep my soy ingestion at a decent level too--nobody really knows what ingesting large quantities of hormones occuring in soy products does to people on a long-term basis. It seems to be making one of my best friends grow man-boobs though, which is quite unfortunate...it's not genetic, because nobody in his family (male or female) has that issue...
You can't go wrong with regular old beans (mmm soup) or peanut butter though. Never heard of Qu'orn--off to investigate!
I had a co-worker that swore by morning-star....but that's all she ever ate actually. No veggies, no fruits, just morning star and bread. She claimed to not like "real" meats, but for someone who didn't she sure did have her share of 'fake meats'. I've only tried veggies burgers....and those weren't good.
I went vegan for about 2 weeks, and I didn't eat any meat substitutes. The reason was that I was trying to eat more "natural" also, and those meat substitutes usually have a lot of preservatives and other chemicals that can't really be good for our bodies. What I did instead was change up what I eat completely. I started making things like falafel, stuffed eggplant, and things like that. Another thing that helped me was trying to break out of the American idea of what dinner has to be. For instance, when I was back home for a couple days, one of my dinners was an avocado and a green pepper from the farmer's market. It may not look like a dinner, but it has the same effect. So really, who cares if it's not on a plate with 1/3 meat (or meat substitute), 1/3 starch, and 1/3 vegetables. I was still feeding my body the nutrients it needs, so I may as well feed it in the way that my body is craving at the time (again, given that the meal is at least something close to what we ate back in Paleolithic times). This is actually still the standard I stick to, that it should be sufficiently natural (which is why I try to eat grass-fed meats and foods without a lot of preservatives). So to answer your question, I don't eat a lot of meat substitutes because they usually don't fit the criteria I'm looking for in food.
"I can make meals with typical panty items"
On a scale of 1-10, how immature am I for laughing at this?
I'm vegan, but I don't eat meat substitutes because it honestly grosses me out. I haven't eaten meat in 7+ years, so the taste just doesn't do anything for me except make me gag. I can't help but think that it must be real meat.So I'll stick to my tempeh and seitan, thanks :)
I've been a vegetarian for over 12 years and I can attest to meat substitutes coming a long way. I've always found the faux-chicken, especially those by Morningstar Farms and Boca Burger, to be very good, but I remember trying a veggie dog back in the day and I couldn't even finish it because it was awful! The ones now a days are much better, though still not great.
There's so many different kinds of veggie burgers out there, it seems like there's bound to be at least one type for everyone. I've never liked the taste of red meat, so I dislike the "grillers" or other ones that resemble the real thing too much for me. The bbq ribs MsF makes are pretty darn good though, and great for a quick meal because you can pop them in the microwave for a minute or 2 and they're done (you can microwave their other products too, but they taste much better in the oven).
As for Quorn... ah, fantastic. I like the other brands' chicken better but they make excellent mince "meat" (even my non-veg boyfriend liked it) among other products. They actually have more of a selection in England; what I miss most of their British products are their deli meats, which very closely resemble the texture and taste of real meat (as far as I can remember, anyway). The ones I've found here in the US are thick and not nearly as tasty, so I'm hoping Quorn brings more stuff over here soon! Also, I'm pretty sure most if not all Quorn products are vegan because they're made of fungi.
Overall, I think meat substitutes are fantastic and have made the last 12 years of my life so much better than if they didn't exist. I just wish more people (mainly non-vegs) gave them a try instead of always turning to real meat!
All that being said... most of the time, my cats don't go for it
i like the fake a lot better than real. i became vegetarian because i always hated the taste of meat, even the smell nauseates me, but the soy ones are delicious. i LOOOOVEE boca and morningstar. i've only had the chicken nuggets/patties and burgers, but i am open to the corndogs and bacon =]
I've been a vegetarian for about a year and a half and ditched red meat about 6 months earlier. I do like faux meat products. I think that tofu and soy based things are delicious and I can hardly tell the difference at this point! I'm a huge fan of the boca vegan burgers (and/or beef crumbles), chik'n, and veggie link hot "dogs", Delicious, in my opinion.
Great post!
I'm not a vegetarian or vegan yet. I have been considering it and throwing the idea around in my mind. I have tried a few substitutes. The best by far are Boca's Flame Grilled. I doubt a person could taste the difference. I've tried tofu before it was okay. I want to try cheese substitutes are whatever they're called.
@TwoPts4Honesty@xanga - Unfortunately NONE of the Quorn products are vegan. They all contain egg whites. I wasnt too happy when I found that out.