Favorite 'meat substitutes'?

My favorites:

Tofurkey hickory slices
Yves canadian Veggie Bacon
Boca Bratwurst (Great tasting - like Italian sausage)
Gardenburger "Riblets"

Issues:
Too much sodium in these
Some aren't organic/non-GMO

And whenever I get into NYC (not often enough) there's a restaurant called V2 - in the Village - that has great meat substitute meals - better than anything I've found in the market.

DeliSmart Veggie Ham, Turkey and I think they do Bologna too.
Chickie Patties by morningstar
Boca burgers
Silk

I don't care for many of the "fake meats." I don't like my food to resemble meat. You know, the soy sausages, bacon, pepperoni... etc. I don't want to be reminded of dead animal when i eat.

Man, those are fantastic, as are their chick-free patties. I also like SmartMenu's line, Tofurky, and GimmeLean "ground beef."

Tofurky & GimmeLean (both flavors are good, but we love the sausage flavor.) Also, SmartBacon isn't too bad - especially in a BLT with loads of Vegenaise & a ripe juciy tomato.

I must say I would not be able to be vegan without vegenaise. I'm a 'naise addict! And my non-veg friends who I've slipped some vegenaise actually like it better than real mayo, that stuff is fantastic! :)

Mmm.. :)

Actually almost anything by Morningstar Farms is good.

I don't know what I'd do without their frozen recipe crumbles! I love the Grillers, too...they're my all-time favorite veggie burger. :thumbsup:

I eat them every day.

Can't remember the exact product name.

...taste just like chicken, without the dead animal "afternotes".

Also love tofu. Especially using tofu in Thai stir fry dishes! Hhmm. Yummy. :9

Yummy! I usually have a hard time with soy products, but the Quorn products don't upset my stomach like many others. I still don't know why that is. Does anyone else have problems with soy?

Maybe that's why it doesn't bother you?

A friend of mine who introduced me to them said they were made from soy. She'll be surprised to find out that they're a fungus.

Quorn™ foods are made with mycoprotein, from the fungi family - and a relative of mushrooms, truffles, and morel, that offers a strong nutritional profile and an authentic meat-like texture. Quorn™ foods' wholesome and great-tasting meals and snacks have been enjoyed in Europe for nearly 17 years, and the good news is this exciting new food choice is now available in the U.S.!

http://www.quorn.us/

:9

Boca Chick'n products
Veggie Patch meatless Chick'n Strips and their Meatless Meatballs/ no GMO's

and Tofu, the staple

I get them at Trader Joes although I think they are widely available.

LOVE THEM!!!!!!!

I don't like the taste of meat so I don't want to eat anything that is reminiscent of meat.

Soya Wadi, It's TVP bought by the bag full at Indian Grocery Stores.

Extra Firm Tofu, Drained, Frozen and then thawed (chewy texture, worth the extra work)

But I'll eat anything that doesn't have meat in it.

Never heard of either of these. You drain the tofu before you freeze it, right? Sounds good!

And freeze it, and then thaw it, It changes the texture. You can cut it either before or after you freeze it.

I also get TVP in bulk from a local Seventh-Day Adventist run grocery store. They're pretty good and about 1/5th the price of the frozen crumbles.

My all-time favorite meat substitute is homemade wheat-gluten "ribs"; they are a bit of a project to make, but are fantastic, even meat eaters become instantly addicted.

I made some once and it didn't come out that good. But I've had it at an all vegetarian Chinese restaurant and it was sooooo yummy.

Mock duck and other goodies. Some brands have MSG, some don't. Read the label.

If you want to make your own, I recommend using vital wheat gluten (buy it in bulk) and using the recipes over at vegsource. Here's one for "corned beef" http://www.vegsource.com/articles/bryanna_corned_beef.htm

That's what finally made it possible for me! Mix the gluten flour with spices, bit of soy sauce & water, boil in seasoned broth for 30-45 mins. Then I just keep it in the fridge & mix with homemade BBQ sauce for a quick meal! One of my favorites.

I eat LOTS of garlic Bocaburger, marinated tofu, BocaBrats, etc. Fallafel, especially with Tahini sauce or blue cheese (oops - I'm not into this all the way). I make veggie chili now and then. And who could resist portabellos? There's a restaurant nearby that cooks them better than any filet mignon I ever tasted. Mmmm. I'm getting hungry.

Then there's just plain salad. I just fill up with three of everything in the produce section, come home and chop it all up and add olive oil and a touch of balsamic. The nice thing about salad - you can gorge with no ill effects.

marinate 'em a bit, grill 'em up. Yum!

:hi:

Gardenburger Grilled Chicken - great on a salad or with pasta
Gardenburger BBQ Chicken
Morningstar "Bacon" and "sausages"

I also use TVP in a lot of meals at home (Tacos, sloppy joes, soups and stews).

I know someone people like the fake meat thing is weird, but I mostly use it as a quick, easy to prepare source of protein.

but that's about it. I usually don't go the fake meat route.

mock duck. Fried seasoned tempeh - I was very surprised at how good this is. Fake bacon made from yuba aka bean curd skins. Added: and tvp that I rehydrate and season in bulk, then freeze in packages for quick use.

I'm trying to cut down on the expense and corporate ties of the premade fakes although I occasionally succumb to the glories of Boca Bratwurst and those darn yummy Riblets.

Mostly though I eat piles of beans and grains.

My son and I are both highly allergic to MSG (I end up in the hospital in atrial fib). MSG is often added to other ingredients and these do not require MSG being listed on the label, and unfortunately meat alternatives are loaded with those - autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, socium caseinate, yeast extract, and soy protein isolate to name a few. I was a vegan for years, and devloped by severe MSG allergy during that time. I had to go off all prepackaged meat alternatives, and start making my own. I make lentil loaf, fallafel, bean burgers. We now are a vegetarian-friendly family (son has so many food allergies we had to go to eating meat when he was little, because at the time only foods he wasn't allergic to were chicken, brown rice, and green beans). We eat vegetarian most of the time but occassionally eat organically raised meats. My family still prefers my lentil loaf to meat loaf.

I always just try to let people know of the MSG risk with meat alternatives, because that stuff is poison. I have written letters for years trying to get ALL MSG labeled on foods, ,but I've just about given up, so I just don't buy any prepackaged foods.

But I certainly thank you for posting that!

:-)

On whole wheat Hoagy buns, with sauteed onions and yellow mustard. Wow!

I'm full...

I didn't like meat to start with, kwim?

container. No seasonings, no flourishes whatsoever. It's really odd in a seasoning happy family, but she's easy to feed.

I just wish they weren't all frozen together. It makes it hard to get one out without defrosting the whole package. It's do-able but a pain.

If you boil them, they are especially good and you can get them really hot without drying them out.

is totally indistinguishable from real brats. Several times I've served them to my more carnivorous friends and family and they've never been able to tell the difference, which is no small feat considering I'm half German and live in Wisconsin. :) The shape is really the only thing that gives them away.

I also like gardenburger.

But my favorite is just using temphe. It's great bbq'd

although it's so close to the real thing it's sometimes scary.
similar with gardenburger riblets! scary!

Boca Crumbles
Boca Smoked "Sausages"
Morningstar Farms "Chicken" Patties.
Gardenburger "Riblets"

DH likes the Morningstar Farms breakfast "sausage" links too but I don't care for those so much. Their fake bacon is excellent though.

Morning Star EVERYTHING (veggie burgers especially, and the "chicken" nuggets... better than any chicken i've ever had).

Another note... although I don't fully boycott Phillip Morris, I've tried to cut my consumption of Boca Burgers down to a bare minimum. Besides, I like Morning Star's stuff better. Gardenburger's stuff is decent too.

It also seems weirdly hypocritical of them. *shrug* Oh well, just motivation to find out how Morning Star's stuff tastes I guess!

from Lumen foods:

http://www.soybean.com/snack_ecart.htm

I find it very addictive!

-wildflower