RetroFed
If You’re Afraid of Vegan Meat, You’re Being Played
Sunshinehttps://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/the-irony-of-calling-vegan-meat-unhealthy
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Those are the same people that eat fast food. Who is really eating ultra processed foods?
Picked up sonme impossible dogs, because hot dogs have a low ceiling. It was good enough for me!
I usually go meatless as opposed to meat substitutes, but it was fun to try these out.
TiredTigerI like the impossible dogs. My only issue with them is that they don’t hold together well. The taste and texture are otherwise on point. I’ve tried other vegan hot dogs and they were absolutely vile.
I also really like the impossible chicken nuggets, though I think fake chicken is something that’s already been done well before.
Tons of people? I don’t see why not give them an easy entry point to go vegan. They’re already used to hyper palatable foods, providing an alternative that’s hyper palatable as well is better than not.
Phrased what I said earlier really horribly. I’m not against vegan meat at all I think they are a really good idea!
ChristchurchAssholeEvery day I’m eating a cup full of seed oil slop. I’m all for these alternate products like bean or lentil patties but I’d rather make them myself and save money and use olive oil only.
I always wondered why it made me feel ill and it’s because it’s overused. I actively cut down how much I eat because it’s gross anyway. Try eating a mars bar or similar when it’s 10% oil. Revolting!
IMHO that’s an issue of eating too much fat in general, not seed oil in particular.
Nah I don’t eat much fat I’m pretty thin but as soon as I eat a kit kat that’s filled with oil and sugar I instantly feel ill.
What makes so confident that it’s caused by unhealthy seed oils? There are numerous other ingredients that may cause that, you might have an intolerance/allergy etc. Geneally speaking, olive oil is not healthier than canola. And seed oils are not unhealthy. Especially not if you compare them to animal-based fats.
queermunist she/herIt’s still expensive junk food. I’ll eat all that shit, don’t get me wrong, but it has to be a sometimes food.
The only reason I’m wary of any vegan meat is because I have a terrible soy intolerance. Almost all the stuff at my local grocery store that’s ‘meatless’ is soy based. For a while they carried a brand that was pea protein based, and it was delicious. Sadly, that brand is not in stock anymore.
It may not be in your local grocery store but try seitan. You can make it from vital wheat gluten or even just from wheat flour, if you’re willing to use some elbow grease.
ProdigalFrogThere’s also Meati (Mushroom), Jack & Annie’s (Jackfruit), and Quorn (Mushroom), which are all fantastic.
Last time I looked Quorn mince has egg in it, so be careful with their products.
Ah, you’re right, they’re only vegetarian unfortunately, not vegan.
I ate a heavy soy based diet for years and it left me with a soy food allergy because of the soy processing.
peoflorI love the vegan croquettes I buy at the supermarket, even though they might be ultra-processed and I’m not vegan.
djdarrenI’m not afraid of it, just mostly had bad experiences with it.
Fr. I worked at whole foods. I tried it all. Shit is not good.
I’ve heard a few times already that they’re terrible in the US and pretty good in the EU, so that might be why you’re seeing such a discrepancy…
Could be, I remember a guy working the pizza area messed up and put the beyond chicken on the bbq chicken pizza back when beyond meat was a brand new thing. I had to return it. I didn’t know it was beyond chicken, but I thought it had gone bad or something because it was so gross. We also had a seitan vendor come in and try to sell wheat meat… Gross. A number of sausages, hot dogs, etc. gross. I am a meat eater, but I have an open mind and will try anything. I personally believe if you want to go vegetarian or vegan, you can just do that. No need to eat ultra processed food that looks kinda like meat and tastes horrible. I will say, one of the fake chorizos was somewhat tolerable.
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Not vegan, but I sub for this quite a lot. The last 10 years have been great for getting it to taste and feel like the real thing.
I am glad to see it getting better flavored and textures.
I usually just get veg and grains instead, reduced meat consumption and often have a few meals without any meat and it doesn’t need vegan meat either. Rice and pasta dishes mostly. Sometimes a bean stew.
Would like to find more cheap, tasty and healthy meals to add some more variety. Usually cook the same/similar foods several days in a row as otherwise it gets expensive buying so many different ingredients. Lots of carrots and potatoes, usually roasted or mashed.
Lentils? 😅
If you get red lentils, they don’t need pre-soaking for making them less farty, and they cook much quicker, too.
Love this. I’ve been making nice lentil flatbread thingies for a while that I love, but usually out of yellows. I will snag some reds so I can mix it up and make different colors.
Ah yeah, I believe, yellow lentils are also often split/dehulled, which gives them the same properties.
I guess, there’s almost certainly going to be some shops that sell red lentils with hull, so to be more precise, you want red lentils that look frizzy and not entirely round, like the red lentils in this picture:
Also not a vegan, but I often buy meat replacement products (because I’m a bad and uncreative cook…).
One thing I’ll say though - the price, range and quality of alternative meats available in Europe blows whatever we can get in North America out of the water. You can get vegan cold cut likes for the same price as meat over there, and they are fantastic. I wish I could get that stuff here.
(Yes, they should be way cheaper than meat, but won’t be as long as meat subsidies and lower sales volume are a thing)
Edit: swipe typing shenanigans
Yeah, I feel like from the outside, it is easy to get the impression that vegan diets include lots of processed foods, because: 1) Lentils don’t have a marketing budget.
2) Humans tend to overestimate the importance of foods that they regularly consume, so meat eaters are likely to believe that you need lab-grown meat or some ultra-processed meat replica.
My partner and I have been vegetarian for 6ish years. Her parents are meat 2-3 times a day people. We had them over for dinner. I made a vegetable ragout with chickpeas, didn’t use any meat substitutes because I wanted to show off how good vegetables can be on their own. They both loved it. Not enough to go vegetarian, but enough to see that we’re not missing out on anything by not eating meat.
Noy a vegan, nor a rabid carnivore. I do have FODMAP dietary issues though, which makes pretty much all of these meat substitutes almost poisonous to me.
Tbh I want to eventually become vegan, once I move out and choose what I buy
Oh man, yeah, I had semi thought about doing that when I moved out, bought actual cheese once afterwards, and then realized the shops had vegan alternatives for pretty much everything I wanted. Like, I barely had to try.1
Your mileage may vary. 🥴 ↩
I’m not a vegan. That being said, the various companies have been doing a good job at getting closer to replicating the things about meat that I like: flavor, texture, ability to retain moisture, and others. I still think they have a long way to go, but they ARE improving. I’m also open to the concept of vat/laboratory grown meat. Where fat/cholesterol content can be controlled without harming animals/environment. I look forward to the future.
I dont like the meat flavored substitutes, the artificial flavoring sucks ass (derogatory).
Just give me a bean flavored burger instead.
Just to balance out the other commenters - I am vegan and I do eat those meat substitutes occasionally. They taste nice, it’s really not that deep.
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Impossible meat is pretty incredible IMO. I was able to convert my entire family, who were meat eaters their entire lives, off of beef thanks to how excellent impossible meat is in all of our favorite beef dishes.
I think it’s very useful to help wean people off of real meat, who may have many traditional family recipes that they may miss quite a lot, where veggies can’t quite replicate the taste.
I’ve also found Meati brand mushroom based steaks to be super good, and extremely close to a real steak.
And Jack & Annie’s makes an awesome jackfruit based sliced steak substitute that’s incredible for cheese steak sub rolls. None of those specific brands are particularly unhealthy either.
Exactly, no one needs fake meat. A portobello burger is delicious, much cheaper, and far more nutritious.
If I ask for a burger and you give me a good fake meat patty, I’m happy.
If I ask for a burger and you give me a mushroom sandwich or bruschetta or anything like that, I will check for signs of stroke in both of us
Its pretty incredible that its as good as it is given that taste imitation is a fully new field of science, and barely any money has been invested. Lab grown meat has the advantage of pulling from organ growing science which has been around for a long time now.
The bias in that article is hilarious.
Yes, vegan foods are ultra processed, and no, no one needs to eat that shit and still be vegan or vegetarian.
I am not vegan yet but my sister is. I make — in my opinion — the best vegan burgers in the world. I lean into beets and sweet potato: awesome. I am not venturing into the pretending it is meat territory because I don’t really see the point. And that’s it, I guess. Why should I feel compelled to mimic chicken or beef when the alternatives are amazing in their own right?
I am not afraid of the vegan meat industry; I see it as a pointless waste because why bother to mimic something that demographic supposedly doesn’t even want? It is so easy to make a succulent vegan meal. The cynic in me is saying this is a trap to keep you tied to meat-o-sphere, even if you are not the one consuming it directly.
Not a vegan but have tried and use a few of them. The Impossible branded “meat” is my favorite. I did not notice a difference in taste or texture.
The pea protein based “meat” is not great. I find it has a smell and taste than can be off putting if not seasoned well. I still use it but mostly in thinhs like chili or other heavily seasoned dishes where the protein isn’t nessarily the star of the dish.
Overall, I feel the meat replacements like the impossible or beyond products exist for people who need to reduce/eliminate thier consumption of meat for health reasons and they don’t want to call them selves vegan.
Another note, my sister is vegan and I asked her about them. She is not a fan as they are too “similar” to, what she thinks meat taste like. I don’t typically buy it for her when she visits. I simply keep tofu and mushrooms on hand for her. If I am feeling like making a special treat, I’ll marinade and smoke the tofu and mushrooms for her.