There is a huge growing market of vegetarian food out there, and I have been a part of it for decades. I'm happy to report that in the last decade or so, a lot of companies are going mainstream with a variety of products and improved taste, less fat and calories and no cholesterol.
Taste is the key here. Veggie meat products have been around nearly forever, but, in my humble opinion, they all used to taste like flavored paste. Way back when, the first time I tried a veggie soy burger, it was almost not eatable, and I had to slather so much ketchup over the top that my friends asked me, “Having a little burger with your ketchup?”
The taste issue has changed dramatically over the last ten years. And while I still consume chicken and fish products, I almost never eat red meat. Instead I’ll look for a couple of my favorite veggie burgers to satisfy my cravings.
I decided to do a taste test of some of the veggie products I can get in my neck of the woods, which is central Wisconsin. If I can get these items here out in the backwoods, anyone should be able to find these items at a store or co-op near you.
One of my favorites are Field Roast Grain Meat products. They feature a complete variety of vegetarian meat products that are available in a wide variety of stores. For this test, I specifically tasted their Chipotle Corn Cutlet, and it was pretty darn good. I covered my cutlets with an organic ranch dressing, which improved but also altered the taste of the cutlet. For this test, I also ate one naked, and it very much tasted like what I remember veal tasting like from about 20 years ago. It was spicy and yummy, and I’ll definitely be having more.
If you are just looking for a good burger, here are a couple to try. Both the Morningstar Farm brand and Boca Burgers will satisfy your pallet when you are wanting to dig in to a burger, without having to worry about being a carnivore.
The Boca burger I tested was the Bruschetta Tomato Basil Parmesan, and the flavor was terrific. I used a marinara sauce as a topping, I ate two of them, and I'll admit, I probably could have eaten two more.
I tasted the Morningstar Griller Original, which is probably about as close to a regular burger that I have ever tasted that didn't contain meat. The texture is different, and it doesn’t really taste like a hamburger, but loading it up with ketchup and mustard and a slice of cheese, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference.
For you hot dog lovers, try a Yves brand meatless hot dog. I won’t say these are a staple in my diet, but I have eaten my share of them over the years. If I am throwing a get-together and want to give people a choice on what they would like to eat, Yves hot dogs go on the grill. I have tried other veggie hot dogs, and some are better than others, but for my taste, I’d go with a Yves meatless every time.
There are many brands of veggie meat items popping up nearly everywhere, and this is just a small sampling of what is available. I’m sure I could run the gamut and fill up a couple of pages with taste tests, but that really isn’t the gist of this article.
There are viable, tasty and healthy alternatives on your grocery store shelf if you want to kick the meat habit. Unlike those days of yester-year when all veggie products tasted like paste and had the consistency of cardboard, many of the ones on the market now rival the traditional meat produced kinds. But even with the taste tests I wrote about and Because Action speaks louder than words, you’ll have to let your own taste buds decide. Trust me on this, they are a lot better tasting then ever before!
Source: BecauseAction.com
