Are meat substitutes healthy?
This question is tricky, because it depends on the meat substitute. Veggie burgers can be home made such as this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-of-Everything-Veggie-Burgers/Detail.aspx I would not consider something like that unhealthy. It's all made from ingredients that you could find in the produce isle or not far from it. However, you seem to be interested in stuff you can find in the freezer department, like Boca. It depends on how paranoid you are, really. Ready for a long-winded answer? Boca Burgers are fortified with protein and iron--both of which are usually found in red meat. That's great! However, you're right about these kind of burgers being a bit... unnatural. Here's the ingredient list, if you'd like to check it out: http://www.bocaburger.com/products/nutrition-info.aspx?product=5928367321 If not, I have it all laid out for you, just keep reading. I'm not sure a Boca Burger can actually be considered a "veggie" burger. Their All American Flame Grilled burger doesn't contain a single vegetable besides dried onions and some concentrated soy protein. Boca Burgers also contain hydrolyzed protein, which can turn into MSG in the body. Some people believe that MSG is harmful, and a few countries have banned it as an additive to food. Disodium inosinate, another additive in Boca burgers can form MSG, but not as readily as hydrolyzed protein. Disodium guanylate is not recommended for asthmatics. Methylcellulose isn't necessarily bad for you, but the idea of eating a gel, in my opinion, is not that great. It's always good to follow the rule of moderation when eating foods like these. :) Eaten occasionally, Boca burgers are perfectly fine! But if you're having five a week, you might have some problems down the road.
Why do many people believe that soy burgers and meat substitutes are "less vegan" than broccoli, corn, and carrots?
I am not sure what you mean by less Vegan but being Vegan makes you more creative about food. There is something called a homemade garden burger and they are delicious (my favorite). Ironically I have made burgers with broccoli, corn and carrots before and its delicious. Some ingredients that can be used to make a delicious patty (can mix and match): Soy, beans, mushrooms, ground up carrots, ground up flaxseed, broccoli, corn, peas, jalapeno, onion, green onion tomato and green leaves/lettuce can be added to it Can be made Raw Vegan and cooked versions.
Are vegetable meat substitutes good for me?
The answer to your question is not as simple as you might expect. This is because of wide variety of companies making vegetarian meat substitutes, with different ingredients and production methods. The more processed a food is, the less healthy it becomes. So, as veggie bacon, ham, chicken, etc., are all processed to create that meaty effect, they would be the least healthy of all (although, not necessarily unhealthy). Any artificial colours or flavours, or preservatives will drop the healthiness as well. Here is the inside scoop on Subway's veggie patty: VegiMax ingredients: Vegetables (mushroom, water chestnuts, onions, carrots, green and red bell peppers, black olives), textured vegetable protein (soy protein consentrate, wheat gluten), egg whites, cooked brown rice, rolled oats, corn oil, calcium caseinate, soy sauce (water, soybeans, salt,wheat) Contains 2% or less of the following: onion powder, cornstarch, salt, hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat protein, sucrose, soy protein isolate, spices, garlic powder, dextrose, jalapeno pepper powder, celery extract. VegiMax nutritional information: Calories 390, Protein (g) 24, Carbohydrates (g) 56, Sugar 7, Fat (g) 8, Sat. Fat (g) 1.5, Cholesterol (mg) 10, Sodium (mg) 1030, Dietary Fiber (g) 7. It is very healthy, indeed. And, yes - they are delicious! When it comes to the food value of veggies, fresher is always better because all the beneficial enzymes are still alive and vibrant and the vitamins and minerals are all at their highest. But a lot of meat substitutes are still very, very healthy. However, the best kind of meat substitutes are those you make yourself. You can find amazing recipes for all kinds of them on websites such as fatfreevegan.com. Just google "meat substitute recipe" or "veggie meat recipe" and see what you get. Good luck!
As an ardent meat-eater who dabbles in vegetarian cooking, I would say that there are no good commercially available meat substitutes, and if you're looking for something to put on a meat and two veg-plate instead of the meat, you will be sorely disappointed.I am not saying that there isn't tasty vegetarian and vegan food (because there totally is), or that things like soy protein and quorn don't have a place (if you're adamant about going veggie and like convenience food, they're awesome). I'm saying that there is nothing that can, one for one, replace meat in a meat-based recipe, and if you try, all you will end up with is a sad and sorry carbon copy. In commercial meat replacements fat content is off, salt content is off, texture is at least slightly off. You can adjust those, of course (searing to create caramelization, adding salt and fat, seasoning), but that requires treating them as ingredients in their own right rather than a meat replacement, which, in my opinion, is as things should be. Also, I've seen several recommendations of things like beans and quinoa, which I refuse to consider meat substitutes, since they require different cooking methods and fill a rather different niche in most cuisines. They are definitely not bad foods, quite the opposite, but there are few applications in which they can replace meat.You are far better off throwing out what you know about meat-based cooking and re-learning to cook. Start by looking at cuisines that have traditional vegetable based dishes like Indian, Chinese and Mediterranean. Daal curry and rice is delicious. Pasta and pesto is delicious. Hummus and pita bread is delicious. Tabbouleh is delicious. Nachos with pico de gallo, guacamole and refried beans is delicious. Stir-fried noodles with vegetables and tofu is delicious (if you treat the tofu right, but that's a different topic). I'm certain you can find more.
Meat substitutes that taste like real meat?
Well, no meat substitute is going to taste exactly like meat, but there are a few that I tolerate more than others (though I rarely eat mock meat). Yves Veggie Ground Round is good in place of ground beef, like in spaghetti sauce, cabbage rolls, chilli, etc. TVP or regular old beans also work well. I've tried a few Gardien items that were actually pretty tasty (my boyfriend's parents sometimes make them for us when we are over for dinner), particularly the "chick'n" and "turk'y" cutlets ( the "beef" items, not so much). Personally, I prefer homemade bean burgers over store-bought veggie burgers (look up some recipes! http://ohsheglows.com/2012/07/03/spicy-b... ). Marinated portobello mushroom caps or slices of eggplant are also good substitutes for beef patties.
Veg*n do you eat 'meat substitutes' that taste like real meat?
Meat substitutes are great for anybody who goes veggie for health, environment, social or other reasons :-) I never did hate the taste of meat (which does not mean I would have liked all of them, many things grossed me out, like bacon or steak for example), but I DID and DO hate what the meat coming from animals does to my body. So what could be a better solution then eating "meat" made from plant sources and plant proteins :-)? By the way, in Asia most vegetarians eat "meat substitutes" since thousands of years, and those veggie "meats" are so realistic (up to fake skin and fake bones - see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_duck ) that it is almost a little bit too much, even for me. I just like savory tastes, and grew up with meat, so I want the same savory tastes and dishes - yet of course without killing and all the health destruction. In the end the only thing that counts is that it is veggie, so for each vegetarian and vegan his own palate and his own choices :-) I am aware nevertheless that some hateful (and not very intelligent) meat eaters think they would be totally smart and pointing out "how can you eat something that tastes and looks like meat if you are a vegetarian". Well, I guess THIS dumb question is only a problem for somebody who goes veggie or vegan due to hating meat... If you tell everybody that you hate the TASTE of meat and THEN eat an almost identically like meat tasting veggie burger or something, you indeed would turn into a hypocrite :-/ But I guess only a friction of veggies and vegans would have such a problem. I have so many reasons for being veggie, the biggest ones are the health and the environment, and also the world hunger question (since eating meat hugely destroys all the resources which could - in plant form - feed the world). Why should many people hate the taste of meat? If meat would taste bad to everybody then the entire world would be already vegetarian, considering how much it ruins the health and the environment and all our resources, not to speak about all the uselessly killed animals, just to please peoples palates. I predict that veggie burgers and sausages and other veggie meats will be getting even more and more popular in future, as the resources go more and more scarce and the prices for animal meat will ultimately skyrocket :-)
I am afraid that only you can answer the question concerning your motivation definitively.Where you kept from trying out other, new dishes by eating substitutes? Maybe.However I would assume that they played a large role in your diet because that was the part that meat used to play. “Some veggies, starch and meat.”That by itself is harmful. Replacing the meat with a substitute does not make it healthier per se, although it does reduce animal suffering.In German we have a term for a vegetarian who fills the void in his diet with more sweets and fast food: A pudding vegetarian. This can lead to malnutrition or overweight.But by themselves, the meat substitutes would not have caused these problems. They are just part of the bigger picture (other food, sport etc.)Even if your motivation suffered to try other things, this does not lead to the conclusion that vegan meat substitutes by themselves are subversive to a vegan diet.For many they provide an enjoyable transitional solution, easing the way from one end of the spectrum to the other.I like to use tofu sausages sometimes, not because they remind me of meat (never ate it) but because they taste good in their own right.Unfortunately, not all meat substitutes are equally healthy. Some are mainly veggies and maybe some beans, for example some of these burgers:The 8 Best Frozen Veggie Burgers You Can Find Pretty Much AnywhereOthers are overly processed, lack any nutritional value and simply taste well.So, depending on the products that you ate, the effect on your health can vary.As with anything you buy: Make sure you know what is inside!If you like cooking, you can try to make your own burger patties, or meatballs or whatever else you crave. The internet is full of delicious recipes (there are even some for vegan blue mold cheese…) or you might invest in a good cookbook and be inspired.In any case, changing your diet should always be followed (or ideally preceded) by evaluating whether you are getting a varied, nutritious diet with enough vitamins, protein and all the other good stuff we need.I hope that you can still appreciate the vegan diet, and find a good way for yourself to satisfy for cravings (in moderation) and eat healthily.I really hope your health improves and wish you all the best!Thanks for the A2A, Anthony.
They don't. Only the vegetarians who grew up in a primarily non-vegetarian culture do that. I grew up in a vegetarian culture (in India), and no one in that culture craves anything resembling meat at all. If anything, they look at mushrooms with disgust because its a fungus, and barely tolerate soy and tofu on rare occasions.Some 500 million people in India are vegetarians (compared to say 7 million in the US), and having grown up there as a vegetarian I can say I have never met a single person who wants a 'meat substitute'. Why would you want a substitute for something that you despise out of disgust? I am not sure how many % of that forms the world's vegetarians, but I am inclined to think a good chunk. So my point here is: no, vegetarians in general don't want meat substitutes. Maybe some vegetarians in some corners of the world do, thats probably because they came from a meat-eating background.Some people have a misconception that vegetarian meals are salads. Vegetarian meals consist primarily of rice, wheat (staples), vegetables, tubers (potatoes and the like), lentils, chickpeas, flour and flour-based foods, corn, sugars, milk, yogurt, cheese and recipes made with those. When you're eating super-tasty (and often fried, unhealthy) foods made with those things, there's no way you crave flesh, blood and bones.Myself, I started eating meat recently (for the sake of protein with fewer calories) but I have to force myself into it. There's no way I crave it or prefer it. I don't think I ever would. Given a choice, I would pick what my head signals as "real food" over animal matter. I have to make a serious mental effort to go pick up the meat and eat it. And then not puke it.
Why do people say that soy is unhealthy for you?
There are few reasons people are telling you soy is bad. Here are a few: 1.) Soy contains phytoestrogens which is a plant version of estrogen. Estogen can either speed up or decrease the cancer cells in the breast. The American Cancer Society encourages those with estrogen-responsive cancers to limit their intake of soy. Also if you have cancer or are at risk of cancer consult your doctor to discuss your soy intake. 2.) Soy intake may increase the risk of dementia. Research shows a doubled risk of dementia over the age of 65 with high intake of soy. 3.) Some contents in soy keep the body from ingesting nutrients properly. The phytic acid in soy interferes with assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Soy intake also increases the body's need for both vitamins B12 and D. 4.) Soy is a source of aluminum, which, with high intake, can cause damage to vital organs. I would make sure that you consult your doctor, just to make sure.
I'm gonna be real honest here . I'm from California and eat alternative types of cuisine often . However I'm not a soy chef it just sounded funny sous chef . Sous vie whatever will be will be. I'm more of a professional gardener and even with the best grains and veggies passionately homegrown , I couldn't make a plant based burger that tastes superior to average rainforest destroying methane producing usda prime grade 80/20 ground beef .I know they pressure wash the carcass ! Right along the cartilage that would produce mad cow disease . I know they finish the poor big eyed beast in a feedyard until it's morbidly obese .after putting it huge boat from Brazil! So better for our precious planet yes that's very apparent . Better tasting plant based is actually very possible it would take too much effort however and the US is elitist , imperialistic , and very dumb as a whole . So good luck convincing a lot of Trump voting Midwesterners to give up their beef burgers.