[Missjef]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what the best meat alternatives are out there? As i'm finding it really hard liking any of the veggie sausages - although i actually prefer Quorn chicken to the real thing!

I've given up meat for Lent in a hope that i will carry on being a vegetarian, even though i really miss meat especially sausages/bacon!
I've tried Linda Mcartney sausages & Qourn ones which i didn't like although i loved Linda M's Country Pies!

So any suggestions to the best food to try let me know!

Missjef

[kimindex]

Quorn or soya mince is good for chillies, bolognese, anything that you'd use meat mince for.

Tesco mushroom burgers are lovely.

Holland & Barrett quorn scotch eggs are OK, as are the quorn mini ones. The quorn Brussels-type pate is OK. Veggie hot dogs are good in a bun (of course!) with onions and mustard.

And my favourite sausages, outside Linda M, are Quorn Red Leicester and Onion sausages. The Quorn broccoli and cheese escalopes are nice.

Favourite meat-like burgers are Quorn beef style and red onion.

[fainéant]

My teenager has decided to become vegetarian and it has been difficult finding alternatives. I have come to the conclusion that meat substitutes are actually missing the point and it is much more appetising to just stick to non-meat produce and acquire new tastes.

btw The term cold turkey comes to mind.

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainéant

My teenager has decided to become vegetarian and it has been difficult finding alternatives. I have come to the conclusion that meat substitutes are actually missing the point and it is much more appetising to just stick to non-meat produce and acquire new tastes.

btw The term cold turkey comes to mind.

The point (IMO) is not eating meat.

[Missjef]

Since giving up meat, i've also discovered that nowhere seems to offer many vegetarian options usually like one or two which i think is a shame in this day and age. Its really opened my eyes, as i assumed everywhere nowadays would be a lot more 'veggie-friendly' but apparently not. There's not even that much of a selection of meat alternatives in the supermarket - which makes me glad im not vegan!!

Oh i had Quorn mince the other day in a lovely bolognese that was delish!

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missjef

Since giving up meat, i've also discovered that nowhere seems to offer many vegetarian options usually like one or two which i think is a shame in this day and age. Its really opened my eyes, as i assumed everywhere nowadays would be a lot more 'veggie-friendly' but apparently not. There's not even that much of a selection of meat alternatives in the supermarket - which makes me glad im not vegan!!

Oh i had Quorn mince the other day in a lovely bolognese that was delish!

Yep, you often in pubs still get only a veggie burger or a broccoli and cheese bake (which I like, now and then) and, in some restaurants, it's a pasta dish with roasted vegetables at a vastly inflated price. But, having said that, down here, we are quite lucky that many restaurants are more imaginative than that. But I have stopped eating out very much because I'd rather cook at home, than pay through the nose for the said pasta dish (not that's the only reason for eating out!).

[stud u like]

Being a vegetarian some days and some days not, it is not exactly ideal especially when in foreign climes where they have no idea what a vegetarian is and also find it strange that some days I just eat meat and other days vegetables and meat and some days just vegetables. Some days I just eat fruit. Very confusing. I guess it is knowing your body and also personal taste.

I know I could give up meat totally as the vegetarian days outnumber the meat days.

[mirabelle]

Quorn mince - yuk. Realeat mince -yum.

Quorn chicken breasts - yuk. Chicken escalopes - yum (think its the cheese and other items that take away the flavour)

Chicken dippers - yum.

Chicken Kievs - yum

Cauldron sausauges- yum, taste of stuffing. Not tried the others they don't appeal

Mushroom burgers - yum, can't remember what shop it was.

The broccoli cheese bakes from Asda were nice but gone off those. The other ones from Asda are yuk.

The burgers own brand ones that are suppose to be beef. Yum but not if you over or undercook them.

Paneer cheese is like eating chicken, well it was in India. I have brought some Indian brand paneer this week in the hope to get that yummyness. But alwaYs a good alternative.

As for bacon its the one thing veggies tend to crave and give in. I never really liked it so don#t miss it sorry. I can tell y ou however the fake bacon tastes of frazzles

[HALibutt]

I also love those Linda M Country Pies - luvly with home made cheesy mash and fresh veg and veggie gravy. YUMMO!
I also buy the quorn and mushroom ones which are lovely too.

I buy quorn sausages mostly - and the quorn quarter pounder burgers u buy in the freezer are also nice.

I try all different quorn and veggie products all the time - either fresh or frozen ones - and Holland and Barrett is usually a good hunting ground for stuff - not just the supermarkets.

I use Quorn mince in bolognaise - but soya mince in things like shepherds pies as I prefer it, and I'm just weird like that.

I have a recipe somewhere for a shepherds pie made with lentils and topped with mash, it looks delish - so meat doesnt always have to be replaced with a meat substitute.

I eat tons of pasta with pesto or all different shop bought or home made tom sauces too. Have not eaten meat in over 20 years now.

[choc_sprinkles]

On the subject of veggie sausages, I've found that the best thing to do is to buy dry sos mix. You can find this in most supermarkets, and also places like holland and barretts etc.

In my opinion it's way nicer than all the ready made veggie sausages, and because it's dry, you can add in your own ingredients when you make it up, such as fresh onion and herbs etc.

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by choc_sprinkles

On the subject of veggie sausages, I've found that the best thing to do is to buy dry sos mix. You can find this in most supermarkets, and also places like holland and barretts etc.

In my opinion it's way nicer than all the ready made veggie sausages, and because it's dry, you can add in your own ingredients when you make it up, such as fresh onion and herbs etc.

I haven't tried those. I must!

[indianwells]

Get a big field mushroom, dot it with butter, add salt and pepper, parsley and chopped garlic. Finally grate some cheese on it then bung in the oven until soft. Put in a bun as a burger. In fact I prefer it to a burger.

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indianwells

Get a big field mushroom, dot it with butter, add salt and pepper, parsley and chopped garlic. Finally grate some cheese on it then bung in the oven until soft. Put in a bun as a burger. In fact I prefer it to a burger.

Oh, I really fancy that right now!

[indianwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimindex

Oh, I really fancy that right now!

It's beautiful Kim, before assembling I press the cut side of the bun into any of the dark juices that have leached out on to the baking tray.
I saw it a few years back, Nigella Lawson did it on a Nigel Slater programme I think.

[fainéant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimindex

The point (IMO) is not eating meat.

Fair enough. I haven't looked into the ideology of it, just tried to replace her diet with equivalent non-meat produce and came to the conclusion that there was better and far more choice available. We don't tend to eat much processed food and these meat-free alternatives were pushing her in that direction.

Also to illustrate a point, may I compare this with giving up chocolate for lent and looking for the same but with a cocoa substitute so that you get the same pleasure but without the guilt?

[Altheya]

There's a recipe to make veggie cheese and oinion sausages from scratch in Simon Rimmer's 'Accidental vegetarian' book. Not tried it yet but it looked fairly simple. I'll try and put it up here over the weekend

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainéant

Fair enough. I haven't looked into the ideology of it, just tried to replace her diet with equivalent non-meat produce and came to the conclusion that there was better and far more choice available. We don't tend to eat much processed food and these meat-free alternatives were pushing her in that direction.

Also to illustrate a point, may I compare this with giving up chocolate for lent and looking for the same but with a cocoa substitute so that you get the same pleasure but without the guilt?

If you like. It seems to me as if you think it's cheating or something. That's your prerogative, of course even though it isn't the point, as far as I'm concerned. And, because you sometimes eat soya mince in a bolognese etc, doesn't mean you lack imagination and don't eat lots of other cooked from scratch food, as well. It doesn't mean you only eat processed food.

[mirabelle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainéant

Fair enough. I haven't looked into the ideology of it, just tried to replace her diet with equivalent non-meat produce and came to the conclusion that there was better and far more choice available. We don't tend to eat much processed food and these meat-free alternatives were pushing her in that direction.

Also to illustrate a point, may I compare this with giving up chocolate for lent and looking for the same but with a cocoa substitute so that you get the same pleasure but without the guilt?

I've given up chocolate for lent and to me that means all forms of chocolate whats this cocoa substitute you talk of? Probably wou;dn't eat it as that to me cheating. Vegetarian is a choice to not eat meat, I still use animal products so replacing meat to me sometimes you need that grrr food

[fainéant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimindex

If you like. It seems to me as if you think it's cheating or something. That's your prerogative, of course even though it isn't the point, as far as I'm concerned. And, because you sometimes eat soya mince in a bolognese etc, doesn't mean you lack imagination and don't eat lots of other cooked from scratch food, as well. It doesn't mean you only eat processed food.

No, I don't think it is cheating so apologies if I conveyed that to you. What I am trying to say is that concentrating on maintaining taste through meat free substitutes is a rather narrow view and by embracing the wider choice available you can be more successful in making the change. You still get pleasure from your food but it is a non-meat tasting pleasure.

[fainéant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirabelle

I've given up chocolate for lent and to me that means all forms of chocolate whats this cocoa substitute you talk of? Probably wou;dn't eat it as that to me cheating. Vegetarian is a choice to not eat meat, I still use animal products so replacing meat to me sometimes you need that grrr food

Palm oil can be used as a cocoa substitute. Cadbury's have tried it in their main ranges but it was not popular so they reverted to cocoa.

[sligorox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missjef

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what the best meat alternatives are out there? As i'm finding it really hard liking any of the veggie sausages - although i actually prefer Quorn chicken to the real thing!

I've given up meat for Lent in a hope that i will carry on being a vegetarian, even though i really miss meat especially sausages/bacon!
I've tried Linda Mcartney sausages & Qourn ones which i didn't like although i loved Linda M's Country Pies!

So any suggestions to the best food to try let me know!

Missjef

I don't use meat substitutes that often as I don't particularly find I need to. There are plenty of yummy, healthy dishes that don't involve replacing the meat component of a meaty meal with a vegetarian substitute.

These are two very comprehensive websites that I usually head to first for inspiration:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/vegetarian/index.html
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/vegetarian/

There are some meat substitutes that I do like though; it's definitely worth trying a few different ones as some will be to your taste and some won't. It might also be worth having a few weeks without any meat substitutes, so that you're not directly comparing the taste of meat with the taste of the meat substitute.

I like quorn ham on pizza. Fake bacon tends to be a bit thick and cardboardy, but the texture of the ham is nicer. You can even cut the ham into pieces and fry it if you want something more bacon-y. There are some barbeque quorn pieces (found in the fresh section of larger supermarkets) which are really great in wraps. I also like the quorn fillets with crispy coating. I love tofu, and it's great in things like a thai green curry. The Cauldron (?) marinated tofu pieces are really tasy. Some non meat sausage rolls taste indistiguishable (imo) from real ones, so are good for lunch or parties.

Quorn mince makes me gag. I'm not a huge fan of any of the sausages but there are loads of different types to choose from so try a few and see what you like. I don't like anything that pretends to be beef.

[HALibutt]

I don't look at meat substitutes in that way, as the taste is nothing like it. It's just a way to make a familiar meal in a similar way, without using meat - and also usually stops you having to make the same thing two ways - as most people will happily try a different take on a well known classic.

I wouldn't even like the taste of meat now - on the rare ocassion I've accidentally tasted it when eating out (when they wrongly tell you something's vegetarian - or a bit of meat sneeks in something) I can spot it a mile off and don't like it.

I've not gone as far as to try the FAKIN BACON. Don't think it would be any good and I don't see the point really.

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainéant

No, I don't think it is cheating so apologies if I conveyed that to you. What I am trying to say is that concentrating on maintaining taste through meat free substitutes is a rather narrow view and by embracing the wider choice available you can be more successful in making the change. You still get pleasure from your food but it is a non-meat tasting pleasure.

Yes and eating the occasional quorn sausage doesn't mean you don't also do that.

[kimindex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sligorox

I don't use meat substitutes that often as I don't particularly find I need to. There are plenty of yummy, healthy dishes that don't involve replacing the meat component of a meaty meal with a vegetarian substitute.

These are two very comprehensive websites that I usually head to first for inspiration:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/vegetarian/index.html
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/vegetarian/

There are some meat substitutes that I do like though; it's definitely worth trying a few different ones as some will be to your taste and some won't. It might also be worth having a few weeks without any meat substitutes, so that you're not directly comparing the taste of meat with the taste of the meat substitute.

I like quorn ham on pizza. Fake bacon tends to be a bit thick and cardboardy, but the texture of the ham is nicer. You can even cut the ham into pieces and fry it if you want something more bacon-y. There are some barbeque quorn pieces (found in the fresh section of larger supermarkets) which are really great in wraps. I also like the quorn fillets with crispy coating. I love tofu, and it's great in things like a thai green curry. The Cauldron (?) marinated tofu pieces are really tasy. Some non meat sausage rolls taste indistiguishable (imo) from real ones, so are good for lunch or parties.

Quorn mince makes me gag. I'm not a huge fan of any of the sausages but there are loads of different types to choose from so try a few and see what you like. I don't like anything that pretends to be beef.

I've never thought of frying the 'ham'. I don't really like it, as it is and don't like the 'bacon' either. I might try it.

Yes, I love tofu, too (not the soft stuff).

[sligorox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimindex

I've never thought of frying the 'ham'. I don't really like it, as it is and don't like the 'bacon' either. I might try it.

I don't like the idea of having it raw, eg in a sandwich, but frying it to make it a bit crispy and having it in a kind of carbonara is nice.