Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

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ThatNerdyScienceGirl
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Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by ThatNerdyScienceGirl »

I love a lot of vegan chicken substitutes best, such as Boca Vegan Chik Patties. Is there any vegan replacements that you enjoy/would recommend?
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by Red »

Tofu all the way.
Or if that's not available fruits and vegetables would do.
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by Dream Sphere »

For breaded "chicken" strips, I've found that the brand Gardien makes some quite tasty ones.

I've also found Yves' Mexican Veggie Ground Round is quite good for Vegan tacos. (Though I haven't eaten them in a while as I'm having trouble finding taco shells/tortillas which don't have quite a bit of saturated fat.) I'm pretty sure that Yves isn't a very large company though. They're based in Quebec, Canada iirc. and I'm in Ontario, so they at least have distribution outside of their province, but I'm doubtful of how good their distribution is elsewhere. They also make some very good Vegan pepperoni, which I can enjoy by themselves just after baking them for a bit, but they also go well on pizza, of course.
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by ThatNerdyScienceGirl »

RedAppleGP wrote:Tofu all the way.
Or if that's not available fruits and vegetables would do.
I've never been able to like Tofu, but that is probably because I don't like eggs, and tofu tastes too much like eggs. But soymilk doesn't taste like eggs, so maybe it's just me.

Tofu is awesome though ^_^
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ThatNerdyScienceGirl
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by ThatNerdyScienceGirl »

Dream Sphere wrote:For breaded "chicken" strips, I've found that the brand Gardien makes some quite tasty ones.

I've also found Yves' Mexican Veggie Ground Round is quite good for Vegan tacos. (Though I haven't eaten them in a while as I'm having trouble finding taco shells/tortillas which don't have quite a bit of saturated fat.) I'm pretty sure that Yves isn't a very large company though. They're based in Quebec, Canada iirc. and I'm in Ontario, so they at least have distribution outside of their province, but I'm doubtful of how good their distribution is elsewhere. They also make some very good Vegan pepperoni, which I can enjoy by themselves just after baking them for a bit, but they also go well on pizza, of course.
Gardein is awesome! I like their vegan meatballs! As for Yve's, I hear about them alot, but I have never been able to find them anywhere, probably because I am in the states.... I do want to try Vegan pepperoni, however, they have some of at my local healthfood store.
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by Dream Sphere »

ThatNerdyScienceGirl wrote:
RedAppleGP wrote:Tofu all the way.
Or if that's not available fruits and vegetables would do.
I've never been able to like Tofu, but that is probably because I don't like eggs, and tofu tastes too much like eggs. But soymilk doesn't taste like eggs, so maybe it's just me.

Tofu is awesome though ^_^
Maybe it's the texture that bothers you more? I found that I prefer tempeh when it comes to texture. Though I still have trouble with marinading/flavouring it well, (which's something I have been able to adequately achieve with tofu, although I haven't tried to make either in a while) but there's a local Vegan restaurant which makes some really great tempeh burgers which is where I gained my appreciation for it, and probably the only place where I'll be eating tempeh for the near future as I'm really not that much of a good cook.

Also, what types of tofu have you tried? I found the mushier ones to be less appealing, while the ones labelled "extra firm" were better, although they're still not as enjoyable as well prepared tempeh.

ThatNerdyScienceGirl wrote: Gardein is awesome! I like their vegan meatballs! As for Yve's, I hear about them alot, but I have never been able to find them anywhere, probably because I am in the states.... I do want to try Vegan pepperoni, however, they have some of at my local healthfood store.
I don't think I've seen the Gardien vegan meatballs before, but since my local grocery stores do carry stuff from that brand, I think I may check to see if they have them sometime. It would be nice if I find them, since my diet has been pretty frugal/simple for the past while, and I'm now thinking that I would be interested in trying those to go on pasta as a change up to just having tomato sauce on it normally. So, thanks for telling me that Gardien made those. :)

Hopefully Yves will get popular enough to expand their distribution a lot further sometime, since the veggie pepperoni from them really is very good. Unfortunately I haven't tried any other brands, so I couldn't recommend others for it. Would you happen to know what brand of veggie pepperoni they have at your local healthfood store?
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by ThatNerdyScienceGirl »

Dream Sphere wrote:Maybe it's the texture that bothers you more? I found that I prefer tempeh when it comes to texture. Though I still have trouble with marinading/flavouring it well, (which's something I have been able to adequately achieve with tofu, although I haven't tried to make either in a while) but there's a local Vegan restaurant which makes some really great tempeh burgers which is where I gained my appreciation for it, and probably the only place where I'll be eating tempeh for the near future as I'm really not that much of a good cook.

Also, what types of tofu have you tried? I found the mushier ones to be less appealing, while the ones labelled "extra firm" were better, although they're still not as enjoyable as well prepared tempeh.
Maybe the texture, I think they make a great egg substitute, I just don't like eggs... I have tried everything from soft to firm, but then again, I am not good at cooking in terms of marinating, or pressing, etc, so it could just be user error.
I don't think I've seen the Gardien vegan meatballs before, but since my local grocery stores do carry stuff from that brand, I think I may check to see if they have them sometime. It would be nice if I find them, since my diet has been pretty frugal/simple for the past while, and I'm now thinking that I would be interested in trying those to go on pasta as a change up to just having tomato sauce on it normally. So, thanks for telling me that Gardien made those. :)

Hopefully Yves will get popular enough to expand their distribution a lot further sometime, since the veggie pepperoni from them really is very good. Unfortunately I haven't tried any other brands, so I couldn't recommend others for it. Would you happen to know what brand of veggie pepperoni they have at your local healthfood store?
Gardein Vegan meatballs on pasta is the best thing ever! I want to buy some sub bread and make myself a meatlessball marinara with Follow Your Heart vegan cheese. There is no better diet than one that is simple to make, that way you don't have to worry about complexity after a hard day at work. I personally like to make pasta or lentils, etc, in bulk, that way when I get hungry, I can just reach for some already cooked food as opposed to having to cook from scratch 4-6 times a day.

No, I don't know the brand. It is one of those healthfood stores that has only one store, although it has a wonderful juice bar inside. It is fairly expensive, but it exists, and also has Tofurkey products, a ton of Gardein products, including Gardein holiday roast, and is the only store in my area that contains Beyond Meat, Follow Your Heart, and Daiya. I am sure Wholefoods has it, but that is a 6 mile walk I won't be doing.I do most of my vegan meat shopping at a more expensive grocery store.
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Tempeh is probably the best, but to be affordable you usually have to make it yourself unless you life in SE Asian countries where it's common.

Otherwise, I really like TVP, which is easy and accepts almost any flavor (even sweet things).

Have you tried TVP?
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garrethdsouza
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by garrethdsouza »

We don't have any of this out here in india. Either that or it's ridiculously priced. I hope such companies or local versions could show up in more countries.

We have tofu, soy based meat which is alright and soy mince which tastes almost identical to the animal derived version.
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Re: Favorite Vegan Meat Substitute?

Post by miniboes »

We don't have many mockmeats that do not contain milk or eggs, but I really like falafel and lentil burgers.
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