Meatless Meat Question

If meat is so bad, why do people continue to make food that tastes like meat??? :huh:

I've wondered this before.. I think it is for those who are meatatarians that are trying to convert.

It's like the slide into alcoholism. When you are a kid, you drink crap like peppermint schnapps and Boone's farm. You work your way into the sweet drinks. Once you begin to like the buzz and start getting used to the alcohol taste, you just bump up to 151 and everclear.

I understand if someone likes the taste of meat and is vegan for ethical reasons. Other than that I don't know. I have a cousin who is vegetarian for "health reasons" and eats all those processed faux meat things. If I was concerned about eating healthy I'd pick healthier meat over processed pretend meat.

Meatless Meat makes me sad...

I tried "chicken patties" that were actually chickpeas once... It was dry like the sahara... never again.

I tend to prefer the "meat alternatives" that aren't masquerading as meat. I'll eat a black bean burger any day of the week, but I usually pass on meatless hamburger patties. There are some pretty good garden burgers out there, that have patties made of all different kinds of vegetables... those are great!

Fake meat, that's supposed to imitate the real thing, usually misses the mark in my opinion.

same reason they make "virgin" drinks? which is to say "i have no idea why they would do that."

Well, I get virgin drinks because I can no longer drink alcohol. I don't get meatless meat because, although I can no longer eat beef and pork, meatless meat tastes like they used the *kitten* of whatever plant they decided might kind of taste like meat and rubbed some dirt on it.

My brother is a vegetarian because of some GI issues he was having. He feels better on a vegetarian diet. So he eats meat flavored stuff because he misses eating real meat.

My sister is the opposite. Was vegetarian and during her pregnancy had to go back to meat due to healh issues (doctors orders). Now she goes to a farm that raises animals ethically and slaughters her own food.

My wife's mostly vegetarian - she does eat some fish. We mostly cook one single meal and we "supplement" since I'm lactose intolerant. So we make say pasta - she adds cheese, I add bacon.

We have stopped eating most meat replacement products because they are horrid in taste and texture. Vegetarian food can be delicious - tofu can be great, seitan can be great, grilled vegetables can be great, gazpacho can be great, etc. They don't need to taste like chicken.

So we don't buy the horrid cardboard soy burgers anymore - I simply make her (and myself) some almond/bean/carrot patties. They are delicious.

I understand if someone likes the taste of meat and is vegan for ethical reasons. Other than that I don't know. I have a cousin who is vegetarian for "health reasons" and eats all those processed faux meat things. If I was concerned about eating healthy I'd pick healthier meat over processed pretend meat.

Agree... Tofuti bacon.... ick.... I think they call it Smart Bacon...

I agree with preferring the vegetarian alternatives that don't try to be meat - like black bean burgers, or having baked tofu instead of fake meat slices on sandwiches. I like the taste of those 137% more than fake meat.

However, I do sometimes eat those meat alternatives mainly because they tend to be ridiculously high in protein. I don't eat them because I want "meat replacement" in my mouth, I eat them because I want protein in my body, and sometimes they're a good way to get lots of protein without lots of calories. :drinker:

Meat tastes great but they don't want to consume the flesh of animals because it weighs on their conscience

Meat tastes great because we are supposed to eat the flesh of animals.

I was watching the show "Naked and Afraid" last night (repeats before the new one came on) and the girl in one of the episodes was a vegetarian (or a vegan. Either way she didn't eat meat).

So here they are starving to death because they couldn't find food. The guy finds some grubs and what not to eat -- not many mind you but enough for a little protein -- and she refused to eat it because it was meat and she was "holding true to her beliefs".

She would rather starve to death than eat a grub because it was meat.

As for the OP: I eat meat but sometimes I'll do the "meatless" version of things like the "meatless crumbles" for salads (when I don't have any actual meat to throw on a salad) and I've done the veggie burgers. They're ok but for me it's not something that I would switch to for the long run. I don't eat a ton of meat (red meat) anyway. I eat more chicken and pork and limit my intake of red meat. I don't care if someone is vegetarian or vegan just don't push your beliefs on me and try and make me feel bad for my choices (you won't by the way because 1) I couldn't care less what you think and 2) I'll probably stop hanging around with you because of your annoying "holier-than-thou" attitude).

I don't think anyone ever said it tastes bad.

Depends on the meat..... liver... blech.

I was watching the show "Naked and Afraid" last night (repeats before the new one came on) and the girl in one of the episodes was a vegetarian (or a vegan. Either way she didn't eat meat).

So here they are starving to death because they couldn't find food. The guy finds some grubs and what not to eat -- not many mind you but enough for a little protein -- and she refused to eat it because it was meat and she was "holding true to her beliefs".

She would rather starve to death than eat a grub because it was meat.

Later in that episode, she finally gave in and ate some meat. Eventually, the drive to eat and survive overrode her ethics.

The guy was pumped because he had a goal of getting a vegetarian to eat meat. :laugh:

While I don't eat anything with fur or feathers for NOW. I'm the first to admit that if I was starving and had to hunt, that I would absolutely eat other meat besides fish. Survival wins every time. Plus, I'm on MFP so clearly I like to eat.

I tend to prefer the "meat alternatives" that aren't masquerading as meat. I'll eat a black bean burger any day of the week...

I had a couple of black bean burgers in my freezer. I had just made some Jimmy Dean Hot & Spicy Sausage...I fried the black bean burgers in the sausage grease - feeling like I was breaking some sort of code :laugh:

BTW - I could not tell any difference between nuking them in a microwave and frying them in sausage grease.