Fake vegetarian meat vs protein shakes.

Should I replace faux meat with protein shakes? I eat faux meat at least once a day. Would it be better to have two protein shakes a day compared to eating so much fake meat? Does it make a difference?
«13

Replies

  • Buckeye19XX
    Buckeye19XX Posts: 33 Member
    The protein shakes would end up being much lower in sodium, fat, carbs, and higher in protein but I do enjoy the taste of the fake meats.
  • Buckeye19XX
    Buckeye19XX Posts: 33 Member
    The meats are soy based and contain quite a bit of sodium and fat. If I were to lower my consumption of the fake meats, my protein would come from dairy and protein powder. Is that healthy?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I'd stick with a variety. There is a reason we wean babies off milk and pablum. Why not broaden your sources to include eggs, seitan and pulses?

    Your fake meat uses soy as a source.
    Your protein shakes are depending on whey and casein most likely.
    You may also want to try recipes using TVP (soy).

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    PS Dairy protein source is whey and casein too. I find it harder to hit my protein goal using milk as the lactose content pushes up the carb count. Greek Yogurt is better.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    A lot of my protein comes from Protein powder and dairy. Fake meat... I don't even want to think about what that is.

    Well, it depends. I make my own seitan, so I know it's mainly vital wheat gluten, with some nutritional yeast, seasonings, a bit of soy sauce, and some oil.

    Note that I also eat veggie dogs and Gardein. If I were on a sodium-restricted diet, I probably wouldn't, but they're filling and convenient and I also do a lot of cooking from scratch.

    OP: it's a matter of preference. If your goal is to reduce your sodium (or something else in the fake meats), have at it. Otherwise, no real issue either way.
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
    I agree with the above poster. I've been vegetarian for a few years and sometimes I eat fake meat (because it's delicious) and sometimes I have protein shakes (because I also think they're delicious). Just do what fits into your life and what keeps you happy and satisfied.
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
    misnomer1 wrote: »
    Re soy, there is no evidence of any health effects of eating soy. It's been a mainstay of oriental diets for ages.

    There have been a couple of cases where soy milk has been linked to reduced testosterone and feminizing effects on men. For that fear alone, I avoid soy in any form.

    I think soy's fairly high in plant oestrogens.
    After our GP took my mum off HRT, she suggested increased soy consumption to boost my mum's oestrogen and minimise menopause side effects. Seemed to work quite well.

    The OP's profile lists female, so maybe less of a concern in this case!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    misnomer1 wrote: »
    misnomer1 wrote: »
    Re soy, there is no evidence of any health effects of eating soy. It's been a mainstay of oriental diets for ages.

    There have been a couple of cases where soy milk has been linked to reduced testosterone and feminizing effects on men. For that fear alone, I avoid soy in any form.

    In all cases of which I am aware, these (rare) cases were linked to men who were consuming much more soy than average (in one case, 14 servings a day for a year; another 12 servings a day) and resolved once servings were cut down. Avoiding soy entirely seems like an over-reaction.

    Seems like a very small sacrifice to me. I don't like to eat stuff which could possibly give me boobs and a flaccid penis.

    Nobody is required to eat soy, I was just pointing out how unlikely the possibility is for anyone else reading this thread and possibly having concerns.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited August 2017
    Until all the studies agree about the effects of soy on men, soy milk/products will not be used daily in my home.
    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/soys-negative-effects

    Given that soy is one of the most studied food substances we have and how small and poorly constructed some of the studies are, this is an impossible barrier to cross. There will never be a time when all studies ever conducted agree on soy (just as studies currently disagree on common foods like wheat or milk or meat or nightshade vegetables).
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    In a way, I don't think it's soy. It's all the "flavorings" that are added to soy "meats" and "milks". Even the idea of drinking careegenan in the "milks" bothers me. A soy hot dog had so many ingredients I could not buy it.