Question:
I would really love to go vegetarian or vegan but I don’t know how. I still love cheese, hamburger and chicken. Are there any good substitution products?
Who’s says we can’t enjoy this American classic? We just need to get a little creative. Anyone craving the great taste of Sloppy Joes without all the high fat can enjoy this great vegan take on a classic dish.
Vegan Sloppy Joes
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups granular textured vegetable protein 2 T oil 1 medium onion, minced 1 medium bell peppers, [...]
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First, you should pat yourself on the back for wanting to give a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle a try! That’s a really big step in itself.
I suggest expanding your food horizons before resorting to veggie burgers and chicken patties. Try different ethnic foods, like Indian or Thai. There are plenty of vegetarian options, and it could get you excited to try many different foods.
As far as cheese, I think Daiya vegan cheese (http://www.daiyafoods.com/) is hands down the best. Teese (http://www.teesecheese.com/) is pretty good, too, but I prefer Daiya. Daiya should be available at Whole Foods all over the US this April.
I was never really much of a burger person, but sometimes I like Amy’s Kitchen veggie burgers. Not all of their products are vegan, but all are vegetarian. http://www.amys.com/
Good luck! And don’t worry about trying to be the perfect vegan when you first start out. It’s a learning process, and whatever you can sacrifice in the way of animal products will still benefit animals, your own health, and the environment.
For chicken, I like Gardein’s chicken products. They have chicken tenders, chicken breasts, and even buffalo wings, and they’re all vegan! http://www.gardein.com/
The standard American diet is simply ingrained in you as it was in me. You need to stop craving such foods and retrain your taste buds to like what is good for you.
Have you ever heard anyone ask if there were meat alternatives for vegetables that would taste like vegetables. Think about that and it becomes quite plain that such a question would be silly. Why? Because animal protein and fat have both been linked to heart disease, cancer and other diseases and the eating of vegetables and fruit have been implicated in providing protection from those same diseases.
I strongly recommend that you read the books from Joel Fuhrman, MD. Check out, for instance, the over 300 customer reviews of the book, Eat To Live: http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Revolutionary-Formula-Sustained/product-reviews/0316735507/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Dr. Fuhrman is a medical doctor and he practices what he preaches. His approach to eating is simply to eat as much as you want of the nutrient dense foods and to limit grains/starch and to be sure to include one ounce of nuts a day and at least one serving of beans/legumes. He does not say you have to eliminate all animal based foods but if you eat them it should be limited to only a few servings a week and better to be in the form of seafood rather than red meat or poultry.
He also says to avoid any and all processed food which have been stripped of their nutrient. Morningstar products found in the freezer at your favorite grocery store would provide for vegetarian options to meat but they are still processed and do contain such things a strict vegan would object to. Plus they are not as nutrient dense as the vegetables themselves.
While Dr. Fuhrman does not require one to be a vegetarian or vegan you can certainly go that route and still use his guidance and in fact he recommends that. If you go totally meatless with no animal products you should supplement with vitamin B12.
Rather than being a vegetarian or vegan following Dr. Fuhman’s advice one would find themselves being more accurately described as a nutritarian. Although you can still be a nutritarian while being a vegan or vegetarian. If your body is given all the nutrients it needs and craves you will not be hungry for the things you don’t really need. This does not mean you won’t desire or even crave such things for a while but in time those cravings for those addictive foods will go away.
You don’t have to give up your enjoyment of food. You will learn to like new things and healthier food. some of Dr. Fuhrman’s books also contain some great recipes to get you started.
Please read the book.
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Another way to answer this question is to say “Yes there are many many great vegan options for hamburger, chicken and cheese. In fact they are far superior in nutrition. They just don’t taste like hamburger, chicken or cheese. After all, you did not ask if there were any “good-tasting substitutes” for these items you asked if there were any “good vegan options”. Did you know that romaine lettuce for instance is more nutritious than steak when compared calorie for calorie? Get the book…
Option, yes
Whether they would be “good” options meaning do they taste good is a matter of personal preference.
If by “good,” you mean “tastes like something you’d want to eat,” then no…there are no good vegan options. What does exist are awful tofu/tempeh-based alternatives which taste literally nothing like chicken, hamburger, or cheese…they just look similar and act as a mental stand-in.
I would suggest not becoming a complete vegetarian/vegan and enjoying some of the foods you like along with it. You only get to live once…why give up your enjoyment of food?
You can buy fake chicken like Morningstar Farms chikin strips. You can buy boca burgers/veggie burgers, or you can easily make them yourself. Bean burgers are pretty simple to make and are a lot healthier for you because they don’t have any weird ingredients. There are some fake cheese like Daiya that have gotten really good reviews.
That being said, after you go veg*n for a while, you stop craving those types of foods and start having new favorite foods.
I’d also encourage you, if you decide to go veg*n, to try not to just replace your old foods with fake meat products. It’s better and easier to stick to if you find new recipes/meals to eat like curries, stirfry, chilis, sandwiches, etc. I’d recommend checking out some food blogs and borrowing cookbooks from the library. Some I like:
http://101cookbooks.com [vegetarian with vegan recipes]
http://vegweb.com [veg*n recipe database]
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com
http://vegandad.blogspot.com
http://theppk.com
Veganomicon
Vegan Planet
Vegetarian Sandwiches
The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet
Vegan Brunch
Hope that helps!
I cover Quorn’s chick’n cutlets with bell pepper, onion, and tomato and bake it. No one can tell me that real dead animal beats that. Delicious.
no, there aren’t. i really don’t understand by vegetarians and vegans look for an alternative. if you crave hamburger, then listen to your body and go eat a damn hamburger! if you choose to be a vegetarian, then stop looking for good fake meat, because there isn’t any. deal with it.
no… and here’s a good click on to turning you off from these products.. meat and dairy are inflammatory foods and are the major cause of many chronic diseases such as obesity, constipation, hypertension, diabetes 2, gerd, IBS and more.
i’ve done without animal product for 40 yrs now… i’m better off.. haven’t been sick in many years also.. which i am not complaining about but finding curious.
want high protein? eat an avocado or get int soy products.. but beans, many fruits and your dark green veggies are excellent sources..
for flavor though? soy products but watch out many of those have dairy in them and other animal based chemistry.
which thus makes these products NON vegetarian/vegan.
Morningstar Farms makes chicken nuggets, burgers, etc. (check labels to make sure they’re okay for vegans, some are not). There’s tempeh, tofu, lentils/beans, and seitan to make good meat substitutes, and soy cheese.