Need advice about commercially produced veggie meat.

I’m regularly horrified by all the highly processed vegan ready meals the supermarkets continually promote - which are definitely not cheaper than the carnivorous equivalents. Which I guess is precisely why the supermarkets are so enthusiastic- lots more profit. We eat less meat these days by padding out good quality stuff with more veg but to be honest I find veggie alternatives to meat just don’t have the taste or texture, not to mention the effect on the digestive system of lots of beans and lentils! Quorn does absolutely nothing for me.

I agree that there are a lot of 'fake meat' products on the market, and I generally avoid them. I do use quorn mince a lot, as much as I would have used beef mince; shepherds pie, spaghetti bolognaise etc., and I recommend the Cauldron sausages ( if I can), they are lovely with mash and cabbage and make a hearty dinner, and make divine sausage rolls too. We eat a lot of mushrooms too and a Mushroom Wellington is a lovely dinner, albeit a bit of a faff. Mushroom risotto is good, and I do the Delia Smith oven one, no fiddling with ladles of stock, really delicious with madeira wine in it. Cook do an excellent nut roast, which is like a meat loaf, really good with cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes. I also make loads of soups, generally with lentils for protein and bulk, and we often just have a couple of bowls of that for our main meal.

The BOSH recipes look lovely.

I just love quorn mince and quorn pieces don’t like the ready meals much, I have gone through a period of trying them all but they not really that nice and I don’t like the texture of the sausages and bacon although the taste is nice so just stick to quorn or no substitute which isn’t really needed anyway

I googled Quorn just out of interest and apparently it's banned in Canada and has to carry a warning in the USA because it is produced from mould, and could trigger an allergic reaction in certain people. I think I'll stick to meat.

Who’s badger ?ni don’t think he’s young

Sorry wrong thread whoops

I find that a lot onions improve dal to which I also add carrots, and veg oxo.
I am going to try cooking with sunflower seeds for the protein and fat. I understand they are quick fried in oil.
i wish I could find a savoury recipe using peanut butter they all seem to be sweet recipes for PB.

My daughter made an amazing toad in the hole with Quorn sausages last week (at least, it looked amazing). GS wolfed it back.

The Richmond veggie sausages are almost impossible to tell from the meat ones.

Quorn made me sick and when I looked it up, I discovered that it creates allergic reaction in around 10% of people.

I've been veggie most of my life and in general I steer clear of most manufactured veggie food, especially now. In the days of Lynda McCartney it was all innocent with few of the additives, including palm oil and maltodextrin, that are included now.

May I recommend a fascinating book by Prof Tim Spector, a nutritionist who's come to the fore through the Zoe app and his informative weekly reports on the Covid situation. The book is called Spoon Fed and looks at all the nutritional information we're fed these days and why a lot of it is incorrect. Not least because humans are different and there is no one size or diet right for all. A lot of his information is based on genetics and twin studies. There's also a chapter on climate change and food production. Anyway, here's a link :
www.waterstones.com/book/spoon-fed/tim-spector/9781787332294

Well I m doomed I ve eaten quorn for years but in fairness anyone can have a reaction to anything

Yes, BlueBelle. My GS has reactions to a few things but eats Quorn with no problems at all.

Why don't you try to find locally raised high welfare meat from a respected butchers? Use a smaller amount in your favourite dinners, bulk out with veg, set aside a few evenings a week where you will experiment with vegitarean cooking?

This is what we do, it is a compromise I know.

For instance today I bought a free range corn fed large chicken, it cost three times as much as a basic one. It will make a roast dinner, sandwiches for two days, cold with chips and salad , chicken stir fry, bones boiled for a stock, which will make a chicken leek and potato soup. Dogs will get all skin chopped on top of their dinners.

That is three main meals and three light lunches for two, plus dog treats.

We had Quorn roast for xmas lunch this year. First time I've had a xmas lunch and not thought all this faff and this turkey is so dry and tasteless why am I eating this Quite a revelation to me, it was really nice

I agree May7. The Quorn roast is really nice and I serve it as I would chicken, with stuffing and all the rest and frankly it tastes better than turkey!

I’m trying to remember the name of a sort of vegan meat substitute that I was going to send away for. I thought it began with an s and it looked bit like a haggis! Thought I’d saved an advert that I saw on Facebook but can’t find it. I’ve tried to reduce my meat consumption for a while now, combining it with a zero waste policy. Started off with worrying about food supplies during the first lockdown and then worries about food supplies due to brexit. Also took an interest in cooking for the first time in my life. Get a delivery of fresh fruit and veg from a lovely shop in the next village so have been cooking with vegetables I’ve never used before eg sweet potato. Bought lots of different kinds of lentils and learned how to cook arborio rice and quinoa. Still buy chicken though, but then make stock from the bones to use as a base for soup. Also bought some HUEL food which is like a vegan instant meal, the basis of which seems to be pea protein. Also bought lots of freeze dried vegetables to cook with the lentils and pulses. Sent away for some soya mince the other day: something I haven’t bought in years. Trouble is no matter how much I cut back on meat myself my dog still gets through loads. I did look at that bug based dog food and might try to substitute her kibble with it. I find the best substitute for meat in rice dishes are mushrooms and I get through loads of them these days. And my soup maker is great for my zero waste policy as I can just throw any leftover veggies into it. On Dr Johns blog the other day he talked about how we have to drastically cut back on the amount of meat we eat and, of course, factory farming/meat processing etc are all potential sources of another pandemic. I did think that changing my diet would result in terrible wind and indigestion but, thus far I’ve been ok. I’ve also learned how to make sauces rather than buying them in jars! Apologies: it’s late at night and I’m rambling. I only meant to say what a great, timely thread it is!

Seitan. The advert just popped up on my Facebook page.

I agree it’s a matter of habit and what you are used to. I haven’t eaten meat for over 60 years so don’t think of animals as food. I rarely eat the meat substitutes, puy lentils are great for shepherds pies and pasta sauces. The Shroomdog sausages are good, and made of mushrooms I think, I make my own burgers - bean burgers, tofu burgers or sweet potato ones and freeze them. Felafel and humus are staples, easy to make and can be varied - beetroot humus is a favourite. Curries and chillies can last a few meals. The Bosh black bean chilli is the best. I do like the Aldi plant kitchen sausage rolls which are always a winner at buffets. It does require more thought, but like anything it gets easier as your habits change.

If people choose not to eat meat, why do they want vegan food that mimics meat? I am not talking about sausages or burgers. They are not mimicking meat but vegan products that call themselves fake meat names - chickling or boofburgers, burgers made for beetroot and advertise that they 'bleed' like a real beef burger.

I have every respect for someone like vegansrock who doesn't eat meat substitutes or vegan food pretending to be meat.

Isn't it up to individuals what they decide or decide not to eat MOnica?

As I said in my OP I don't want to give up meat. I just want to cut it down for our health and for the environment. I want my veggie pretend meat to look and taste like meat because I like the taste and texture of meat.

I buy British meat but want to extend and improve our diet without having to spend forever preparing stuff or requiring any cooking skills

Gagajo I totally agree with you, it merely puzzles me that quite a number of those who, on a matter of principle, choose not to eat meat, then eat products that enable them to get all the flavour and texture of meat .

Surely if you abhore meat and all that goes with producing it, the thought of eating something that looks like meat, has the texture and taste of meat (complete with 'bleeding' hamburgers for those who preferred them virtually uncooked) would turn your stomach, again

Monica, because maybe (like my dd and SiL) they still rather like the taste and texture of meat but have stopped eating it for animal welfare reasons.
They now have chickens so that they can have truly high welfare eggs (but do still have to buy some since with 3 young children they get through a lot.)

MOnika whether they know it or not people aim to eat food with the taste called umami which meat and some other foods provide. When veg food is made to imitate the look of meat it might help to persuade the eater that it is umami.

I hope I have got over the deception, as I had to throw away my latest purchase of mock-ham