To ask which vegetarian/meatless products are a hit/miss?

[MissContrary]

Especially at Tescos. Can you still cook things like the mince in the slow cooker?

My husband, the avid meat eater who regularly bemoans vegetarians (much to my annoyance) has been abducted by aliens and replaced with a husband who wants to eat less meat due to the environmental impact

Linda McCartney mozarella burgers are fantastic

Careful you don’t just substitute meat for cheese in everything and get really fat.

We had Tesco's beetroot, kale and quinoa burgers last night. They were dry and fell apart when cooked, but OK. Tesco's veggie burgers are lovely. DD also likes Linda McCartney's sausages and pies.

We don't eat any quorn products because it gives dh an upset stomach. I prefer to make meals from scratch using pulses, veg, halloumi, etc.

We like Sainsbury's frozen egg is Cumberland sausages.

Egg?? Veggie!

Personally i don't like the tastelessness of Quito. I prefer the Fry's brand mince/sausages/strips etc. I get them via Ocado but it is also stocked in Holland and Barrett's

*quito=quorn!!

Thanks all.

I think moving to a meat substitute just feels like an easier first step. I hate lentils, it's the texture of them. I'm not very adventurous with food so perhaps now is the time to branch out a bit!

What does he think about the environmental impact of soy production

Ooo I don't know. I'll ask him next time he's on a spiel

Where are people getting Jackfruit from?
I've seen it in a lot of receipes lately but it doesn't seem to have come to my part of Lancashire yet!

@JellySlice "Tofu and other fermented soya products (typically Japanese) are perfectly healthy. It's the non-fermented (typically Western) products that are less healthy, and can give susceptible people wind"

Tofu is NOT fermented. That is the issue. Tempeh is the only healthy soy product as it's fermented. Unfortunately it's very hard to get good tempeh in the UK...and Indonesia is the "home" of tempeh, not Japan. And, "wind" isn't the real problem.

draxe.com/what-is-tofu/

Sainsbury's meat free mince is fab and I use it exactly as you would meat mince in any suitable recipe. It has a great texture. We entertain a bit as me & DH work in creative /media industry and no one has ever noticed not eating actual meat, I even had a local top-ish chef here recently and he asked for a recipe when I'd made a shepherds pie not realising it was veggie. I was a bit chuffed by that 😁

notacooldad

Where are people getting Jackfruit from? From the nearest whole foods shop. Given that it's in a village in Connemara I imagine that you'll be seeing it soon unless you're somewhere terribly remote. I don't understand the comparisons of jackfruit to pulled pork; it's a fruit and it tastes like a fruit. Haven't eaten pulled pork but pretty sure that it doesn't.

This doesn't taste like meat either but because it's so good and because it's showed (at least here) only very recently I'm putting in a word for Feto--tofu fermented with yoghurt. The version with peppers is very tasty, even uncooked.

ushuaiamonamour
From the nearest whole foods shop. Given that it's in a village in Connemara I imagine that you'll be seeing it soon unless you're somewhere terribly remote.
I hope I see it soon. I live in the heart of a farming and meat eating area and sometimes feel like the only veggie in town!!
Our local whole food doesn't have it and none of the supermarkets.
All the supermarkets have stopped selling tahini which is a blow so I'm not holding my breath.
I'll be able to stock up on jackfruit and tahini when I go to the city in the next couple of months!

Tesco's veggie burgers are great. I don't like beef burgers, usually get some bit of fat in then which is gross. My partner even bbqed my veggie burgers once. It didn't work well, but he insisted they had to be bbqed.

Veggie haggis is the only meat substitute worth a damn, imho

I agree.

There's a smoked Yorkshire "halloumi" that's great sliced thin and grilled.

Yottham Ottolenghi (apologies for appalling spelling) has some great veggie recipes.

I'm vegan and the only fake meat product I like are the Frys Family Foods Schnitzel. They taste just like real schnitzel.

If you want something quick, the Higgidy stuff is delicious - they do pies (feta, red pepper and spinach; cauliflower cheese; sweet potato and paneer etc); quiches and these really nice little rolls (like sausage rolls) - cheddar and chutney; red pepper and feta. Yum!

notacooldad

Thought I'd better tell you not to be pining for it as you might be disappointed if you do find jackfruit. It's quite bland, not something I'd be mad eager to get more of. (What's available here is shredded & in a packet; fresh jackfruit might be more interesting.)

Look at Vivera products, burgers, pulled pork type things. Some of the burgers are made with beetroot, sweet potato & pumpkin etc. and the pumpkin mix ones have a little bit of curry flavour.

I cannot eat Linda McCartney stuff, it is truly revolting and oversalted, plus everything I have looked at contains palm oil. Some of the other veggie stuff does too but that is edible whereas LM is only fit for the bin.

Cauldron sausages are the ones I buy, however one type are very peppery.

Tofu, you can get it flavours or plain. I make salt and pepper tofu and have a tofu press.

Quorn mince needs a fair bit of flavour added and actually doesn't take long to cook so not suitable for slow cooking, however, made in advance it absorbs flavour and can be easily heated.

The Quorn 'chicken' pieces make a good curry, especially Thai green and the Quorn roast is weird but rather good, especially if you get some vegan/vegetarian gravy.

DS’s GF is a veggie and she likes the Quorn ready meal chicken tikka masala. They are often on special at Tesco, when they’re about £3.50 each or 3 for £5!!! So I stock up on them for her. She prefers that to the other meals, the lasagne is also good but a regular veggie lasagne/spinach and ricotta pasta dish is better.

I wouldn’t slow cook the quorn mince though, as it disintegrates if cooked for too long. I just pop some into a tomato based sauce if we’re having bolognese and cook it for 5 mins or so. Much longer than that and it goes to mush.

The quorn fishfingers are rank. Other quorn is fine.

Iceland nacho bean burgers!

I agree with the mozzarella burgers.

My daughter’s vegetarian and I really struggle to get enough protein into her without relying on the fake meat.

I think tofu is disgusting and makes me gag. I love having quorn pieces, mince and fillets. I also love Cauliflower Cheese Grills and most of the vegetarian burger type things. But the "No Bull" ones aren't nice- they're too much like meat for me.