Mumsnet users share their thoughts on meat free options

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Whether you’re thinking of reducing your meat consumption for environmental or health reasons, or if you or a member of your family is vegetarian or vegan, the use of meat free options is on the rise. With this in mind, The Meatless Farm would like to hear your thoughts on reducing meat intake and meat-free options.

Here’s what The Meatless Farm has to say: “With an estimated 22m flexitarians in the UK seeking to reduce their meat consumption, there is an increased appetite for healthy, protein-rich alternatives. After years of research, the team behind Meatless Farm have created a range of products that not only deliver on nutrition, they also taste delicious.”

Are you considering reducing your family’s meat intake? What do you think about meat-free products? Perhaps you’re already including meat free products in your family meals? What influences your choice when it comes to meat free options?

All who post on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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I tried the Meatless farm mince and it's great - nice in bolognese and as burgers.
And it's slimming world friendly - 8 syns per pack and I made 8 burgers from it

I tell you what I hate, meat free food with palm oil in it. Quorn, I'm looking at you. Lidl, I'm looking at you. Stop it!

We've reduced the amount of meat we use by trying different products. Shroom sausages are a b favourite for the adults here but the children don't like the texture.
The children do however never notice if we use mushroom mince in their chilli.
We tried meat substitute (different brand to The Meatless co) burgers once but found they had an unpleasant barbecue-y type taste. So didn't have those again.
We generally love all things veggie so in reducing our consumption we generally just replace the meat with veg or mushrooms. Having something that tasted good would be quite marvellous instead of having to try and hide the taste.
Overall we eat meat maybe two or three times a week, I guess if we would replace it with something tasty we would.

I don't like the taste meat free products eg Quorn.I eat small portions of meat.

We have reduced our family's meat intake, we have simply taken the meat out of our normal dishes and replaced with a meat free substitute.

It's great to make more meals packed with veg!

Are you considering reducing your family’s meat intake?love using more veggies and meat free products.or creating tasty meals without meat can feel really inspiring.
What do you think about meat-free products? i honestly still thinkthey are lacking.so often trying to creat a meat looking or tasting product when you can create fine looking meals without needing it to look like bacon or taste of beef!which it never can or never does. but it would be good to have something you can creat a meat free bolognase with.and other similar meals that include meat usually.i think you need bit of both.
Perhaps you’re already including meat free products in your family meals?we try to use a varied amount.we would like to avoid Quorn as much as possible because we have never found the taste or texture agreeable.
What influences your choice when it comes to meat free options? the price often seems so high.taste.and whether there seems some thought gone into it not just trying to slap dash an elternitive together because you know veggies don't have any other option.
id also love to see more recipe ideas given.and cooking guides for veggie options.

When eating meat and dairy free we tend to just make our own plant based recipes rather than "fake meat" alternatives for the reason that they are usually full of dodgy additives that don't agree with me. I'd be interested to try these IF they are any different...

We are meat eaters and either have meat or fish with every dinner. I have tried quorn in the past but it didn't taste nice

We are trying to reduce our meat intake, but we're all huge meat lovers and to me, I think that's where meat free alternatives could help us. I've yet to try any, but know that Aldi and M&S have both bought out ranges. I'd be interested in trying them, but I personally cannot eat soy/soya, so it would depend on what they're made of. To me, my meal isn't a meal without meat!! I am happy with pasta, but I generally eat a lot of meat, veg and potatoes, so without the meat, it'd be pretty boring! I certainly couldn't got vegetarian, let alone vegan.

We now have several vegetarian options a week! We eat quorn regularly as my other half is trying to reduce our meat intake. We are eating much more veg however personally I still love eating meat so could not completely cut it out. Not a chance of going vegan!

We are meat eaters although making attempts to have meat free meals a few times a week. I'm not a great cook however! I do buy supermarket vegetarian options and we eat quite a bit of fish rather than red meat.

I would love to reduce our family's meat intake and do have a couple of veggie meal staples, however they tend to baulk at too many meals that are veg only. I think meat subs can really help in that situation so I'm interested in some of the new ones on the market. I was a veggie back in the day when Quorn started off and I never liked it that much.

We have meat free meals often but dont really see the need for meat alternatives that are meat style

We eat a varied diet some meals include meat but many are veggie or vegan.

I prefer to eat veggie food which isn't 'pretending' to be meat a I find that quite strange, but am open to meat alternatives where they are tasty and not overly processed.

Meat eater here. Keen to eat less meat. Looking for tasty, easy and quicky alternatives. Cannot be too spicy. Need to appeal to kids as well.

DD is Vegan, I'm vegatarian.
DH wants to cut all red meat but cooks for DS who wants to keep it in and he can't be bothered to cook multiple meals.
So there's pressure on DS and if we can get him to stop, not only will we be eating less red meat, but we'll be able to eat together more often too.

Don’t think I’d want to go totally meat free but we do have two days a week where we have vegetarian meals

I am a second generation vegan, my daughter (17 months) is third generation vegan. Personally my main peeve is that quorn totally dominates the market. I find it disgusting and cannot stand any of their products. They seem to appeal more to people who have recently converted or who eat it for health reasons. Most people who have been vegan for a long time do not like products that are made to taste like meat. I really feel repulsed at the fake fish fingers etc. Linda McCartney range used to be good but has just dropped so much in quality and does not cook properly. I shop at Ocado online they have loads of vegan stuff but what I cannot buy in any supermarket whatsoever is a decent vegan sausage they are all terrible. In Holland and Barrett however they sell a good one the brand is “vegetarian choice” and it’s like a Cumberland style sausage and the texture is really nice. If you could make a decent vegan sausage I would buy your whole stock lol. And for gods sake no more falafel seitan or jackfruit!! It’s just become the trends that everyone follows and when you go to restaurants it’s just the only options. We do eat other stuff!!!!!!! Also vegan baby food would be an absolute winner!!! I have thought about doing this for a while but no business sense lol. You can do vegan parmigiana, potato dauphinoise, sausage casserole etc, I make all this for my daughter since 6 months and she loves it but when she goes to nursery/ on an aeroplane etc I’d love to be able to buy a jar of something but everything contains cheese or meat. Thanks for asking!!!

Oh and one more thing. A vegan mince that could be reheated would be great. I am yet to find a vegan mince where you can reheat it so I just stopped buying it all together as I like to make food and refridgerate/freeze it but every vegan mince on the market gives you a dodgy stomach if it’s reheated after cooking. I just use lentils now as they replace mince in any recipe

Are you considering reducing your family’s meat intake?
Yes, we are tryingto, to save money and help the environment.

What do you think about meat-free products?
Some are OK, none of us particularly keen on things like tofu though, we find it flavourless and don't like the texture.

Perhaps you’re already including meat free products in your family meals?
We like things like Quorn mince, especially in bolognaise and lasagne.

What influences your choice when it comes to meat free options?
Price, ease of prepraration and taste!

I’m vegetarian but husband and sons aren’t. From a cost point of view, I’m using less meat for them now, bulking things out with more veg or lentils.

As a family, we generally have one vegetarian main meal day a week, and I eat veggie on at least one of my two fast days (soup or a low-cal ready meal). I try & reduce the amount of red meat generally - eg I bulk up mince with soya mince substitute as well as loads of finely chopped veggies, whenever I use minced meat (spag bol, burgers, cottage or shepherd's pie, meatloaf, moussaka...) Apart from that I don't really go for meat substitutes, as others have said it doesn't really make sense to copy meat products when there are so many options for meals based on pulses. However we haven't attempted veganuary as we can't face life without cheese & eggs!

we eat better quality meat rather than stopping it altogether

In my house we eat Quorn as well as meat products as we aren't huge fans of meat and my husband is vegan so we try and support the whole family's needs and beliefs.