Meat substitutes that emulate meat too closely

[hugoagogo]

I am vegetarian rather than vegan.
When I eat out I sometimes choose the vegan option ( frequently there aren't many choices), but often find they too are to meaty tasting.
Is this what most vegans are looking for, do you think? Is it just a moral choice?

For me, I just prefer not to eat meat ethically, but also don't enjoy the flavour/texture.

I think many of the fake meats have the texture of meat but I can taste the difference. My DP on the other hand can't. But then he was not a big meat eater before going vegan.

My DH doesn't like meat. So he is mightily pissed off they a lot of menus have changed to processed fake meat. I too enjoy the vegetarian option, as PP said, its lighter and healthier.
Also some places only have vegan free from as their veggie option too which is a bit rubbish

Engage your brain a little bit. I loved meat, was a huge meat eater and I couldn't imagine 1 single meal without some meat, cheese or eggs. I didn't stop eating meat because I one day decided I didn't like the taste. I love beyond meat burgers and the this isn't brand of meat replacements I also love tofu, tempeh and TVP. But I can tell you that once lab grown meat becomes readily available I'll be first in the queue to get it.

I’m vegetarian and completely agree. Hate the beyond burger meat- it tastes way to realistic and makes me feel queasy thinking about it. I feel like they’re trying to corner the market for people who are vegetarian or vegan for moral reasons but who love meat.

Unfortunately there usually isn’t much on the menu for people who genuinely don’t like the taste or texture of meat and don’t want to eat meat substitutes and these products going mainstream just give restaurants an easy option. They are exactly what meat eaters make for vegetarians when they just can’t imagine how anyone could enjoy a meal without meat….

There are some fake meat things I can't eat as they look too meaty. I'm a lifelong non meat eater though and find meat revolting.

I don't mind it. And think it serves a useful function as 'entry level' vegan food. There are a lot of people dabbling and seeing if they can 'cope' with it. Their tastes may evolve.
Also as a broader point there's a lot of R&D going into meat alternatives at the moment and I do think it's all about testing and trying and getting to a point where actual meat eaters may eat alternatives in order to cut down the planet's overall consumption.

So the people that don’t like meat don’t get anything? Fab.

@OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide I don't like meat. I'm talking more generally about the drivers to those becoming vegan and sticking to it. I think these products can be useful.

Eating out is now quite difficult as a vegetarian who doesn't want fake meat or fake cheese. Lots of menus have been veganised as a catch all for both vegetarian and vegan but the choices seem very unappealing. I don't like fake meaty stuff especially if it seems realistic.

I'm not vegan but I think eating highly processed fake meat products is just as bad as eating mass produced meat.

I think faffs post links to my opinion on this

i think a lot of these new products are aimed at those who do veganuary or who say they are flexitarians or who say they eat ‘vegan’ once a week

and to be honest that pisses me off, in the last 40+ years gone from no choice in restaurants to one ‘choice’ to a few vegetable/pulse choices right back to no choice in some places unless i want to eat fake meat. Its not such a biggy for me being vegetarian for a long time and now pescatarian but most vegans i know have no interest whatsoever in eating fake meat and obviously there is the trust issue…some of this stuff is difficult, for a non meat eater at least, to trll the difference

i am a guilty pescatarian and I probably eat a wee bit more fish because my choices have gone down…thats completely on me and i probably will in give up fish again at some point

Yes i dabble too see if i could cope!

The mcplant passed enough that i would order it but i wouldnt say mcdonalds is high cuisine!
I hope that some sort of lab grown meat happens soon.

I eat out regularly and haven’t found this at all. Even the Wetherspoons at Heathrow had a bean chilli. If a restaurant has a menu where the only vegetarian or vegan food depends on ultra processed meat and cheese alternatives then the restaurant is probably pretty crap anyway and you’d only be missing out on a over cooked, underseasoned mushroom risotto if there was a vegetarian but not vegan option.

Recently I’ve had several curries, dosas, berenjenas fritas, avocado maki, miso glazed aubergine, samosa chaat, black bean taquitos, breaded tofu bibimbap, a sweet potato and coriander burger, tofu bao bun, puy lentil tacos and many more I can’t think of right now. Food which just happens to be vegan which is fresh and delicious, and made from whole food ingredients.

I’m a low carbing veggie. I’m screwed in most places.

And allergic to tomatoes.

I do eat meat but I really don't see the point of fake meat. The ones I have tried tasted disgusting and a very unpleasant texture.

If I go to a vegan or vegetarian place I'd rather have decent food than anything with fake meat.

I one went to a local vegan cafe and almost everything was fake meat or cheese. I really didn't get it, I thought being vegan was meant to be healthy but there was no way that food was good for you. The mac and cheese tasted like Cheeze Whizz. My stomach was not happy with me afterwards!

I have been veggie since the early 90s and in those days you had to call and check if there was a veggie option and if there was it was one option only, usually a vegetarian lasagne.

Now there seems to be a lot more choice.

There really really isn’t.

The ONLY fake meat I’ll eat is IKEA plant-based meatballs. Oh! And Linda McCartney’s rosemary and onion sausages.
And the McPlant <dons armour>. I DO actually like a McPlant. 😳
McCartney, McPlant,McKEA? Has a good vegan ring to it.
Quorn is devil’s excrement. 🤮
Fake bacon! Don’t get me started. I don’t even like real bacon but vegan bacon is just awful.

I don't know the solution

ooh, let me think…

perhaps stop offering one fake meat dish to cover all your vegan/vegetarian/gluten free/nut free customers and sort your menu so you can offer a variety of dishes?

even Waga’s which was my easy go to have replaced several of their veggie/vegan options in favour of soy “no-duck”, fake chicken meals.

My problem with fake meat products is that so many of them have massive amounts of salt.

I like some of the fake meat stuff, more of it I hate. So I don’t order it out in case it’s one I don’t like. Veggies are lovely, I much prefer something made with them

I don't eat any fake meats apart from quorn which I do like. I had a steak substitute once that looked like steak, had red food colouring in the middle that looked like blood and the texture was just like meat. I had one bite and felt physically sick.
I can't see the point of fake meats when there are so many delicious vegetable recipes. I just eat quorn for a bit of extra low calorie protein as nuts are really high in calories and I have to watch my weight.

Been vegan for 20 years and I quite like fake meat tbh!

If you want a 'dirty burger, to quote Adele, or a sausage roll at a service station greggs, or a fake bacon sandwich in a hangover morning, then you want something greasy and substantial and the newer fake meat does that quite well

I thought being vegan was meant to be healthy

Not really. The primary goal for a vegan is not to hurt or kill animals. People who follow a Whole Food Plant Based diet on the other hand are mindful of health.

Eating out is a funny thing really. Most see it as a treat and wouldn't think to complain the desserts are not healthy. As @toastofthetown said, I've not found a lack of healthy vegan and veg options myself.