Eating plant based, or just eating less meat can have many health and environmental benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, reducing your meat consumption can have a protective effect against heart disease, stroke, and other conditions.
Over the past few months, I have made a conscious effort to eat less meat, especially less red meat. I even tried a one-week vegetarian challenge, in which I realized I enjoy eating naturally meatless meals such as minestrone soup or spicy black bean soup. Despite enjoying those meals, I found myself missing my regular foods. I decided to start trying vegetarian and vegan meats to find out which I liked best. I’m reviewing my three most recent veggie finds!
1. I started off by trying the MorningStar Veggitizers Veggie Popcorn Chik’n. I found these in the frozen section at target. They advertise being a great source of plant based protein, so I was very excited to try them. Unfortunately, however, I was disappointed in the texture. I tried these both in a salad, and on their own, and they just weren’t for me.
2. Next, after being highly recommended, I decided to try Amy’s Quarter Pound veggie burger. I actually tried these twice because I wanted to like them so badly. The first time I made the patty according to the package directions but felt that it was lacking something. Next time I cooked It longer and added a few more seasonings such as garlic powder and chili powder. A few adjustments helped, however, after eating half the burger I just don’t want to eat anymore.
3. I was starting to feel a little discouraged when I tried Trader Joe’s Meatless Breakfast Patties. Not only do these patties smell just like regular breakfast sausages, they taste a lot like them as well. I love eating these with the Trader Joe’s frozen hash browns. I can’t wait to try more Trader Joe’s meatless products!
Photo taken by Shannon Elesh