(how often) do you eat meat/cheese substitutes?

[Cairidh]

and do you think this is unhealthy?:confused:

[Jane M]

No, I think of substitutes as now and then things. I don't think anything is good if used too much.

[FR]

I don't think they're unhealthy. Actually, bean meats are quite healthy. I eat vegan meats and vegan cheese about once a week.

[Cairidh]

:eek:
I'm raw vegan now but when I ate a cooked vegan diet I ate meat substitutes every single day :(
hardly ever ate vegan cheese though.

[Tigerlily]

I just bought some vegan cheese for the first time, so I'm trying to use it up before it goes bad! :)

[sugarmouse]

i eat soy mince maybe couple of times a week and tofu about the same..vegan cheese about once per week....jus for variation. it ink i could do quite happlily without them should ineed to:)

[eco]

I never eat vegan cheese, can't stand the stuff, but I do like vegan sausages, burgers, cheatin' ham etc and soya mice and I eat them a few times a week. I certainly don't think they're unhealthy. I eat far better than the average westener, I enjoy my food and don't worry about what I eat.

[veganwitch]

I use vegan cheese frequently through the week. Probably 4 or 5 days. Mostly because my stores are finally carrying a decent vegan cheese and I want to enjoy it while it's around.

As far as fake meats up until 2 weeks ago it was a daily thing. I would use them in lunches every day. I only started thinking it might be unhealthy because even though it's vegan it is still a processed food. So, I decided to stop. Just (proudly) finished second week of making lunches for hubby and myself without the aid of fake meats. I think I used them to begin with for the super easy convenience factor. I'll get them in the future, but for a treat. Sometimes I like to make submrine sandwiches or hoagies.....yum!

[applepie]

I have never tried vegan cheese as it doesn't appeal to me at all.
As for fake meats, I don't have them either. I don't want to eat something which has been made to taste like meat. I find the thought repulsive somehow. I do eat tofu and tempeh, but I prepare it myself rather than buying processed products.

[puffin]

I use 1 packet of cheezly a week but there are four people to feed. I dont eat fake meat very often, about once a month maybe, i have gone right of.

[Wildflower]

I don't eat fake cheese ever. It's pretty awful, and I have found that I don't really miss cheese on a lot of things (tacos, burritos, sandwiches). Allthough if I could make a great Mac and Cheese or cheesey pizza I would. I just never seem to eat that...

The other thing that bothers me about fake cheese is that it has zero protein, is high in fat/calories, and generally lacking in anything good. That may sound harsh, but if it at least tasted good I would use it as a treat!

I go through phases with fake meats where I eat them a lot. I have been going though that lately, otherwise I don't eat them everday. Normally, I eat them maybe one or two times a week. I think most fake meat is pretty healthy. Allthough it is processed, most are very high in protein, and low in fat/calories. That is probably the main reason I eat it. Some taste really good too.

I don't consider tofu a meat replacer, but I eat that about once a week. Also, I am not sure if TVP is...I kinda think of a meat replacer as something that is meant to taste like meat (veggie burger, fake chicken, fake ground, fake turkey slices).

To me, tvp, tempeh, seiten and tofu are different. As they may replace meat, they are not as processed with added flavorings/salt/fillers to taste like meat.

[tabitha]

I dont very often eat fake meat, but I have to admit I do eat soya cheese a lot. I really miss pizza, so I very often make myself a pizza with Cheezly, or I will mix potatos with Cheezly. However, I went to my Dads house today and he had Brie Cheese that was kind of sliding off the plate as it was so "room temperature" and it made me want to heave:(

[Cairidh]

I never found a vegan cheese I liked, but there was a vegan cream cheese that was absolutely divine! Is that the right word, cream cheese? Soft spread type thing you buy in tubs and comes in different flavours like chives....I was addicted to that.

[Cairidh]

I never liked dairy cheese anyway, except grated and melted and mixed in with scrambled tofu,

[Tigerlily]

I never found a vegan cheese I liked, but there was a vegan cream cheese that was absolutely divine! Is that the right word, cream cheese? Soft spread type thing you buy in tubs and comes in different flavours like chives....I was addicted to that.

Yes, cream cheese. I love it.

[Wildflower]

everyone seems to like cheezly. I wonder if i can get that shipped to the US?

[Cairidh]

everyone seems to like cheezly. I wonder if i can get that shipped to the US?

I never tried it, I didn't like the look of the packet....I think it was the name...

[Cairidh]

Yes, cream cheese. I love it.

yay
does it taste the same as dairy cream cheese, or is it just the vegan one that's gorgeous? (I never tried dairy cream cheese, I hated cheese)

[Wildflower]

The cream cheese does taste like dairy cream cheese, but dairy cream cheese doesn't taste like real cheese anyway. it is processed and totally different.

IMO.

[Tigerlily]

yay
does it taste the same as dairy cream cheese, or is it just the vegan one that's gorgeous? (I never tried dairy cream cheese, I hated cheese)

I personally think it tastes exactly the same--which is great as I was a cream cheese lover back in my omni days.

[Cairidh]

I never liked meat. When I ate meat I thought all food tasted disgusting. But when I became vegetarian suddenly all food tasted nice...so I don't think can fake meats taste like meat....
For example I hated sausages..but loved veg. sausages.
Hated meat pies...loved Linda McCartney meat pies.

or maybe going vegetarian just changed my body and hence changed my sense of taste.

[RedWellies]

everyone seems to like cheezly.
Not everyone! I very occasionally have some Tofutti cream cheese, and the odd Realeat sausage. But that's it. I don't like anything else.

[Artichoke47]

not sure what you mean by "substitutes." i don't eat any of what i consider substitutes.

i do, however, make cheese sauces ocassionally (maybe once a month), but those aren't substituting anything, nor did i have anything like it when omni. i also use tofu, tempeh, and seitan, but those are not considered meat substitutes (though I've heard them called that, probably because they're high in protein or something).

[DoveInGreyClothing]

I think fake meat is nicer than the real thing, it's been awhile(over 13 years) but I remember meat being grisly, greasy, having hard bits in, and fish having bony bits, and it not being all that nice at all.

I eat it a lot, maybe every other day, since my (omni) partner loves it too. TVP or vegemince or Linda McCartney or Redwoods fake meats usually. And I use a lot of tofu but I don't really think of that as a meat substitute.

As for cheese, I used to love the real thing, but I'm not too keen on the vegan versions and quite happily go cheeseless.

[DancingWillow]

I don't eat any meat replacers. It reminds me too much of the real thing and make me disgusted. I start thinking about all the animal cruelty, which makes me sad, disgusted, and sick...not good when I'm eating! I have been a vegetarian since I was 14 and I tried a meat replacer for the first time only a year ago. I don't miss the taste of meat at all, so I don't feel a need to eat meat replacers.

Strangely, I don't feel the same way about dairy replacers. I drink non-dairy milk (usually almond milk) almost every day and eat rice "ice-cream" quite often. I occasionally (but pretty rarely) use Tofutti cream cheese or sour cream.