Food

Three Benefits of Store-Bought Meat Alternatives

Easy options for both vegetarians and omnivores

Did your doctor suggest that you eat less meat? Are you trying to reduce your meat consumption for environmental and/or ethical reasons? Are you dating someone or do you have a family member who follows a vegetarian diet?

There are many reasons for shifting toward more vegetarian or vegan foods in your cooking. Whether vegetarian meals are new to you, or you’re feeling burned out in the kitchen, or you want to save money by cooking at home more, using meat substitutes can help.

While of course I’m not suggesting that anyone eat a diet of 100% processed foods, pre-made meat alternatives play a helpful role in my kitchen and might make vegetarian cooking easier for you.

1. They ease the transition away from meat

When I first wanted to shift toward vegetarian cooking and eating, I felt overwhelmed as I had minimal experience with food prep that didn’t center around meat. Buying meat alternatives from companies like Boca, Morningstar, Hilary’s, and Field Roast gave me options for familiar, adaptable foods that helped me transition from cooking meat products.

For people who really don’t want to give up meat, foods like Impossible Burger and the Beyond Beef have a very meat-like taste and texture, especially if you grill them. These “meat analogues” are so similar to meat that they can check a lot of boxes for diners who feel reluctant about vegetarian eating.

Pre-made “meatless ground” or “meatless crumbles” can easily sub for ground beef in recipes like chili, lasagna, tacos, and more. One of the first things I did when learning to cook vegetarian foods was to swap meatless products into easy but satisfying, homey dishes like spaghetti with “meat” sauce.

2. They’re quick and easy to store and prepare

Sometimes you just want something familiar that you can cook up with minimal effort. With a veggie burger or vegetarian chicken-style patty, it doesn’t take long to go from freezer to table with a spread of burgers and fries. Cook up some frozen broccoli, too, or another veggie for a healthier meal — all from the freezer.

Canned or vacuum-packed jackfruit-based alternatives to pulled pork often come already marinated and just need to be heated up and made into meaty sandwiches, tacos, salads, and the like.

Instead of having sausage or bacon, you can microwave some vegetarian breakfast sausages in under a minute, or toss some tempeh strips that come already seasoned with savory or maple flavors into a skillet for several minutes.

One of my favorite things about store-bought meatless options like this is that when I’m tired, they give me an easy alternative to going out for dinner or ordering food from a delivery app. While prepared food products aren’t cheap, they’re typically more affordable than eating restaurant food, especially on a regular basis.

3. They inspire you to try less processed options

The more I used pre-made meat alternatives, the more I realized that I could make similar meals that involved more whole foods and less processed stuff. I learned to press, marinate, and coat tofu in crispy breadcrumbs to make alternatives to chicken nuggets, strips, or sandwich patties. I realized I could mash beans with a fork and mix them with seasonings to make my own meatless alternative to breakfast sausages.

If you’ll forgive the play on words, trying different meat alternatives gave me food for thought, and I looked up recipes in books and online and figured out ways I could make tasty dishes that were more and more homemade. A friend taught me how to slow-cook plain jackfruit with my own marinade. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos to figure out how to make a lentil loaf.

Creativity is a big part of cooking in general, and it can be fun to figure out ways to cook vegetarian foods that include a variety of flavors and protein-rich elements, too. While I think that the emphasis on protein is sometimes overstated by a lot of people who love meat, I agree that meals are more filling and can help your metabolism when they include more protein.

Finding what works for you

When it comes to choosing alternatives that take the place of meat on your plate, of course the best option is to go as natural as you can. As the reviewers of meatless products for an article for Popular Science point out, “The healthiest meat substitute will be vegetarian foods that are natural, high in protein, and minimally processed. Great, healthy meat substitutes include beans, tempeh, lentils, jackfruit, mushrooms, nuts, and seeds.”

These days I eat a combo of homemade and pre-made products, trying to focus on the homemade but also taking it easy on myself and sometimes combining store-bought meat alternatives with good portions of vegetables and fruits.

I try to view each meal as an opportunity. If I spend tonight’s opportunity on a frozen veggie pizza, I can make a renewed effort tomorrow to cook a meatless vegetable pot pie with potatoes, celery, carrots, and butternut squash.