Since becoming a pescatarian five years ago, I have been on the hunt for meatless products that fulfill my appetite. In particular, I have been looking for meatless “meat” products that satisfy any meals with meat I may crave. This does not mean I am looking for a replacement for a T-Bone steak or for an entire roasted chicken. But because simple meals like sandwiches, chili, or tacos became so complicated to eat, I had to find substitutions.
Why does cutting meat out my diet limit having a quickly made, filling sandwich? Well because most of the simple sandwiches made have pre-cut meats and cheeses, and I’m sorry, but a cold cheese sandwich does not sound good to me.
Luckily, I am not afraid to try new things. Over these long five years I have come across some terrible replacements but I have found my go-to meatless “meat” products to make my sandwiches and other meals great again all thanks to MorningStar Farms.
Chicken Patties
The chicken patties are my most versatile meatless “meat.” I have made this into chicken parmigiana by adding mozzarella and marinara sauce. I can also cut the patty up and placed it inside a quesadilla, wraps, and tacos, or just leave it alone and add it to a sandwich.
All you need to do is put a patty on a paper towel and pop it in the microwave for about one minute. The patty does not get soggy and the breadcrumbs have a nice light flavor to them.
Sausage Links
I was never a huge fan of sausage links growing up unless they were covered in pancake syrup. But pancakes, waffles, and French toast was not the same without my slathered sausage links. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to find these.
Just place two sausage links on a plate and heat them in a microwave for about one minute. The links have a meat-like texture and have a nice little spice to them. They honestly taste the most like the actual meat product from everything that I’ve tried.
Veggie Dogs
Going to barbecues and only eating side dishes started to get really depressing. I started bringing veggie burgers, but they were just too much for the cook to grill with everything else. The veggie dogs I found heat up quick and are so similar to a typical pork hotdog that I no longer dread going to barbecues.
The best way to cook these is to put them in a microwave for about a minute and then put them on either the grill or a skillet to just get the skin crispy. They may not have the snap that pork hotdogs do, but they definitely hold up flavor-wise.
Bacon
I promise you this is the best meatless “meat” product in the entire world. This bacon has literally made me a happy person again. It is just so damn good. I put the bacon on sandwiches, in wraps, on salads, in pasta dishes, to go as a side for pancakes. I’ll admit, sometimes I just heat it up and eat it because it is just that good.
As always, to heat this bacon up, just put it on a paper towel in the microwave for about a minute to a minute and 30 seconds. I like it crispier, so I leave it in a whole minute and 30 seconds. And yes, this bacon will get so crispy that it’ll actually break. Another perk is that it doesn’t have all the oil from frying, like actual bacon, but it does have all the flavor!
The texture is not the same as bacon by any means, but once you put a strip of it in your sandwich you won’t even notice the difference. You’ll just notice the taste, which is what matters!
Now, I am not telling any vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan that these meats are going to completely live up to what they are imitating. But they do add some sustenance to a sandwich or pasta that sometimes vegetables just can’t fulfill.
And if you don’t want to just take my word for it, go ahead try these meatless products out yourself.