5.15.2007

Yummy Food Finds

I have made a few yummy food finds in the past few days, and I just thought I would pass on the news!

Whole Foods Mock Chicken Salad and Mock BBQ Chicken
Both dishes are served in the Whole Foods prepared foods section. I must admit that the consistency and taste of these dishes is close enough to chicken that I nearly get grossed out. After a couple years of no meat, you don't always desire meat tasting products as much. So, when you find something that is as close to the "real thing" you can get it, it's almost a bit disturbing. So, although I find this product tasty, I start getting a tad queasy 3/4 of the way through a sandwich. But for those who want to start cutting back on meat and trying soy products, I highly reccomend the fake chicken salad and fake BBQ chicken - it's pretty amazing. And even more amazing, both dishes are vegan - not just vegetarian.

Flat Earth Baked Veggie Chips
Mike and I bought a bag of these some time ago (around our housewarming), but we didn't get to eat any as the crowd at the party gobbled them up first. We tried to snag some for ourselves this time around, and I am glad we did. We purchased the Tangy Tomato Basil, and I am pretty happy with them. A bit strong in flavor, but with a bit of french onion or ranch dip, they get cooled down. They are still chips - so they aren't health food - but with the amount of veggies included in each serving, I feel less guilty having a handful of these with my fake chicken sandwich than a bunch of Doritos.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always wondered why people, who 'advertise' they are vegetarians, eat fake chicken tenders and fake sausage patties (like those sold by Morningstar Farms, for example). If you don't eat meat products, why eat meat-like products???

becky said...

I ate an entire bag of Flat Earth's Peach Mango Paradise chips once. I was a bit weirded out by the fact that they're fruit-flavored potato chips, but they were REALLY good!

M said...

In response to the "anonymous" comment, I believe that many vegetarians are "converts", or they haven't been veggie all their life. So, making the switch takes patience and getting used to. When your diet completely changes, you often seek out tastes and concistencies that match what you are used to eating. And for most of us, that means you seek foods that taste familiar - and that is meat. Hence, the success of products like Morningstar Farms, Quorn, etc. I know from my own experience that I relied on these mock meat products for a while because I just didn't know what else to eat. I had to switch from cooking cube steak and mashed potatoes to fresh veggies and tofu. That is not an easy switch - and I still haven't managed to do it the way that I should.

But I do think that those who stick with being veggie tend to rely less and less on those products as time goes on. I have a box of fake nuggets in the freezer that have been in there almost six months. They just don't seem appealing that much anymore.

More than anything though, old habits die hard. Most veggie folks were brought up on meat, and sometimes, you crave it. Doesn't mean you are going to jump on the meat wagon again, it just means you find a substitute and move past it. That's my take anyway!!!