Having followed a plant-based diet for approximately three years now, I’ve tried a fair share of up-and-coming meat alternatives, each with the approximate excitement of a child seeing a new toy. So, in light of any vegetarian resolutions you might have made, here is a review of seven products, based on price, taste, ingredients and versatility.
Prices based off Sainsbury’s for comparison purposes.
Beyond Meat
Taste: Tastes eerily like beef and has an (arguably concerning for a vegan) tagline – “now even meatier” – on their packaging. First time I tried it in a burger I had to ask the waiter if they’re sure they didn’t accidentally give me real meat. Cooks like ground beef, too.
Price: £4.50
Ingredients: The accurate taste is very much fabricated – the ingredients list is rather lengthy (my favourite is pomegranate juice – didn’t think beef tasted like pomegranates but what do I know). Main protein source is pea protein: 19g per burger (which is more than in an actual beef patty).
Versatility: Good for burgers and meatballs (shocker).
Miscellaneous: If you’ve ever tried Leon’s Me*atballs and liked them, this is what they’re made of.
What the Cluck (Vegetarian Butcher)
Taste: I wouldn’t go as far as saying it tastes exactly like chicken, but it’s close when it’s covered in sauce or has other components. Texture is slightly denser than chicken, but again, quite close.
Price: £3
Ingredients: Encouragingly modest – mainly soy protein. 17g protein per serving. Has added B12, which is the one vitamin that is more often found in animal products.
Versatility: Very good in ‘chicken’ broth, stir fries and curries. Does tend to stick to the pan though, so do add oil.
Miscellaneous: bonus points for the name.
Quorn Pieces
Taste: The one good thing about Quorn is that they’re not trying to taste like meat – they are just a vegetarian source of protein. These ones are quite umami and have the texture of slightly crumbly chicken.
Price: £2.50
Ingredients: Mycoprotein (derived from fungi) and egg white [not vegan]. 14g protein.
Versatility: Good in literally anything because they taste good by themselves. Add to pesto pasta – stunning little lunch – or to ramen.
Happy Go Clucky (Vegetarian Butcher)
Taste: Solid (metaphorically) breaded vegan chicken burger. Quite thin but tastes good and has a similar texture to a chicken patty.
Price: £2.75
Ingredients: Good for B12 and iron. 8g protein from soy. Similar to Beyond Beef in that it has a lot of flavouring, so is arguably not the most whole-food option.
Versatility: Good for burgers.
Bird’s Eye Green Cuisine Fishless Fingers
Taste: Tastes eerily like fish fingers. Genuinely just slightly softer fish fingers.
Price: £3
Ingredients: Rice flakes and wheat fibre, mainly – not too many flavourings. 9g protein per four fingers.
Versatility: This one’s kind of self-explanatory.
Quorn Mince
Taste: The taste reminds me very, very slightly of mushrooms, but it’s a satisfying taste. Texture is like ground beef, slightly softer, but cooks similarly.
Price: £2.50
Ingredients: Mycoprotein, pea fibre and egg white [not vegan]. 13g protein.
Versatility: Really good in Bolognese, cottage pies and chili (essentially anywhere you’d use ground mince in, bar meatballs and burgers).
Lentils (because they are a good source of protein, and because why rely on meat alternatives when you can just have dhal.)
Taste: So good. So creamy, so filling, so satisfying.
Price: A kilogram of red lentils is £1.80. Bliss.
Ingredients: Lentils (you most commonly can get puy, red, green, yellow). 12g protein along with fibre, potassium, and folate.
Versatility: You can make them into soups, stews, casseroles, cottage pies – the sky is the lentil’s limit.
All in all, hitting your recommended daily protein intake on a meat-free diet is very achievable. The more products are created, the closer we can get to satisfying any cravings, as well as easing the phasing out of meat, if that is what you choose to do.
