A week or so ago, I pledged to purchase and sneak some sustainable, vegetable-based meat substitute into my family’s meal. This was intended to be an experiment on the taste and use of a meat substitute.
So I purchase a bag of something called “Beyond Meat”, their grilled chicken recipe. Having read some about this product, I understand that just cooking and eating it will not result in a fanfare of praise. It’s not chicken. However, I prepared it with an onion, yellow and red bell pepper, some cumin and paprika. Through that in a tortilla with some black beans, lettuce, cheese, and tomato and you’ve got the makings of a meal.
Preparing it was no problem. It seemed weirdly gritty, but once all that was caramelizing in the bottom of the skillet the sticks of veggie protein cooked up just fine.
The family ate it. The missus subtly mentioned something about tochicken (implying it was tofu chicken). But my mom, the against-everything-that’s-not-meat-and-potatoes person, didn’t mention anything.
Honestly, once in a tortilla with the sides, I really couldn’t tell the difference… except that the Beyond Meat product was uniformly shaped in way that is totally unlike actual chicken. Again, the point is not to eat this because it tastes amazing by itself (really, have you eaten just cooked chicken with no seasonings, no sides, no nothing?), but because vegetables are more sustainable than cows and chickens.
I was satisfied with the meal. I happily ate the leftovers the next day.
However, and this is a pretty big however, my body reacts… poorly… to a lot of vegetables. Indeed, everyone says how important it is to eat veggies. I honestly feel pretty bad after a meal of veggies (which I don’t mind eating).
It’s wasn’t the rest of the meal. I’ve even the exact same thing a dozen times this year with no ill effects. Pinto beans and Anasazi beans will kill my stomach. Black beans don’t, which is why I use them. So the only possible culprit is the Beyond Meat product. I won’t subject myself and my family to that again. It was unpleasant and we’ll leave it at that.
Again, the taste and use of the product was fine. I have no problems with it. The after effects are a deal breaker for me though. I’ll try again in a few years, maybe the manufacturers will come up with something else. Maybe we’ll have vat grown meat by then.
For now, I need to stick with real animal protein.
