A Review of New Things I Tried #16 (Vegan Proteins Edition)

There are so many more vegan meat substitutes than even I ever thought. These are some that I've recently had in isolation I don't think I would have had otherwise.

1. Mia Plant-Based Roasted Turkey Style Deli Slices

I was skeptical of anything being as good as Tofurky as a stand in for deli turkey slices, but these really impressed me! They had a firmness to them, a kind of snap and stretch, that one usually doesn't find among vegan deli meats. The color is a bit different than turkey, but the flavor and texture are perhaps a bit too real. If you're someone who finds overly realistic "meat" distressing, maybe avoid these; I found them a pretty nice treat. They were pricey and I can only buy such things from a restaurant supply store, but total isolation has to have at least some joys, I figure.

2. Pure Farmland Plant-Based Burger Patties, Simply Seasoned

These are usually so expensive I just pass them by, but they were on sale for half price at the little store where I get most of my perishable groceries delivered to me, so I decided to try them. (Really, it is strange how I can get some less-common vegan things there and yet the things I believed were standards aren't available.) I imagined they'd be like Beyond Burgers, and they are a little, with some notable exceptions: They are thinner burgers, which I like because the Beyond Burgers are too big for me and I usually end up cutting them in half. I also both like and don't like that they come four to a package--there is less packaging with these overall (good) but it's less convenient for me on my own. They never really seemed to get brown, which I find a little disconcerting, because there is something helpful about the Beyond Burger browning. And finally, they are not so firm in texture as compared to the Beyond Burger, which makes them feel slightly less "realistic" than the Beyond Burgers do. This doesn't bother me, because they're not mushy or anything, just different. At the right price, I would buy these again. I have another variety of this same type of burger in my freezer to tell you about after I try them, too.

3. JUST Egg Plant-Based Scramble

Though the frozen JUST Egg Folded product truly has the same texture/mouth feel of eggs, in my opinion, despite all the hype, the JUST Egg Scramble does not quite get there. More importantly, it doesn't behave quite like eggs when you're cooking them. I will grant you I have not cooked an egg in well over four years, but eggs are thicker than the JUST Egg mix and will set up firmer than it does. I have also yet to find a way, even in my nonstick pan (although I will concede it is an older nonstick pan), to avoid having JUST Egg stick to the surface. All that being said, I like the JUST Egg Scramble, anyway. It can do things other egg substitutes cannot, and resembles a scrambled egg in ways tofu and chickpea flour do not, even if there is something vaguely off about JUST Egg. If you really miss scrambled eggs, this is likely as close to it as you're going to get in the plant kingdom.