A Review of New Things I've Tried #48: Vegan Proteins Edition

I don't often try new proteins these days, being, as it were, super frugal. But I have tried some! And so it's time for a new review post.

1. A Dozen Cousins Mexican Pinto Beans

I wanted to like these more than I did. They were fine, but somewhat bland, and pricey for what they were. I wouldn't buy them again unless I was in a pinch.

2. Morningstar Farms Hot & Spicy Sausage Patties

These are just a basic breakfast sausage. I found them to be a bit more tender than my usual Wegmans breakfast sausage patty, and in a good way. They're not, in my opinion, all that hot, but I think I may have increased my spice tolerance a bit too much with too much gochujang and now previously spicy things don't register as much. I would get these again, especially since Wegmans stopped making my old standby.

3. Nasoya Planspired Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu

This wasn't very strongly flavored, but it was fine. I think I prefer smoked tofu overall for this kind of thing, but it definitely made for an easy, quick meal when needed.

4. Beyond Chicken Unbreaded Pieces

These are easy to use and taste really good, but I found the texture very challenging. To be fair, I find the texture of a lot of seitan very challenging! I think these are best when cut into smaller pieces.

5. Kaizen Spanish Rice

I wanted to love this. I miss Banza rice! And RightRice! And all the things that the rice industry weirdly took away from us! (Will they come after riced cauliflower next?) Kaizen is made from lupini beans and is even higher in protein than RightRice and Banza were, but I found this weirdly dry, even though I added the vegan butter suggested. It was also kind of too firm, somehow, and didn't have much flavor. I topped this with salsa verde and it was fine, and if it was cheaper, I'd probably go for it again, because sometimes protein needs to come disguised as carbs. But given that this is really rather expensive--this bag cost me nearly $10--I think I can just say I tried it, and experiment with chickpea orzo.

6. Jack & Annie's Jackfruit "Fish" Fillets

Although they're lower in protein than some of the other options out there, I love Jack & Annie's products. They have a more appealing texture, usually, than some others. These were absolutely delicious with some tartar sauce! I would happily have them again.

7. Abbott's Fajita Chick'n

To me, some of the vegan chicken options these days are weirdly rubbery and firm (see above), but this wasn't rubbery at all! I loved these seasoned chick'n pieces in a tortilla for a quick taco, with the usual accompaniments, of course.

8. Morningstar Farms Chorizo Crumbles

I expected these to be spicier than they were--certainly they looked spicy, with all that greasy redness--but they were pretty mild. On the whole, these were fine for what I bought them for (breakfast tacos), and I might get them again for that purpose later on, but I had to add sriracha to bring things to my desired spice level. Be forewarned.

9. JUST Chicken

This "chicken" is a bit tougher than I would like, I think, but it's not rubbery like Beyond. I found it tastiest cut up, however. It was great in some chick'n and dumplings, because it softened in the broth. With things like this, you just have to find the right application.

10. Big Mountain Mighty Mushroom Bites

My Wegmans was out of tofu. One of the rapid pivots I made from the limited options left was to grab these mushroom bites. They're a bit like a flat, mushroom-y falafel patty. They work well in your usual falafel-type applications, but the leftovers were horrendous--I'm not even sure why. I won't buy these again.

Although I may not try new things quite as often as I used to, a new store recently opened near me, and I expect to get more fun things from them, especially since they're owned by a local family, and are not part of the corporate mess causing so many societal problems. Let me know if there's something new you've seen that I can look out for!