Plant-based foods are becoming more mainstream. Some people don’t want to eat meat. Some like the environmental benefit.
Consumer Reports recently analyzed 32 plant-based mock meat products – faux burgers, nuggets, chicken filets, and sausages.
Some products were rated very good by CR’s sensory experts.
“Beyond Meat Burger and Impossible Burger are really the closest we saw to mimicking meat,” said Amy Keating, a nutritionist at Consumer Reports. “With a bun and a topping at a barbecue, you might not blink your eye; you might just eat it and think it’s a burger.”
Keating said Impossible Chicken Nuggets came closest to tasting like a typical chicken nugget.
Three pork pretenders: Beyond Meat’s breakfast sausage links and sweet Italian sausages, along with MorningStar’s breakfast links were described as “reminiscent” of the real thing.
“So, there are definitely some tasty options,” Keating said. “But the question really remains, should you just eat less real meat, and eat more plant-based proteins like tofu, legumes, and beans to both benefit your health and lessen the environmental impact?”
Note: Some of these products have fewer calories, less sodium, and less artery-clogging saturated fat than the real thing. Others have more. Be sure to check the Nutrition Information label.
More Info: The Meat Lovers’ Guide to Plant-Based Meat
