In her comment on my last post about the sausage-less sausage, Judy said: "I have wondered for a very long long time why people who don't eat meat want their food to look like meat anyway. It puzzles me."
Although I am a "meat eater" I think I have somewhat of an answer to the puzzle.
For the same reason dog treats are shaped to look like bones: marketing.
Vegans and vegetarians would probably buy the product just as readily, perhaps even more so, if it was shaped in cubes and called "Italian Seasoned Soy."
By calling it "sausage-less sausage" and shaping it like sausages, it catches the eye of people who are looking for something different and possibly thinking about reducing their meat consumption.
For me it is the taste, shape and texture. I really like Italian sausage, be it pork, chicken, or sausage-less! For the sake of my cholesterol levels and my arthritis, I am trying to eat less meat. I will enjoy these on a bun or cut up along side a couple of eggs.
I will never be a vegetarian, but I'm intrigued by a recipe I saw recently that was for Baked Shiitake Mushrooms that end up looking like and tasting like bacon bits. BLTs may be back on my menu.
Now if they could just come up with a substitution for a good baked potato with butter and sour cream I'd be all set!
Any added thoughts?
From Craig: one of these sausage-lesses showed up in our evening meal tonight, and it was very good!
Interesting thoughts, Merikay, and I think you are right. Although there are also a lot of vegetarians who might still have old food habits that they miss and this might be a way to not miss those old habits. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteHave to agree I think it is to reach a bigger market for there products. And true vegetarians probably wouldn't care. You have me wanting to try those sausages.
ReplyDeleteTo help with the arthritis, you may want to do research in cutting out gluten and wheat products. You can still make bread in your bread machine using gluten free flours and an additive to help the bread rise. I agree that most of us want to continue eating the same types of food, but cut out the bad parts of eating sausage or meats, so we turn to the substitute meats.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head with that post.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right on! Marketing people are very good at what they do...selling stuff we might not otherwise buy to the rest of us. :)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a Trader Joe's in our area, but I buy 'sausage' patties in our local Wegmans. They look and taste just like sausage but with more healthy soy. I mix it with my omelette in the morning. Yum!
ReplyDeleteAs a new vegan I still like my same foods as I've had all my life. We had tacos last night so you still need a way to have them vegan style. We did and they were great.
ReplyDeleteWe discovered a great vegetable soup smothered on a baked potato is as good as (better really) than sour cream. There are actually some recipes for sour cream using tofu. Not sure how they taste though. Some people put salsa on their potatoes.
I wish we had a Trader Joes' here. I understand they are finally bringing one to Sarasota which is just south of us. It will be the first Florida store.
The sausages sound interesting. We have cut 90% of the meat out of our diet and don't miss it enough to use substitutes. We have a little steak once a month, and some fish every week or two, but aside from that it is rare. I'm learning that there is so much that can be done with just vegetables.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we have been having hotdogs for lunch while we've been camping... a substitute would be good to replace those!
I was going to suggest what Teri said...gluten can really affect arthritis and immune system. My husband has been gluten free for almost a year...what a difference! I use Pamela's baking and pancake mix...trader joe's does not have it but you can get it at Sprouts etc....I used the flour and bread mix in my bread machine...it is about $18.00 for four pounds.
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