Fake Meat

            Before I became a vegetarian I was really worried about how I would get through the cravings for meat that I would undoubtedly get. I had heard of people that were vegetarians or vegans that ate fake hamburgers, but I immediately thought that that would never compare to actual meat and I would never be able to eat something that was made out of who-knows-what. I also thought that even if the ‘fake hamburgers’ were good, then what about the cravings for other the other types of meats that I would get; like hot dogs, bacon, sausage, chicken, or barbecue ribs.

            The first time I had tried fake meat was when I got it from the school lunch room when I was in middle school. I expected it to be absolutely vile, horrid, and mushy (and not just because all of the other food from school is vile, but also because it was not made out of real meat). Now, I will admit that at first, it did not taste like meat but it was not anywhere near gross or mushy. I liked it enough to know that I could go a while with only eating fake hamburgers, rather than real hamburgers. I think that once a person goes without real meat for a certain amount of time, fake meat is the only thing they know that compares to the ‘meat’ that everyone else eats and talks about on a daily basis.

            About a week after becoming a devoted vegetarian, I made the life-changing discovery that there are companies out there that specialize solely in making fake meat for people like me that crave meat and meat-related foods. Soon enough after that discovery, I became fairly well-acquainted to the general area in most stores that sell this type of stuff. I then discovered that not only are there companies out there making fake meat for all of the vegetarians, but they have a wide variety of the types of meat they make. If you can name a type of meat that you are craving, there is a large chance that you can find it in the vegetarian aisle, and if not then it can be found somewhere else. They sell things like chicken nuggets, barbecue ribs (boneless, of course), chicken patties, steak cutlets, bacon, and sausage.

The only type of fake meat that I have tried and was disappointed with was the bacon, it looked and tasted like cardboard. But, the chicken and barbecue ribs are heavenly, in my opinion. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that they not only sell fake meat, but they also sell entrees with fake meat replacing what would have been the real meat in them. They also have bags of fake meat to substitute real meat in homemade meals so you would never have to be left out at supper time at home with the family, just because of the fact that you do not eat meat like the rest of them. 

Vegetarian is not vegan

                If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say something along the lines of “How do you not drink milk, or things with milk in them?” or “So, you can’t eat cheese or eggs?” I would have a lot of dollars, believe me. It is unreal. It is actually really baffling to me that so many people do not know the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan. I am pretty sure I have at least known what a vegetarian was since I was about ten probably, and I am also pretty sure I learned what a vegan was around the time when I was twelve, give or take a few years.

I have also come across a couple of people that had looked at me funny when I told them that I was a vegetarian, as if they had never even heard that word before in their lives or like it was from an entirely different language. Then, there are the people who have never heard of the word vegan before, let alone what it means. I honestly do not understand how a person who is my age, and especially even older than me does not know the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian, and especially never heard it enough to the point where they felt the need to ask around about it or look it up online, or even in the dictionary. Like, do you not own a dictionary at your house? I certainly hope you do, even if it is in the back of a bookshelf layered with a thick sheet of dust.

 I mean, I guess it is just a little bit annoying for me to have to explain to the majority of the people that I tell I am a vegetarian the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian, or the fact that there are two words that are apparently foreign to them that can be found easily in a dictionary, online, or from another person that are in the English language, the language that they fluently speak that they have never heard of in their lives. 

Protein

            The most common question I get asked is how I get my protein since I cannot get it from the meat like most people can without even thinking about it. Honestly, I actually have no idea. I mean, I don’t eat peanuts, peanut butter, or any kind of nut because I think that they are absolutely vile and disgusting; the smell is so awful that I can’t stand to be around people who are eating anything with peanuts or peanut butter in it. But the taste (If I remember correctly), is even worse than the smell, in my opinion. I guess I could say that I get my protein from bananas (which I rarely eat), eggs (which I also rarely eat), or baked beans (the vegetarian kind, of course).

            I actually know quite a few people who are also vegetarians and I have asked them about this topic. One of my closest friends, who is also a vegetarian takes vitamins every single day, but I have never had to do that because I do not feel like I need to do that. But, I actually think that she takes it just to make sure nothing would happen. If I had to do that though, I probably would end up forgetting to take it just like I do with all of the other medicines that I am supposed to take every single day. 

            Sometimes, I will have a person ask me as if they are incredibly concerned for my health how I get my protein and I always find that to be very amusing because I do not consider that to be an important issue for me to be worried about (even though I probably should). I mean, I understand protein is a big factor in a person’s diet but I think that protein can be found in foods that a person would never think of to have protein in them. For example, after doing research I have made some surprising discoveries about foods that have protein in them; one-hundred grams of cheese has almost double the amount of protein in it than one-hundred grams of eggs does, and one-hundred grams of sunflower seeds contain more protein than one-hundred grams of almonds. Also, if you think about it the majority of foods that are baked or cooked have eggs in them. Personally, I obviously have no idea when it comes to my protein consumption but I do know that I feel healthy enough without worrying about how to get my recommended amount of protein every day.

People's Reactions

            As soon as I let people know that I am a vegetarian, they automatically think that it is either something I have to do for religious reasons, or maybe a bet that I am trying to win, or that it’s some sort of diet I am trying out. They never think that I may be doing this simply because I want to. Well, that is actually the only reason I am a vegetarian; I just simply want to be one. I have been in situations in the past where the person I told judges me for this decision, like it’s against the law or their beliefs or something like that and I honestly do not understand why. On the other hand, I have also met some people who are really proud of me for sticking to this lifestyle for as long as I have been, and I think that that is the best kind of reaction I could ever get from a person.

I mean, I totally understand why people say they could never live without meat in their everyday lives; I was once one of those people, but it’s really not as torturous as it may seem. When I first started being a vegetarian, even I slipped a couple times and accidentally ate that home cooked meal with my family that smelled irresistible and later remembered that I was a vegetarian. But now, it’s kind of almost habitual for me to turn my nose up at the offer of meat or a food containing meat, kind of like how I would imagine a person who is allergic peanut butter is when they are offered something containing peanut butter. I guess you just get used to the idea.

There are times when I get these cravings for a certain type of meat that I haven’t had in a while, and this is the point where most people would crack and give into their cravings. But, I have a decent supply of various fake meats in my freezer, and when most people think of ‘fake meat', they think of something nasty like tofu that tastes nothing like actual meat does, and I did at first as well because I cannot stand the taste, or should I say ‘lack of taste’ and the texture of tofu. Maybe it’s because I am used to it, but I think that fake meat is a lot more delicious than real meat ever was. They also have a very large selection of fake meats, from chicken to bacon to hamburgers; you name it, and they probably will have it available.