My quest for alternative food ingredients began mainly because doctors “suggested” I limit the amount of red meat I ate, so at I decided to try meat substitutes. The first of those experiments was with an imported beef mince substitute, something we first tried in late 2018. That experiment went well, but an experiment with a similar substitute was a total failure. That major failure made me uneasy about relying on meat substitutes, and I started to have other misgivings about them.
In May, 2019, we tried we tried Beyond Meat’s burger patties, and we liked them. In that post, I noted that I’d read a story that claimed that plant-based burgers may not be any healthier than meat-based burgers, and while I was sceptical of that claim, I also noted that less-processed foods are better for us, and that “whole foods, simply prepared, are better for our health.” That was non-controversial, but it didn’t address the affect on the planet from farming animals for food, which is much harder on the environment, and consumes more resources, than does plant farming. Still, what if we made meat-less meals without using processed meat substitutes?
As it happens, I was experimenting with that at the same time we were trying meat substitutes. In July 2018, I made a lentil bolognese with pasta for the first time, and we both liked it. In the years since, I’ve slowly refined the recipe and it remains one of my go-to standards. The following May, I made pasta with a puttanesca sauce, and that eventually became something I put into rotation alongside the lentil pasta. But both of those were Italian-influenced, and, while nice, they can get boring if that’s all I make.
More recently, I experimented with other meals, like the Red Lentil Dahl I tried, and have made a few times since. In general, I prefer the idea of making meat-free meals that are made directly from plants, not from things processed from plants—not that I have anything against meat substitutes, of course. In fact, another meat-free burger pattie product is now available in New Zealand, and I plan to run it through my Test Kitchen.
In addition, I also started experimenting with substitutes like plant-based milks. The photo above shows some of the substitutions, and while the chick peas became one of my pantry staples, the milks didn’t fair as well.
I’ll admit that I bought the oat milk because I liked the brand name (and it was on special…). I tried it in coffee, and while I thought it tasted odd, compared to cow’s milk, it wasn’t offensive. I also tried soy milk because so many people seem to practically sing about it. I tried it in coffee and thought it tasted really weird. However, I also used it when I was making a cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese (substituting it for about a third of the total milk), and it was fine in that. A few weeks later, I ran out of cow’s milk and for several days used soy milk in my coffee. I’m now certain that I don’t like it. I might cook with it, but once opened you’re supposed to discard the unused contents after 7 days, so I always end up throwing half the carton away. That’s way too much waste.
Something I learned only recently is that the soy milk available in supermarkets is made overseas and exported to New Zealand. Oats, on the other hand, are grown here, and some oat milk (like the brand I bought) is made in NZ from NZ-grown oats. That’s a better idea—if I don’t waste much. I bought another bottle to try, and to try cooking with it, so, more later?
The logical question is, why am I doing all this? Having meat-free meals began as a way to have a healthier diet, but I realised early on that it’s also a way to live my values, and that’s become one of my main motivators.
By having a largely plant-based diet, I’ll tread a little more lightly on the planet than I would if I had a mainly meat-based diet—to be clear, however, my prime motivation for cutting way back on meat was my heart-health rather than the planet. Be that as it may, meat farming and processing IS much harder on the planet than food crop farming and processing. Dairy farming is even harder on the planet, and that was my specific motivation for attempting to cut back on dairy (in addition to my same health concerns, of course).
Here’s the thing: Most of us aren’t, and are unlikely to ever be, purists about any of this, especially when times are tough, as they are now. It’s always much harder to live our values when we’re struggling to get by. Still, even when times are at least “normal”, not all of us can be as pure as maybe we might like, and so, I believe our objective ought to be to tread as lightly on the planet as we’re able.
This is heresy to the dyed-in-the-wool vegans, animal-rights activists, and climate change warriors, but I—and most folks, I think—believe that a little change is better than none at all, even if a lot of change is, in a perfect world, clearly better than a little. And, let’s be real: Nothing short of purity would please the purists, so anything less than that would earn their condemnation, regardless of what we do or don’t do.
For me, all this meant installing solar power generation because at the time I could do it. I also want to grow more of my own food this coming year (if my energy and stamina levels cooperate…). It’s also meant eating a largely plant-based diet, but still consuming dairy because, so far, I simply don’t like the substitutes. And, it also means that, yes, if I want a steak or a takeaway burger, I’ll have that. Little changes are better than none.
In the months ahead, I may be talking more about my efforts to achieve some level of sustainability. Growing my own food, apart from tomatoes and herbs, is something I haven’t done since I was a kid (my parents had a large vegetable garden for a few years). That’s assuming I’m able to achieve anything (I really didn’t last year, after all).
The one thing I know for sure is that this is a work in progress, and I’ve enjoyed learning and experimenting. Sometimes substitutions have been successful, other times, less so, but finding that out has been interesting and fun for me. As long as that continues, there’ll be more to talk about.
There will be a lot more substitutes, too, I’m sure. Successful or not, they all teach me something.
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