Veggie Sausages and other products.

Veggie sausages have come a long way, haven't they? I remember when they were like cardboard!  These days, they're getting pretty darn good.  But no veggie sausage is complete without a killer sauce, and  who know how to make yum yum sauce?  Making your own is surprisingly easy,  and you can tailor it to your taste buds. I like mine with a bit of a kick,  so I add a squeeze of sriracha. What's your secret yum yum sauce ingredient?  Anyone else have a favourite veggie sausage brand to recommend?  Let's share some tips and tricks to make veggie sausage night a taste sensation!

Ah good for you Roy. Was it Richmonds vegan sausages by any chance? They are very nice.

From what the replies have been, autistic people do manage okay with vegetarian food. I wasn’t sure how the replies would go as I know from my own experiences having a restrictive diet does make things slightly harder. The sausages I tried at lunch were as I said,”okay.” The only problem was I could still taste them at dinner time.

The going fully vegan does seem to be too much for most autistic people. I’m sure someone will prove me wrong. From my own experiments, I have been making some nice pasta dishes with a tomato sauce and if course my beloved grated cheese, quite strange, tomato sauces, tinned in a sauce, soup and ketchup fine. Actually  eating a tomato is never going to happen.

I think I’m going to batch cook some of my own recipes, Debbie has raised a good point with substitutes not having to look or taste like meat. My village pub has gone very upmarket, four full time chefs and very twee food. The peasant option is a burger in a brioche bun with chip’s strategically stacked in a tin mug. The chef’s tried different veggie options of it and from feedback it’s now actually a bean burger made with vegetables, it’s what people actually preferred. Your not alone Debbie. I have tried the veggie sharing platter, that is nice as has cheese with it! The Superfood salad is a step too far for me. I would go into toxic shock.

A bit like Autonomistic, I've been vegetarian about 36 years.  I don't remember Quorn being about, I remember having to go to health food shops for Burgamix and Sosmix.  Beanfeast (amazing bring this back) was one of the few products you could get in mainstream supermarkets.  I also remember having to soak beans overnight and boil them for an hour and then make weird pasties and stuff to go in the freezer.  It's much easier these days!

Richmond veg sausages already mentioned are currently my favourites, followed by Cauldron Cumberland sausages (though expensive) then Quorn.  The Linda McCartney range has definitely dropped out of favour.  A current favourite for payday is the plant based Kyevs from Marks (the no-fish cakes aren't good imo).  I also prefer the Quorn bacon to other types. The meat free balls (Sainsburys) with spaghetti and gravy are a favourite.  I also like the plant based burgers from Sainsburys but they're not good if overcooked.  I also still buy dried soya to make chilli or bolognaise and as a treat mock duck to put in stir fries.

I eat quite a lot of meat substitutes (I'm vegetarian for ethical reasons as opposed to someone that doesn't like meat), although there are a few products which now I wouldn't eat if they are too meat like as I've got used to not having it.  I've been called a meat and two veg vegetarian due to the way I will just replace the meat with a substitute.  This comes from cooking tea for my dad when my mum was working and so I literally had the same dinner with something else instead of the meat.

You do have to think a little about a balanced diet, however, I'm not vegan so I still get B12 for example from things like eggs and milk, also marmite.  Protein is one thing I used to think about as only soya is really a complete protein compared to meat.  However, some things you naturally eat together have the necessary amino acids to form complete proteins e.g. beans on toast.  I don't mind the vegan stuff, I get more annoyed by the fat free stuff as historically I've been borderline between ideal weight and underweight.

Anyways, no harm in cutting down meat intake and trying new stuff, could be better for you and the planet :).

I used to get the Linda / Aldi red onion and rosemary ones because my ex likes them. I could tolerate them but they are a bit too spicy with the rosemary and other flavours. i haven't tried to find a replacement as I never want to be depending on processed foods as a core part of my diet as it would then distress me if they were changed or discontinued. Instead I mix vital wheat gluten with water and salt to make blobs of protein. It only takes a couple of minutes to mix and then steam for 30 minutes or so.

I've tried several times to eat more vegetarian food. It's not been a good experience, due to many supermarket vegetarian products being  less than tasty. I chucked out most of it out.

Strictly vegetarians do not eat fish. The official term for those who eat fish but not meat is pescatarian.

I know in practice some people will describe themselves as vegetarian and still eat fish. I've been guilty of that myself in the past.

I had the Beyond Meat 'Beyond Meatballs' for dinner tonight with spaghetti. They're made with pea protein.

Very nice but with 18g/100g fat content not exactly healthy 

Plant Pioneer Shroomdogs are my favourite. Not eaten meat for 20+ yrs as went off the texture. I’ve literally tried everything and now stick with these. ️

I've been a vegetarian for the last 5 years, I haven't looked back since. I feel better in every way since choosing the vegetarian life.

I will look into this, one of my favourite meals is just a nice soup and some crusty bread. Cheese on toast is another fave.

I take my hat off to you Roy, especially as I have a tendency to eat processed meat. Not good as I need to reduce my intake of (bad) LDL cholesterol.

The only vegetarian alternatives I've tried are Quorn sausages and Quorn burgers. They tasted better than I expected, but I didn't enjoy them enough to want to make a habit of buying them. In addition to finding they lacked flavour and tasted too bland for my liking, I also found the texture too dry.

In addition, I found there was a noticeable difference in cost (more expensive). Admittedly, this was a good many years ago, when vegetarian alternatives had only just started to become available, and the only brand available seemed to be Quorn. Therefore, I'm aware things may well have changed since then in terms of cost.

This is not medical advice but if you cut out or reduce meat consumption be careful of b12 levels dropping. You can only get this from meat products or additional supplements. 

Caulifliwer grills, and bean burgers  

I prefer vegetable dishes, although I use Quorn mince to make shepherds pie, occasionally. There are so many veggie options now!

i think vegetarians also eat fish too and claim that fish is seperate from meat or not meat in some way but is fish which is seperate from meat somehow.... i dont get that logic but apparently some people say fish doesnt count as meat lol

I’m virtually vegetarian, have meat maybe a couple of times a month. 

my absolute favourite are quorn nuggets! They’re a very safe go to food for me! 

I loved the Richmond veggie sausages but as with a lot of things I think I had them too much and have now gone off them.

I much prefer things made with vegetables rather than fake meat. Cauliflower cheese burgers are really good! 

I am trying to replace meat in my diet with vegetarian alternatives.  I think that vegetarian replacement for meat products have come a long way in the last few years.  I think real meat will become more expensive in the future for enviromental reasons.  I don't know the environmental impact of the vegetarian replacement for meat products though.

I like the Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages, burgers and sausage rolls.

I also like the fake bacons such as "This isn't streaky bacon" and the Richmond "Meat Free 8 Smoked Rashers".  Nice on a roll, I don't like the idea of eating real bacon anymore.

I also like Quorn mince as well, can be cooked with sauce etc.
Some of the vegetarian  roasts are tasty as well.

Vegetarian sausages are really nice better than meat ones

I tried going veggies once but it limited my diet and food intake

.... And then suddenly I've got mental health people telling me I'm not eating the right stuff and I'm trying to starve myself..  

I'm still a vegetarian but I've got to deal with the anti autistic professionals who love interfering in my day to day life.

I get the Quorn marinated tofu chunks - don't know what they're officially called, but also really good in stir fry!