Me: Unsolicited $0.02: Corn dogs are not one of the meat products I miss. Erin likes the Morningstar Farms ones, though.
Jen: That's exactly where it comes from. Christine is appalled that I eat them (the Morningstar ones) and refuses to try them. I like them a lot. I will admit that I find it mildly alarming how realistic they are (compared to my memory of "real" corn dogs). Not sure why corn dogs are such a big deal to Christine, but what the hell, I'm bored and always
happy to tease someone. :) PS - Generally, I see no need for meat substitutes in my life. I'm just as happy without them. And am pretty grossed out by some of them.
Me: I say, if you like fake corn dogs, eat em. :) I personally don't like em, but then I didn't like real corn dogs when I still ate meat. Now, what I REALLY want is a vegetarian polish sausage, or a vegetarian hot dog that at least tastes like a Kosher dog. Man...I'd eat those puppies daily for weeks before I tired of them.
I am a meat isotope fiend. I'm always trying new fake meats to see what's good and what sucks. I used to be one of those "fake meat-ewww! go eat the real thing if you miss it!" types, but no longer. In the quest for low-calorie, low-fat, high-protein tasty foods, why
not choose some that fulfill my occasional meat cravings? :)
But I agree, some of them are downright skank-o-rama.
Jen: Except for those REEEEEEALLLY gross pseudo-burgers (you know, the ones that
even have fake gristle and fake blood) it's not so much an "eeew" thing as just lack of interest. I didn't love meat (but didn't hate it either) when I ate it, but I have always had deep & abiding passion for certain foods (e.g. potatoes) that I still eat.
Since becoming veg (ok, the correct term these days would be "mostly veg") I have developed new passions for foods I'd never tried or didn't like previously, but I really don't miss meat much. With the odd exception of some seriously "bad" foods, like corn dogs and chicken patties. Unfortunately, the Morningstar chicken patties are too seasoned for my taste, but the corn dogs hit the spot.
Now that I am trying to eat more healthily (which assumes more priority each year) I am beginning to miss the convenience of chicken. Which I now eat, VERY occasionally. But I rarely find that getting enough protein is a real problem for me. So I still don't do much with replacement meat (or reverting to regular chicken eating).
I love Gardenburgers, but not as a meat substitute. I love them for themselves, and to a limited extent to their ROLE substitute for something to eat on a bun. But not because I want a "hamburger", because I want something on a bun.