Is plant-based meat even healthy?
It may be good for the environment, but what about our bodies? Let’s find out.
I’m an avid subscriber of Imperfect Foods. It’s a company that allows me to buy “imperfect” looking food that would otherwise be tossed because it doesn’t look cosmetically ideal (or is mislabeled) for the grocery store—even though it’s perfectly safe to eat. You should have seen my teeny-tiny broccolis this week. Hilarious.
Anywho, lately, I’ve been shocked by the prices on my Imperfect Foods order. As some of you may be aware, grocery stores are experiencing insane inflation rates right now—and meat and dairy products are pretty much at the top of the list. Prices for the usual meat I like to buy are almost $2.00 higher per pound. And, for the first time ever, the plant-based meat options are actually cheaper.
Now I’m not one to say “let’s all go plant-based” and ditch meat altogether. There can actually be a lot of health benefits to keeping some meat in your diet, especially if it’s high-quality grass-fed meat that’s full of those heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (here’s a piece I did on it, if you’re curious).
But I did tell myself that if the market ever would offer me plant-based meat at a cheaper price and was actually convenient for me to get—plus it tasted good—then I would get it.
So these past few weeks, I’ve been buying plant-based meats—and, naturally, diving into all of the nutritional information surrounding it, because I’m a nerd. Many experts claim that plant-based meat is not only healthy for our environment, but also healthy for our bodies.
But…is it really healthy for our bodies?
The nutritional breakdown
Most plant-based meats you typically see on the market have a base made from one of the following: soy protein or pea protein.
Soy protein concentrate is the main ingredient found in Impossible products, as well as a minuscule amount of potato protein. The fatty texture you get from this meat is coming from bits of coconut oil and sunflower oil, which does increase the saturated fat in each serving. However, the saturated fat content is still 10% less compared to a normal 80/20 ground beef. Plus, the plant-based version provides your body with at least 3 grams of dietary fiber. It also delivers a major boost in different micronutrients including thiamin (2350% of your recommended daily value), vitamin B12 (130% DV), zinc and niacin (50% DV), folate (30% DV), and even more iron than ground beef (25% DV, compared to 8-10%). And, most importantly, it contains 19 grams of protein—which is around the same as ground beef.
Pea protein can be found in a lot of other plant-based brands, like Beyond Meat, Dr. Praeger’s, and even the new Plant-Based Ground you can find at Target. These products tend to have less saturated fat content, but they aren’t as dense in terms of nutrients. The protein count is about the same (20 grams per 4 ounces) and the fiber count seems to be slightly higher, given that the product is made from peas—which is dense in dietary fiber, to begin with.
Most plant-based chicken products are also made from these same proteins. Daring, one of the more popular plant-based chicken options on the market, is made of soy concentrate. Beyond Meat actually makes a chicken from a faba bean protein.
Lastly, it’s not like these products are laden with chemicals—which, I admit, was my previous notion for factory-made, plant-based meat. Instead, ingredients like juice concentrates (for color), vitamins and minerals, and even dried yeast or cocoa butter, are all used to create that texture that the world is used to when it comes to consuming this type of protein.
How plant-based meats can benefit your body over time
So what does this mean for you?
Dieting and restriction do not work, so it’s not wise to say “choose this thing over the other” because we all know how that will go.
However, if you are like me and find yourself at a place where plant-based meat is actually the cheaper option, then...why not buy it?
Research even backs this up. One study as early as 2013 made the conclusion that a plant-based diet (which includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, with a limited amount of animal products and processed carbs) can benefit your body by lowering your risk of developing chronic conditions, like cancer.
Another study in the Journal of the American Heart Association concluded that diets higher in plant foods and lower in animal foods were associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality.
Even your mental health will benefit from it thanks to the gut microbiome. A healthy gut can actually assist patients who suffer from anxiety and depression, according to a review in Clinics and Practice. Harvard Health also backs up a connection between the gut and the brain, stating that intestinal issues can actually be connected to your brain health. So naturally, it would make sense that some early research shows eating a plant-based diet (which is rich in fiber, which feeds the microflora and keeps your gut happy) can actually benefit your mental and emotional health, and is even linked to healthy aging.
So, if you decide that you want to make the switch—or have a healthy balance of the two (we now eat a mix of regular and plant-based meat in our home)—hopefully, this small deep dive will help you better understand plant-based meats before simply trusting the mass marketing surrounding it.
So I wanted to call this a “lazy” weeknight bolognese, but given that there are a few steps to this recipe, I couldn’t really call it lazy. But it's a quick one—and pretty easy to throw together.
As I mentioned, I’ve been experimenting with plant-based meats in my recipe—mostly seeing if I can sub them in with the meals I usually like to make. I haven’t really found a good plant-based chicken I like to use yet (besides a chicken nugget, like these from Gardein), but in terms of meat, I’m partial to the Impossible brand. I know Beyond Meat is easy to get both at the grocery store and restaurants, but in terms of taste, I definitely would rank Impossible as number one based on flavor and texture.
For this recipe, I used Impossible’s Spicy Italian Sausage, which you can easily get at places like Walmart, Instacart, Target, and of course, Imperfect Foods. The texture is soft and falls apart nicely (compared to normal Italian sausage, which is harder to ground up), and it has incredible flavor.
Most bolognese recipes (like this other recipe I have) are usually made with ground beef, but I chose sausage for this recipe for two reasons.
One, it’s what I had in the fridge—which is usually my MO for weeknight meals. Just using up what I have.
Two, I just like the taste of sausage. It brings a lot more flavor to a dish made with red sauce, and given that I was simply working with a can of crushed tomatoes and not a pre-jarred sauce, I was looking for that extra pop of flavor to make the meal.
Now obviously you can make this recipe with real sausage if you want! And as you see from the photo, I topped this bad boy with parmesan cheese (not plant-based, obviously). But if you want this to be fully plant-based, you can grab a plant-based parmesan like this one.
It’s quick, delicious, and feeds a crowd in less than an hour. Perfect for pasta night and carbing up—ha!
Weeknight Plant-Based Bolognese
Makes 6-8 servings.
Like I said—it’s for a crowd. Or just a lot of weeknight meals.
Ingredients:
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 carrot, diced small
1 yellow onion, diced small
1 lb. plant-based Italian sausage
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Freshly grated parmesan, optional
Instructions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Sprinkle in some salt in the pot and add your rigatoni, stirring occasionally.
While the rigatoni is cooking, heat up the olive oil in a dutch oven or another large pot over medium heat. Throw in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add the celery, carrots, and onion to the dutch oven, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
Ground up the sausage and add to the dutch oven, stirring it in with the veggies. Let it cook for another 3-5 minutes—or until the sausage is no longer pink.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat, stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes.
When the pasta is finished cooking (make sure it is al dente and not too soft—no one likes mushy pasta), drain it in a colander but do not rinse water over it!
Stir in the pasta in the dutch oven with the bolognese sauce. Once evenly combined, distribute the pasta to bowls and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese—if desired, of course. Or just leave it as is if you want a truly plant-based meal.
Here are all of the random things that were on my plate this week.
What I cooked: Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup from The New Baguette
What I read: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
What I listened to: Acoustic Winter, an Apple Music playlist
What I watched: How I Met Your Father on Hulu