Gimme Lean: Best Vegetarian Sausage You Can Buy

Not Just Another Meat Substitute

Of all the annoying questions vegetarians get asked, this one is probably is the worst, "If you think eating animals is so wrong, why do you want to eat something that tastes like it?" Of course, the words vary, but you get the idea.

It's actually more like a challenge than a question. Although the most appropriate answer might be, "Why do you propose to know my reasons for being a vegetarian, and further, why do you care what products I choose to consume?" -the short answer is simply, "Because they taste great."

Vegetarian meat products have come a long way in the last couple decades. Gone are the meager choices of bagged, dehydrated textured vegetable protein and ominous-looking cans on the bottom shelf of the gourmet section in the supermarket.

Now, most mainstream grocery stores have entire natural foods sections—many of which are larger and have more selection than entire independent health food stores in the 1980s. Anyone can take advantage of the products within, many of which are tastier, and of course, healthier than their standard counterparts lining the other aisles.

One of the greatest and healthiest "substitutions" is vegetarian sausage. I hesitate to propose the products as substitutes for animal derived sausages, because they are so good in their own right, on their own terms. However, they of course work well as meat substitutes, and can be used as such.

But, with all the varieties, it can be difficult to make a blind choice. I have tried very many vegetarian sausage products over the years, and below are my recommendations and notes for the best grocery stores have to offer.

Gimme Lean is simply a fantastic product. It comes in two forms—hamburger style and sausage style. They are both excellent—but the sausage style is especially outstanding, even when used in a way that you would normally use ground hamburger. Quite remarkably, Gimme Lean Sausage contains absolutely no fat!