Plant Basics Hearty Plant Protein, Unflavored Chunks, 1 lb (Pack of 2)

I come at this from a different perspective than the typical buyer of faux meat. I am not a vegan. I am coming at this from a prepper perspective and as someone that likes to make their house more efficient. I love the taste and texture of this product... after I add some tallow, bacon grease, meat drippings, hamburger grease, beef broth. You get the idea. It is fairly easy to use. Soak it in a broth plus seasonings marinade until it is rehydrated. Dry it off and roll it in some flour plus seasoning. Drop it in a pan of hot grease. Get that sear and it is done. It will taste like beef, bacon or what ever meat flavor you rehydrate it with. It has a bit of a spongey texture, but it is a nice chew and the sear really sells it. Now on to the frugal kitchen stuff. The price per ounce seems a little high, but remember you are getting about 3-4x the dry weight once you prep it. The chunks themselves have almost no flavor to them, which makes a good starting canvas. The only thing missing is the meat broth and meat fats, and that is where the frugality comes in. I save up my drippings from rabbit, hamburgers, steaks, bacon n sausage n egg fry ups, broiled meats especially. In those drippings is everything I need to flavor and reconstitute some of the faux meat chunks. Spatchcocked rabbit one day and faux rabbit tacos the next. Kind of like a meat extender. As a prepper I love this stuff. I can take some dry beef bullion, dry taco seasoning, dehydrated refried beans, canned salsa, canned cheese, and long shelf life tortillas to make an emergency ration burrito that is better than any fast food offerings. So long as you have fresh water, a cast iron pan, and an open fire, you can have a really nice meal. Packs well too. I just made the said burritos with a cup of these chunks and previously mentioned ingredients and it fed two of us. You could pack a meal for 4-8 in a lunchbox. Great for camping and road trips as well. Far cheaper and better than any MRE burrito, but you do need a basic kitchen of some sort.

This meat substitute has only one ingredient. I know it is still minimally processed food and that it doesn't actually grow in the ground like a plant. However, this particular high-protein meat substitute can actually take up the flavor of the vegetable broth/spice mixture that it is cooked in. It then has identical texture of pork or chicken. I usually add it to the mixture during the last 8-10minutes of cook time. I also appreciate that it doesn't require refrigeration. Win/win.

This is basically decent quality vegetable protein, but my only criticism is that the chunks are way too big. They should be half this size or less, so I have to soften them with hot water and chop them up before using.

We really are enjoying this product! Tip; 1. let it soak in Better than Boullion for about 30-35 minutes, then drain before use. Can store in this way in the fridge for a few days; 2. Only make what you’ll need (we use 2 handfuls of the product and about a heaping teaspoon of boullion- feeds at least 3 people); 3. don’t let it boil for more than 15 minutes or so or it get either tough or rubbery! After reconstituting We like it in stir fry, pot pies, burritos/tacos, in soups (it’s the last item in), or in a super quick dish with wilted baby kale or spinach (we like it wilted in butter and olive oil), a rinsed can of garbanzo beans, fresh garlic to taste, a can of diced tomatoes with the juice, a cup or so of these reconstituted babies from the fridge and some sea salt. Maybe some toast and cheese on the side and it’s wonderful! Maybe a squeeze of lemon sometimes for variation!

These hydrate in hot water nicely and sautee well, but are a bit too small. My main grievance is the aftertaste. If you don't soak these in some very flavorful sauce, then the taste is horrible. Bitter-off notes, offensive weird nutty flavor. You have to tell yourself "this must be healthy for me, right?"

Really great vegetable protein product, I always add some liquid smoke, seasonings, and sauces in with the hot water to rehydrate the vegetable protein and the flavor soaks in and the flavor cannot be beat. I buy the bulk package and divide it down into gallon ziplock bags, to make it a lot easier to store in the pantry and this product will last a long time in the pantry if you don't use it everyday, but I have subscribed to auto deliveries so I never run out because I use the vegetable protein products every single day to replace the meat ingredients in everything I cook. Great taste, texture, easy to rehydrate and cook with, and even more filling than using actual meat, and considering the price of meat these days a better value than trying to keep meat in the freezer.

I've used other companies Soy Curls & TVP with great results, so I was happy to try a different shape. I ordered the Plant Basics' Hearty Plant Protein Chunks which I felt like I could use for soups or other recipes that typically call for cubed pieces of "meat". I followed the directions for rehydrating them (which is about 2-5 minutes longer than other similar products). Then I used them in my recipe & everything seemed great til I tried to bite into it. The texture was extremely rubbery. I feel like I would've had better results using the old school block pencil erasers. I tried returning them which wasn't allowed since it was an opened food product but then I reached out to Plant Basics through 2 different platforms (here & IG) and I still never heard back from them. Since it's been over a month I decided to at least try to save others from running into this same issue. My suggestion is to buy Butler Soy Curls & Bob's Red Mill TVP

I like these a lot. They are packed with plant protein. They work in so many dishes. You can chop them or leave them whole. I use the cold soak method. It’s not in the instructions but I followed a reel. It takes a few minutes longer but has the same result with less energy usage. These are also light for a camping trip. Of course when camping cold soak will only work if the water is potable. Tacos, soups, bowls, salads. Whole the texture is a lot like chunked chicken. Chopped and seasoned with taco seasoning and it can pass for ground beef. I love being vegan now. My weight is down, my blood numbers are getting better, the food my wife and I are discovering is sooo good, I feel energetic instead of sluggish after meals, sleep is better, S-drive is better. I’m not an ethical vegan and I think people who start off like I am and switch to be a snooty ethical vegan are really the worst. That is not me. But I will say, for your health, eat more plants and less meat, fish, dairy and eggs. In fact I would cut dairy out completely. It’s real bad and that’s no joke.