Plant Basics - Hearty Plant Protein - Unflavored Chunks, 1 lb (Pack of 3), Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Low Fat, Low Sodium, Vegan, Meat Substitute

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.

I have bought other brands and not liked the texture, tough, or taste, aftertaste.These chunks are nice and soft, and no unpleasant flavor. I made them in water with mushrooms, garlic powder and onion powder. Delicious! And a little bit goes a long way.

I bought these thinking they'd be a low-fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol meat substitute. I soaked some chunks in low fat gravy and heated them according to instructions. They were disgusting! I spit them out and immediately threw the bag in the trash. Perhaps I did something wrong, but they tasted just awful, both in texture and flavor. But then, not wanting to waste my purchase, I dug the bag back out of the trash and put it into my cache of dried last-chance disaster food. However, upon searching for high protein low sugar treats with no cholesterol and no saturated fat, and finding NONE...I remember my discarded bag. Opening it up again, I popped one of the dried chunks into my mouth. Very crunchy and chewy! Very satisfying! A tangy, nutty taste. Wow! An inexpensive, crunchy treat both low-fat and low-carb friendly! From disgusting to absolute dynamite! Bravo!

I instruct the fine art of Dutch oven cooking to Scouts and Scout leaders and usually have to accommodate food allergies and other dietary restrictions. This time it was the vegans. I was planning on chili and I wanted something other just beans so I tried Plant Basics. Go figure, it turned out to be a good substitute for ground beef. Had I not told anyone about meat substitute I doubt anyone could have tasted the difference. It was easy to use, cooks just like ground beef and was perfect for my dish. I'm not yet ready to dive in to all things vegan but I happy to see, and taste, that I have options. Great product!

I love soy curls but I'm not sure quite how gluten free they really are so I tried these instead. Some.were hard, some.were soft, and while loading the soy sauce and maple syrup and hot sauce, among other things, flavored sauce, these still tasted horrible

I made the soup recipe listed on the packaging. I used the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base, veggies, pasta, and unflavored chunks. The soup was delicious and the now flavored chunks were also delicious but very spongy, I thought Meh and put it in the refrigerator. The next day I tried the soup again and it seemed that the proteins has set up overnight and had a great texture. I was impressed with the chunks and intend on trying different recipes. I am not a vegetarian, so I will also try some meat flavorings as well. I intend on hydrating different flavors and keeping them in the refrigerator as indicated on the product packaging. Storage of this dried product is very convenient.

I’m not a vegan, but I prefer to have these when I cook a dinner for myself. It’s very easy to flavor these as chicken or beef, and then add a sauce. The texture is very similar to chicken, but you can use these in any meat meal. I also like that it’s more filling than meats. The only down side is that you need to add these at the end of your dish, so you can’t let them simmer in a sauce for a very long time, or else they will break down into a paste.

Great in chili and stew