Day 153 -- Another Fling With Fake Meat

I guess I don't feel like I can be a proper vegan unless I go through all the typical "substitute" foods available.  You know -- the soy burgers and the soy sour cream.  I've pretty much tried all the non-dairy substitutes for milk, sour cream, cream cheese and ice cream.  I still haven't tried vegan cheese but I have a package in the fridge that's waiting for me to try it and be horribly disappointed.

Then, there's the meat substitutes.  I'm a big fan of the Boca vegan  burgers.  I've tried and hated seitan and I just bought some tempeh to try.  But I also bought some Smart Dog jumbo hot dogs.  My fondness for hot dogs is a matter of public record.  There's nothing quite so wonderful as a good hot dog (no sexual innuendo intended).  So, I looked forward with great anticipation to trying a Smart Dog.  And considering how much I love Boca burgers, I was holding out hope that these would be good, too..

First, let me talk about the nutritional value.  Each of the jumbo dogs is only 100 calories with 3.5 grams of fat.  They're high in sodium as all processed food is.  You get 25% of the RDA from one dog.  However, they do pack 17 grams of protein which is much more that my favorite veggie burger.  Add a Food For Life whole grain hot dog bun and you add 170 calories and 9 grams of protein.  So for under 300 calories you get 26 grams of protein.  Even if these taste like crap, they be worth eating for the protein.

And did they taste like crap?  Not exactly.  But they weren't that good either.  The texture was much like an over-processed Oscar Mayer hot dog.  The kind of mushy dogs that kids like.  And there was a bit of an artificial taste that came from the smoke flavoring.  Will I eat them again?  Maybe.  If I'm really hungry and need a quick infusion of protein.  But I'd still grab the Boca vegan burger first . . . and second . . . and third.