If you have been following this blog, or our Facebook page, for a while, then you know that I'm trying to eat healthier not only for my health, but for the health of the planet as well. I believe that we have a moral obligation to do so.
The whole reason behind this "Trendy" series is to introduce you, the gentle reader; to something you may not be familiar with...in the hope that you'll try it. So when I buy a "plant based meat" I'm really not that interested if it tastes like chicken or steak. I won't lie, it helps, but for the most part I'm concerned about three things.
1) Is it healthy?
If I am being completely honest with myself it's probably not. Any time you buy a prepackaged meal it's most likely going to be highly processed and preserved food we're buying and as such may contain a variety of chemicals and preservatives.
It's not something I've grown and made myself. Thanks to advertising companies and their need to make a quick buck, I would not be surprised if I come across a package that says "Plant based Salad."
So paying attention to the nutrition label and ingredient list is a must as well as being able to read the nutrition label correctly. Generally speaking the longer and more chemical sounding the ingredient list is, the more processed it is.
For example let’s look at the Impossible Whopper. When it was first introduced in July 2016 it was billed as a healthier alternative to Burger Kings traditional Whopper, but when you examined the nutritional content of both; the Impossible Whopper contained 630 calories (half from fat), 34 grams of fat, and 25 grams of protein.
The original Whopper contained 660 calories (more than half of them coming from fat), 40 grams of fat, and 28 grams of protein.
The Impossible Whopper did have significantly lower cholesterol reading — 10 milligrams compared to 90 milligrams — but had significantly more sodium at 1,240 milligrams compared to 980 milligrams.
Despite being plant based, the Impossible Whopper was not a healthier choice and could even be considered the less desirable choice if you are concerned about salt intake for example. Speaking as a guy that needs to watch his salt intake neither is a great choice.
Neither of these burgers is a good choice. I've walked away from a few items because they were not healthy despite being "plant based." I can’t stress understanding the nutrition label and what the item is made of enough.
2) How is its texture?
How something "feels" as we it is very important and often an over looked item. A lot of plant based meats in my opinion try to replace the taste of the item, and forget about how something "feels" in your mouth.
I’ve found that smaller more independent food companies due this better than bigger companies trying to cash in on the “plant based” trend.
3) Finally, how does it taste?
For me, it doesn't have to taste like a crab cake or a chicken nugget. If it reminds of it, that's just an extra point in its favor. I'm more interested in it tasting good than I am any product's ability to reproduce the flavor of meat.
I feel that the move towards having something "taste like meat" is more a move driven in the boardroom than the kitchen. I think a lot of the backlash experienced by "meat substitutes" has been driven by the feeling that these products are trying to replace meat. Which then entered the realm of the political but we're not getting into that today.
So as I was eating the Good Catch Company's plant based breaded crab cakes, I kept all of these things in the back of my mind. Because I can honestly say that I have mixed, but overall good feelings about this particular item.
Let's start with value overall, in
this particular case you get four crab cakes in a box and a serving size is two
crab cakes. Each serving size has 15 grams of protein, 11 grams of
total fat only which 1 gram is saturated fat and 0 grams of Trans
fat. Zero cholesterol. It's high in iron at 2.6 milligrams.
Nor are there any added sugars and are only 220 calories per serving.
There is nothing in the ingredient list that should set off an alarm, although this product does contain soy and wheat products. It is certified vegan and contains no GMO's. Even the packaging in 100% recycled.
So overall I would say this seems pretty healthy to me and even compares somewhat well to traditional crab meat nutritionally, although I do wish the salt content was lower. Hell, when I cut into the crab cake I could actually see the green and red bell peppers that were part of the ingredient list which was a wonderful surprise. So far, so good.
Texture wise is a mixed bag. I love seafood and normally when I have crab cakes they seem a bit denser than these. Crab also has a more flaky texture to the meat. These “crab cakes” seem somewhat lighter and don’t flake as much. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just not what I personally would call a crab cake.
Crab also doesn’t have much of a fishy taste or smell, and these certainly don’t have that either, at times you get a hint of crab cake taste which is wonderful but it is just hints at it. Crab is such a delicate flavor that I’m not sure how you could reproduce it, but Good Catch does a very good job of it.
There is just something missing from it? I’m not sure what it is, or even if I can describe it. I air fried all 4 crab cakes and they do list instructions on pan frying and baking them in an oven. Traditionally I’ve had them pan fried, so that may be what I was missing?
Maybe because I enjoy seafood I was looking for more than just a hint of the crab taste?
Would I buy them again? Probably, however I was doing a little research on them it was suggested that they be served more as an appetizer than part of a formal meal. That makes sense to me because two 4 ounce cakes are not going to be a meal by itself.
Overall though I’m pretty pleased with the product and the company and I’ll probably try something else from them soon.
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