Fake Meat Makes You Feel Smarter

Published on Friday, August 19, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Lightlife Smart Cutlets

Lightlife Smart Cutlets

I Paid: $2.20 for two 5.2-ounce cutlets (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 4 stars

Marketing: 2 stars

Over the years, I've become increasingly irritated by the use of the word smart to describe faux meat products. Smart Dogs, Smart Ground [beef], or, in this case, Smart Cutlets—the implicit message is that everyone eating the meat version of the smart product is an idiot. Yeah, Americans as a whole eat far too much meat, but are the implied insults necessary?

Setting that aside, as an omnivore, I'm also impressed with how downright palatable a good percentage of modern meat substitutes actually are. Smart Cutlets may be made of textured soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, wheat starch, and egg white powder, but thanks to a pleasantly snappy texture and competently produced sauces, they work well as a vegetarian stand-in for a light chicken lunch. The Smart Cutlet with Spicy Sweet & Sour sauce avoids the usual trap of its ilk: It's not too sweet or syrupy, and it has a moderately spicy heat. It's particularly good over rice. And the Classic Marinara Smart Cutlet has a bright tomato tang, and, again, avoids the sugar trap. The former is 230 calories and the latter is 150 calories; both have 19 grams of protein, or something like a third of the day's recommended amount (depending on your age, size, and gender).

Since we've bred our chickens to produce massive amounts of essentially flavorless white meat, this acceptable-tasting chicken stand-in does a fine job of subbing for the bird. Faint praise, I know. But there you go.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |14 Comments

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  • I don't know whether it's a concerted effort, but ever since the homosexual community has rebranded its image by hijacking the word gay, a lot of groups have tried to do the same. The atheists have tried to called themselves "bright" and it seems as though there is an effort to associate the word "smart" to meatless food choices.

  • @Blitherypoop - congrats on the weight loss. I'm lifetime at Weight Watchers and products like these do help stretch your points. Though not all vegan/vegetarian options are lower in points, it's really nice to have a variety of options. Meatless Monday is now much easier to accomplish.

  • Wow, you've made this sound quite appetizing and I don't normally eat pre-prepared foods. Will look for it at my Whole Foods.

  • I eat those products as well even though I'm not a vegetarian. I keep kosher and it's not so easy to get kosher meat where I live. Also having been raised non-kosher, there are times when I still crave a cheeseburger or chicken parmesan. So the choice is real meat with soy cheese or soy meat with real cheese. I prefer the latter.

  • The stuff's also good for dieters. I'm doing Weight Watchers and if it's a choice between a pack of Smart Wings for 6 points or the same number of real wings for 12-16 points, I know which I'm going to pick. Stuff like this really helps me stretch my daily allowance and I've lost almost 30 pounds since Memorial Day. Eating a variety of foods helps dieters stay on track and substitutions like fake...+READ

    The stuff's also good for dieters. I'm doing Weight Watchers and if it's a choice between a pack of Smart Wings for 6 points or the same number of real wings for 12-16 points, I know which I'm going to pick. Stuff like this really helps me stretch my daily allowance and I've lost almost 30 pounds since Memorial Day. Eating a variety of foods helps dieters stay on track and substitutions like fake meat are essential for fighting cravings for many of us.

    Beyond that, I don't always digest beef well and I'm not alone in that. I can eat a beef burger and possibly get painful cramping and bloating or I can have a veggie (or soy or bean) burger and avoid the discomfort.-COLLAPSE

  • pdx--seriously, why on Earth do you care whether people eat "patties meant to look and taste like meat"? Does this actually have an adverse effect on your life? Where do you draw the line? No Miracle Whip because it's not mayonnaise? No mayonnaise because it's not aioli? No ice cream because it's not gelato? No gumdrops because they're not real fruit? No velour because it's not velvet? Isn't...+READ

    pdx--seriously, why on Earth do you care whether people eat "patties meant to look and taste like meat"? Does this actually have an adverse effect on your life? Where do you draw the line? No Miracle Whip because it's not mayonnaise? No mayonnaise because it's not aioli? No ice cream because it's not gelato? No gumdrops because they're not real fruit? No velour because it's not velvet? Isn't there enough room in the world for some meat analogs if people want them?
    Long live fake meat! Even though I no longer eat it.-COLLAPSE

  • This is one of my pet peeves. If you're not going to eat meat, then don't eat meat. Don't eat patties meant to look and taste like meat.

  • @mandalay: For most people eating this product, they choose it because it's typically lower-fat and higher-fiber than eating, you know, real meat, and most importantly, lets them eat a savory, tasty meal without actually eating, you know, real meat at all. Avoiding eating animals is their concern. And without having tried this, how would you know that it's not as tasty as chicken?

  • Because eating soy and wheat powders is EVER so much healthier than eating, you know, real meat. And maybe supermarket chickens are as James described, but it's extremely easy to lay your hands on local meat that's been raised humanely if that's your concern. It's also much tastier.

  • Great stuff. Thanks for sharing the nice information with us. This information would be helpful for other people. Thanks so much……

  • Smart Meters imply the same thing. Why doesn't PG&E just come out and say it? Come to think of it they have. Just say no to Smart Meters.

  • Thanks, Deborah. I hope my comment wasn't too obnoxious. Nice to know James knows what he's talking about ;)

  • Hi guilty. James originally had noted that the protein amount was about one-third the daily requirement. The figure was changed in copyediting. Thanks for pointing out the WHO figures. We've updated the text accordingly.

    Deborah from CHOW

  • Um, "Smart" is just the brand name used by Lightlife (and only Lightlife, AFAIK) for thair faux-meat products. I think they're trying to emphasize the cholesterol-free and low-fat nature of their product--try not to take it personally. And for the record, 19 grams of protein is closer to one-third to one-half the daily requirement for most of us. According to the WHO, anyway.
    I used to eat their...+READ

    Um, "Smart" is just the brand name used by Lightlife (and only Lightlife, AFAIK) for thair faux-meat products. I think they're trying to emphasize the cholesterol-free and low-fat nature of their product--try not to take it personally. And for the record, 19 grams of protein is closer to one-third to one-half the daily requirement for most of us. According to the WHO, anyway.
    I used to eat their Chik'n strips before they changed the formula when they got bought by Conagra--those strips were mighty tasty. Glad to hear the cutlets are also decent.-COLLAPSE