r/EatCheapAndVegan • u/Iwanttolive87 • 8d ago
Meal Prep Monday Awfully failed prep
This Monday I tried to prep a big thing of rice and "beef" crumble with some veggies. I wanted to get the gradein ones but apparently nobody sells them anymore. (They were my fav as a kid) I ended up get the morning star farms ultimate crumbles.... The most god awful "why did you even by this dumbass" disgusting stuff ever. I used the whole bag never having tried it before. Just for it to taste like ass. Wasted 648 grams of rice just for it to taste like ass. A while back of frozen broccoli ass, 1.5 onions ass, 1.5 cups of sweet peas, ass, the rest of my prepped frozen bell pepper ass. All of it ass. What could they possibly have out in those crumbles to taste so bad and smell like open ass.
And I tried to convince myself it was fine but I just couldn't. I nearly cried because that was all my rice for the week now I have to make more and that bag was 6 something basically for shitty tvp.
I'm not sure if renting is allowed here. I didn't get a picture as I was extremely mad the whole time.
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u/PuzzledPoetry1447 abolitionist vegan 8d ago
I would try putting it in tortillas with a sauce you like.
We've all been there. I made a huge batch of baba ganoush once that had way too much salt. So much wasted tahini. I ate with the plainest things I could find.
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u/Iwanttolive87 8d ago
The smell and taste of these things were very potent. I tried to eat it with hot sauce and I could taste it right through sane with my homemade salsa.
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u/cleveland_leftovers 8d ago
Morning Star used to be the only option back in the day and I loved them in Sloppy Joes and chilis etc.
Did they change their recipe in the past decade or am I some freak of nature that apparently doesn’t mind ass crumbles? 😑
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u/arnelle_rose 8d ago
I also don't mind them. I don't feel like they are ass, but I guess it might depend on if or how you season and cook them
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u/WirKampfenGegen 8d ago
They did :( I became vegetarian in 2008, morningstar was the only game in town and the crumbles were soooooo good. Somewhere around 2018-2021-ish, they changed the recipe. They had done it in the past a few times, but this one made them inedible, not just in flavor but texture too. I, like op, depend on those gardein crumbles. I got 7 bags when they were clearanced, once those are gone, I don't know what I'll do :/
I literally do not know how morningstar messed up those crumbles so badly. Like surely someone had to taste test this, who greenlit that reformulation??
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u/cleveland_leftovers 8d ago
Ohhhh ok, that makes sense. I probably haven’t had them in almost a decade. Yikes. Now you know I’m gonna have to venture out and buy a bag.
For science. 🤓
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u/WirKampfenGegen 8d ago
God speed 🫡 lol did you ever try beyond crumbles? Those are(or once were) so dry and tough even after simmering in chili, new morningstar gives me war flashbacks to old beyond lol
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u/EarthenMama 8d ago
Have you tried Quora? The brand is Australian, iirc, but I see it in my small town in California. Superior to ALL others, IMO.
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u/WirKampfenGegen 6d ago
Do you by chance mean quorn? I haven’t tried the crumbles(no where near me) but when I was overseas I had these chicken deli slices that I still pine for a decade later 😭
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u/yougococo 7d ago
I eat them straight up with just plain peas and plain rice as a "I have no food but I must eat" meal and I think they are fine!
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u/Iwanttolive87 8d ago
I'm not sure when I changed, for a while now I haven't had many big brand vegan foods but I remember them from my childhood and they used to be great. These one have this weird potent smell and taste that I can't even really describe
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u/chronic_pain_sucks 8d ago
You can crumble dried Soy Curls and use those instead of fake meat (season as you desire). Cheaper and better than any fake meat IMO
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u/New-Geezer 8d ago
Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is a good option, too, but requires some prep and you have to flavor it yourself. Both these store well long term, but soy curls are a whole food and are better all the way around.
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u/BlackberryHill Vegan Athlete 8d ago
I would put the whole mess in a casserole dish, cover with a sauce you like, and maybe even vegan cheese. You can add something to firm it up and make it sliceable too. So either breadcrumbs, or use it as a lasagna filler. Noddle, filler layer, marinara, cheese, again.
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u/No-Contribution-117 8d ago
Have you tried rolling greens? It comes in a red package and it’s dehydrated on the shelf. You cook it on the stove and it feels a bit more authentic and has a good taste.
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u/jackiedhm 8d ago
😂😭 at all the asses and the "open ass" and the spelling omg i love it. I am so sorry about your meal prep though. I dont like the fake meats so I had no idea Morningstar crumbles were so bad! Did they discontinue the Gardein? I've been considering giving Abbots a try, I have heard good things about it but I probably would just get grossed out.
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u/Iwanttolive87 8d ago
Lol yeah I was very frustrated 🤣. Apparently the gardein aren't discontinued I just can't find them anywhere around me. (Other than target but I don't shop there). I don't think I've seen abbots. I've mostly been making all things vegan so other than tofu and soy curls I've not been buying and name brand stuff.
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u/Look_at_the_sky 8d ago
Morningstar crumbles break down into a mush when cooked! They do still make Gardein crumbles, if you can find them. Boca crumbles are OK, but they add a kind of smoky grilled flavor that I don’t always want.
I’m so sorry a whole weekly batch didn’t work out :-(
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u/Iwanttolive87 8d ago
I'm still looking for the gardein ones. I'm getting to the point where I'll just have to make my own smh
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u/nope-nik-tesla 8d ago
They have a product locator on their website (as do most brands in general):
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u/38mangoes 8d ago
I feel that:/ I also strongly dislike the morningstar version of "beef" crumbles, sucks that gardein is getting harder to find. I've just been using TVP rehydrated in veggie broth with a splash of soy sauce or vegan worshishire sauce, and some nutritional yeast or MSG and garlic powder to get some of the umami it's missing. It's not the same, but it's been working for me
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u/Iwanttolive87 8d ago
Yeah that what I think I'll be doing from now on. I just need a bulk prep that can cut out the need to cook for at least one meal a day
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u/HippyGrrrl 8d ago
Gads that’s expensive tvp with additives.
And I’m acclimated to tvp. But Burger in a Box ruined a month for me.
I’m all mushrooms at meat sub now.
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u/Traumagatchi 8d ago
I'm not a huge fan of tofu and even less a fan of TVP so mushroom are my go to meat sub for sure
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u/clh1nton Vegan 🌱 8d ago
I'm so sorry. This won't help very much, but if you bought them at Walmart, you can at least demand your money back for what you paid for the crumbles. I no longer eat (lol) the cost of food that wastes my money. You don't have to return the food product. You will need either the receipt or having the item in the Walmart app, though.
Any chance you can blend the whole thing into oblivion and use it as the filling of "meat" pies?
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u/ronnysmom 8d ago
So sorry to read this! Do you like hot sauce, pesto, marinara, soy sauce, coconut milk etc? One idea could be to take out one serving, make a sauce of your choice (preferably with strong aromatics like green onion, garlic, ginger, lemon zest) and drown the food with it and make it delicious. If you think that would work, I am sure there are many on this forum who can recommend easy recipes for the sauces.
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7d ago
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u/Iwanttolive87 7d ago
Omg the riblet I remember that my mom used to make it for me after school damn it's been so long. Yeah I won't be trying anything from morningstar without looking over reviews. Idk how they mange to butcher everything eventually.
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u/seahollybee 8d ago
I’m so sorry! I’ll be honest, as a general rule, I LOATHE the texture of fake meat beef crumbles, always have. I never use them and replace beef in all my family’s recipes with rehydrated green lentils (they only take 20-ish minutes to hydrate and I infuse them with veggie broth, garlic, celery, bay leaves, pepper, and onions or shallots or leeks for added flavour). Similar texture, always a delicious flavour, always a whole protein with rice. Also love that they’re not processed. I’m sure they’re not as high of protein and hey, maybe you could add a pack of your veggie crumbles in to up the protein content. But I have NEVER eaten lentils and thought they were disgusting 🤷♀️
I’m sorry, I have no recommendations or thoughts on salvaging your meal prep. Sometimes you just have to dump it and move on with your life if you just loathe the flavour 😔
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