VEGETARIAN

I've gone through a few vegetarian phases in my life. I have personally found it hard to stick to a strict vegetarian diet. Being from the south, I enjoy ribs, chicken and steaks etc. So I have eventually
settled on just eating what I feel I need at any given time; trying to eat healthy and thoroughly cleansing every few months.

Though I do eat meat products, many vegetarian foods have a special place in my heart. And I often still prefer to have all vegetarian or even all raw meals up to 10 or 15 times a week.

One of the hardest things for me about being a vegetarian was that I often craved meat. Many people would tell me to eat more beans or take vitamins or eat veggie meats. But, none of these things worked when I was depriving myself of meat completely. Eventually, I just gave myself a break. I honestly felt like there were things that my body needed, that I wasn't getting from my vegetarian diet; or that I was not educated enough to know how to get them from my vegetarian diet. I am equally open to both possibilities.
Well, in my quest for meat as a vegetarian; I came across some substitutes for meat that I find delicious and that I enjoy eating today. One thing I feel I should mention is that some of these meats are good enough in my opinion to replace a lot of real meat. But, I am not a rich woman. And they usually come 4 to a package and always cost like $3.00-$4.00 a box. On my grocery outings, I usually can't afford to spend more than $20 or $30 on these products, yet they are supposed to be better for me. It's really frustrating sometimes because I feel like if I could afford to buy enough of the product that I could eat a reasonable serving of it, I would probably eat much less meat. But, for now; all the veggie meat is priced like gourmet food and the people that need it or who desire a change can't really afford it.

That being said, my favorite veggie meats are as follows:
Tofu-Pups:

I love Tofu-Pups. They sell for $2.99 at my grocery store and I don't know what I love so much about them except they're so good to me. They don't quite taste like real hot dogs; but they're delicious.
MorningStar Mushroom Lovers Burgers, Black Bean Burgers, or Pizza Burgers:

These are my favorite burgers by Morningstar. They don't taste exactly like meat, but they are delicious in their own right. But at a cost of $3.50 - $5.00 a box for 4 small patties; you're never really satisfied if you're looking for a meat replacement.
Morningstar Buffalo Nuggets:

Good tasty. Not an effective replacement for fried chicken; but pretty good. Overpriced.
Quorn Meats:

These products are made from a mushroom. I'm sure you've found that often mushrooms will taste meaty if prepared in a certain way. Well, someone figured it out and made these delicious chicken replacements. I mean they are good, almost satisfying chicken imitations. But at a cost of $3.50 - $5.00 a box for 4 small pieces; you're never really satisfied if you're looking for a meat replacement.