Gimme Lean: Best Vegetarian Sausage You Can Buy

Of all the annoying questions vegetarians get asked, this one is probably is the worst, "If you think eating animals is so wrong, why do you want to eat something that tastes like it?" Of course, the words vary, but you get the idea.

It's actually more like a challenge than a question. Although the most appropriate answer might be, "Why do you propose to know my reasons for being a vegetarian, and further, why do you care what products I choose to consume?" -the short answer is simply, "Because they taste great."

Vegetarian meat products have come a long way in the last couple decades. Gone are the meager choices of bagged, dehydrated textured vegetable protein and ominous-looking cans on the bottom shelf of the gourmet section in the supermarket.

Now, most mainstream grocery stores have entire natural foods sections-many of which are larger and have more selection than entire independent health food stores in the 1980s. Anyone can take advantage of the products within, many of which are tastier, and of course, healthier than their standard counterparts lining the other aisles.

One of the greatest and healthiest "substitutions" is vegetarian sausage. I hesitate to propose the products as substitutes for animal derived sausages, because they are so good in their own right, on their own terms. However, they of course work well as meat substitutes, and can be used as such.

But, with all the varieties, it can be difficult to make a blind choice. I have tried very many vegetarian sausage products over the years, and below are my recommendations and notes for the best grocery stores have to offer.

Gimme Lean is simply a fantastic product. It comes in two forms-hamburger style and sausage style. They are both excellent-but the sausage style is especially outstanding, even when used in a way that you would normally use ground hamburger. Quite remarkably, Gimme Lean Sausage contains absolutely no fat!

It comes in a 14 oz. plastic wrapped tube, ala Jimmy Dean sausage. It is usually found in the refrigerated section of the organic product section in the produce department, or a similar refrigerated section in the natural foods section. In my area, it is usually under $4.00. All that is required is opening the package, and forming the sausage into patties or links. Of course, it can be crumbled as well.

It's very easy to cook-just a tad of olive oil in a skillet, and brown by flipping, the same method that you would with hamburger or ground sausage. If you would like it crumbled, form it into larger shapes first, start browning, and break up into smaller pieces as it cooks. It is also very good grilled.

Also, I learned a little trick while attempting to recreate one of my favorite dishes from a vegan restaurant in Salt Lake City-if you fold in a little bit of crushed fennel seed while you are shaping the patties, it really takes it over the top in excellence. Of course, anything else can be added as well-mushrooms, onion, garlic, etc.

Gimme Lean is an especially nice treat for vegetarians who have all but sworn off prepared veggie burgers (at least for myself, fifteen plus years of Boca and Gardenburgers as the only vegetarian option on restaurant menus have taken a toll)-as the thickness, texture and taste are all very different than prepared patties.

One final note about usage: the only time I have used this product that did not work so well was in chili. Even though I browned the sausage first, it didn't keep its textural integrity while in the liquid environment, and was a bit too mushy for my taste.

And while we're talking about texture--if you buy it, open the package, and are turned off by the texture, which is quite unlike similarly packaged meat products-do not despair. The texture changes completely and wonderfully in the cooking process. Trust me; you will love this product for its versatility, easy storability (can be kept frozen until ready to use) price, and above all-culinary wonderment!