Give Plant-Based Chicken a Chance

Seven years ago, we hopped on a boat to an island that was a former Spanish colony. The Spaniards left centuries ago, but Spanish influence is imminent in the economic and political systems of the towns lorded over by hacienderos, affluent families who own almost half of the town.

Like in Mexican Telenovelas, Haciendas are large agricultural estates, and hacienderos own as far as your eyes can see. Unlike in telenovelas, you won't be looking forward to a heavy exchange of melodramatic lines with some slapping, house burning, and helicopter crashes.

Modern Haciendas are About Food and Agriculture Technologies

Modern haciendas are all about food and agriculture technologies. They are no longer exclusive domains but venues for nature trips and learning. You can hop on tour to see the largest goats, walk along endless tea leaves plantations where you can pick and taste Stevia, basil, and peppermint, and vast piggeries where micro pigs and much bigger pigs look adorable. You can also visit the turkeys, the Instagrammable flower gardens, farm school, and Spanish-style cottage. I was on a roll until I saw the chicken coops.

Their Entire Life in a Box

While most animals are freely running on the vast greenery, playing with each other, and getting adored by guests, three hundred chickens were seated in a five-layer coop every day, laying eggs until they became fried chickens.

I am not a vegetarian. I love grilled Korean pork too much ever to attempt. But seeing chickens live their entire life in a box was a different level of cruelty, and it made me lose my appetite for chicken meat for a while.

Then, one day, I visited my favorite coffee and smoothie shop. That place was the total opposite of Starbucks. It's open-air, surrounded by tall plants, monkey bars, and fairy lights, and everything from the tables, chairs, tissue holder, and counters were wooden and handcrafted. They update the menu very often. And you can always expect the unexpected.

It was nothing but great affection for local entrepreneurs that made me try dishes outside my comfort zone. Their avocado grilled cheese was a masterpiece. Cream Cheese and Strawberry Smoothie was heavenly. Eggplant fries weren't a bad idea. But Spaghetti with cauliflower meatballs caught me by an unpleasant surprise. I opened my mouth and took a big bite, like what I do with my usual meatballs. But the cauliflower meatball was a lot more flavorful and aromatic than I expected. I literally bit more than I could chew.

Plant-Based Chicken Parmigiana

Then, I had to try plant-based chicken parmigiana.

If I weren't at a vegan cafe, I would never have believed it was anything else other than chicken. The meat tasted very much like chicken meat, with the same flavor, juiciness, and texture. Coated in breadcrumbs, topped with parmesan, tomato sauce, corn, carrots, and herbs, the combination of flavors was just waiting for black rice and mint lemonade to create a perfect meal. It became my favorite for a long time.

Meatless chicken is mainly made from soybean and peas and created to mimic the taste and texture of real meat. Initially consumed in Asian countries, it was a way for Buddhists to enjoy traditional Asian food while sticking to their taboo of not eating meat.

However, plant-based chicken gained a wave of popularity in 2014. After years of being called fake meat, the vegan meat attracted the attention of Bill Gates and the Twitter founder. Bill Gates set the vision for the meatless chicken to get the exact taste and texture of chicken meat to make it to the American dinner table.

Six years later, meatless chicken is as chicken as it could get. If you've heard lame reviews in the past, the time is ripe for a second attempt.

Are plant-based meat substitutes healthier?

Over the years, vegan meat has dramatically improved in quality, taste, texture, and nutrition. While it has its pros and cons, plant-based chicken is among the healthiest plant meat.

While plant-based chicken may still contain sodium and preservatives, the sodium content is much lower than regular chicken. The vegan meat is also lower in fat and LDL cholesterol. It also contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from plants.

Personally, I think native chicken is still the best. Those freely grazing chickens eat only grains and make the most invigorating chicken soup.

However, plant-based chickens are much better than chickens living their years in a box, consuming feeds, and getting hormonal injections.

You Need it More Than You Think

Forty percent of Americans are overweight, and it's time that we do something about it. We have become so disconnected from our sources of food these days. We only buy marketing. Chicken bits for a movie night, fried chicken, Korean chicken, comes with gravy, perfect with beer — we embrace the nice words they tell us without realizing that we are biting into the meat of cruelly raised animals with so much chemicals in their body that causing cancer and hormonal changes.

Plant-based chicken is not fake meat. It is plant meat from soy and peas, which are very healthy. The real fake meat is meat produced from overloading chickens with chemicals. You are what you eat, don't be some chemical you can't even pronounce.

Finally, there are a lot of plant-based chicken brands to choose from. So check the label and take your pick.