Texturized Vegitable Protien
 

I am sick of this crap. I went to Taco John's today. Being that I like it and went there when younger, and it is what I prefer over Taco Smell and Del Crappo. I love their beef burritos. I haven't been to one in a really long time (4-5 years) so I thought I was treating myself out to a nice thing. WRONG. They too are using "Texturized vegetable protein" in their meat.

Now you ask why so mad.

They use SOY to make this crap, since it is ridiculously cheap. Like everything made out of corn, soy is the next cheapest overproduced thing in the US.

So naturally any one who is allergic to soy will have issues with this stuff. So after eating the scrumptious burrito and their uber delicious little sopapilla bites, I found myself next to the porcelain queen in an oh to familiar situation.

Stupid. I can't eat anything anymore. Everything has this stuff in it more and more. Instead of real freaking meat there is this shit. (Sorry had no better word) It is just as bad as freaking High Fructose Corn Syrup. America sucks at food. It is all fake. Tastes great due to other additives but is fake. Why can't they just use the real thing. I know there is a price thing and all, but still I am willing to pay more for real food. I usually do, hence not going to fast food but from a once and a while. But, when I do choose to eat out fastly, I would appreciate at least a warning. Oh, thats right no labels for ingredients.

This is in so many things believe you me. Campbell soup uses it in their soups. Fast food restaurants. Down to hotdogs, certain prepped meats. It is sickening. I am surprised no one has died yet as they don't label anything.

(End Rant)

I feel you on this subject.

Thanks. Allergies?

Is textured soy protein bad for people? (not including people who allergic to it). I figured it was just basically like tofu, it just absorbs the taste/smell of whatever it is put into. I see that stuff on lots of things as well, but figured its just soy/tofu.

Noting yet. Very little research has been done to show anything. Kind of like HFCS, it was introduced, seen as a miraculous discovery, than later down the road discovered to have poor results. I.E. HFCS playing a strong role in obesity.

To be honest it sounds like a pretty decent thing though. A simple way to add protein to a meal. Which it was used for way before corporate America got its hands on it. Mostly medical use before, i.e. tube feedings, meal supplements, just an easy way to introduce proteins back into diets. Now it is used to replace real things. Instead of being added as an extra nutrient for protein, it is being used to replace the use of more expensive, real, natural food proteins.

I have done limited research into it. I just know to avoid it. But, FDA hasn't got a stronghold on regulating it, so labeling it isn't up to par as say Peanuts. So you don't always know what it is in. Same goes for a lot of Soy products. I would dare to say that 80-90% of Americans bread has Soy flour in it. Soy Lecithan, heard of it. It is in everything. It is a thickener. Cheap as dirt too.

I would like better labeling, but I am starting to think that the death count isn't high enough. Since it is pretty normal fro America to wait until so many are dead first to have cause for concern.

(sorry still a bit pissed off)

No allergies. I love good food and don't like paying for garbage.

I know what you are dealing with. My wife was diagnosed with Coeliac disease a few months ago. Coeliac disease is basically an alergy to gluten which is in just about everything. We barely go out to eat anymore because of the possibility of her having a reaction. I myself have an allergy to shellfish. My allergy isn't so bad because it's pretty easy to identify.

-JB

HFCS is actually more expensive to make than real sugar! Its just the tax break to corn farmers that makes it cheaper...

We avoid the stuff at home 100% but difficult when you are eating out...

Is there some kind of medicine you can take that would help your body cope with the soy? Something like Lactaid for those with Lactose Intolerance?

I am all for eating real stuff. I will go as far to say that I really hate stew, just cause the various ingedients are allowed to mingle during the cooking process. Everything then tastes like cooked carrots (yuk).

I like simple stuff, and I like to be able to identify what I am eating. I feel your pain over the soy stuff. They would not be able to sell soy beans, they have to add them to other stuff to make them appealing.

Better labeling and education about food will go a long way to helping the nutrition and obesity issues we have in this country.

Boy I wish. I always wondered this myself but nothing that I know of. I am equipped with an Epipen, thank god I have never had to use it. I have been prescribed a steroidal version of benadryl which is what I took this afternoon when I started feeling my throat swell.

I have nothing preventative, just the O.S. stuff.

Arct1k, I never knew that about HFCS. I avoid it all together. Water or tea when we eat out, of coarse beer and wine are also HFCS free, thus far.

My closest call was my first time eating Sushi. I could at one time eat fish, when young. Than from say 6-9 I had never touched fish up until I was 23 and I first went to sushi. Lets just say one trip to the ER later I lived. Not sure what it is in fish since I can eat most shellfish and not have a reaction. So sushi is out, though I do remember it tasting quite delightful before falling over and probably going into shock...

I can't stand corn syrup sweetener, it ruins the flavor. I pay 3-4 times the price for real Dr Pepper made with sugar and only drink Coke from Mexico.

I like real meat and refuse vegetable protein.

There is nothing good for you about heavily processed foods like this.

The corn subsidy deal irritates me because it not only serves for the corn syrup garbage but also ethanol. The problem with ethanol is that newer studies are showing it to be worse for humans to breath than the fumes from carbon based fuels. It is also extremely hard on your engine.

I like natural foods, home grown veggies and freshly shot deer! :intello:

I feel your pain reno. I am allergic to corn and milk, both huge staples in the American diet. I am forced to drink soy milk, which I dont think is a bad thing, because I know it is filled with protein and if you squeeze your nose hard enough, you dont taste a thing! I also have terrible issues with eating out. Basically everything gives me explosive dio. I can only really eat simple things like subs from sub shops. Anything else, Chinese, Mexican and even certain Italian kills my stomach.

It might sound weird, but sometimes I wish I had allergies to some types of food ; basically all the stuff that's bad for me but tastes oh-so-good. Would negate the need for dieting. :cry:

Mmmm...venison

I feel you on this one. I am retarded when it comes to food I find a new allergy every day. Than my wife has UC, so she is 90% lactose intolerant, that and spicy, greasy, etc. doesn't work for her. At this point I wish I could just grow my own freaking food, including meats.

We try to shop local produce, and buy a lot of veggies and whole meats i.e. whole chickens beef segments. We actually found a very reasonable butcher in town and have been purchasing beef from him lately. Nice to see the cow that your meat comes from. Mostly eat lean cuts and simple veggies. Still trying to find a healthy diet for the two of us that doesn't kill us. It is just so freaking hard to do all of this being an American.

Any international folk want to step in? How about you European folks, boy I would love to get my hands on some rabbit. Supposed to be ridiculously good. So as I here from a friend who studied in Germany.

My family eats as much fresh fruit & veg as possible. This for us is sourced from wholsale markets & is better quality & lasts longer than supermarket & to a lesser extent shop bought produce

Lean meats or cuts are the preference however the kids enjoy suasages although we buy the lean variety. Fresh seafood as well as processed (like smoked salmon or tinned tuna) seafood is common also. Kangaroo is nice & lean & is eaten blue

Most everything on my plate has chilli & garlic incorporated into it, same with my daughter, my wife likes vinegar & citrus, my son likes plain food

No food allergies in our house that we're aware of

That sucks man. I don't have allergies, and I eat everything.

I do try to stay far away from corporate food as much as possible, where its more engineered than cooked and full of all the bad stuff.


There is good food in America, lots of it really, but can be harder to get in some places than others. Living in the middle of a desert doesn't lend itself well to fresh and abundant agriculture products, so its hard to recommend local farm markets, and sometimes the "natural" stores are more about pricey foof than quality food.

From what I've seen tho is that more and more people are turning away from "cheap" manufactured foods and demanding quality fresh foods. More this happens, the easier it will be to find.

The only good thing I have is the fact that California is next door. Lots of goodies from there make it over in decent shape. We grow lots of cattle in Nevada, surprisingly, however it is still hard to get your hands on quality beef. Most of it is shipped from the slaughter house to, you guessed it, manufacturers.

Interesting to hear that in a continent surrounded by water Australia has many processed seafood. Good to hear you eat lots of Roo. I have tried it and it was very good. Same goes for ostrich. Good hearty meats.

Never had kangaroo but it's on my must try list. I have heard wallaby is good as well. I first got an interest in it from the movie "The Man from Snowy River" and all the talk of wallaby stew. Of course I will try almost anything once. You never know what you are going to miss. One of my personal favorites most turn their noses at is beef tongue. Good stuff for sure.

I freaking love Quail. Can't get enough. I love gamey meats. So very good. Kind of wish you could get a license to trap hunt Quail in urban settings, we have so many of these freaking birds around where I live. All I see is free food there, free meal there, oh and a little appetizer there.

Wish I could eat fish though, because I love to fish, and the Truckee is pretty consistent when it comes to trout. One can easily walk away from a few hours of fishing on the Truckee with at least a meal for 2 or 3. I mostly catch and release, unless I feel like bringing one home for the wife to munch on. Sucks doing that too, she doesn't like gutting them, and I have to wear gloves just to touch the damn thing. Kind of silly that I like to fish and can't eat or touch the little bastards.

Nothing like fresh caught and grilled rainbow trout with a little lemon pepper and butter, cooked skin on until the sides are slightly crispy............sucks you can't enjoy it.

Kangaroo is very lean & quick to cook as is crocodile & emu. If we eat out & the restaurant is good, I will always choose one of these

At home we get crocodile, boar, kangaroo, venison & regular beef, lamb, pork & chicken sausages. Croc is a bit of a treat because they're expensive ($15 p/500g) but they do them with lime & coriander & they are something else!

I know a couple of fish mongers & the seafood is always caught the same day - a benefit of living close to the coast. In fact some of my customers (fishermen) part pay with fish on occasions. Blue eye & snapper are my favourite, although tuna steaks are nice also

Tasmanian smoked salmon is amazing...usually have a side of this around Christmas & a few kg's of prawns

Besides the fish I hate you. J/K, more like envious. I know that other nations have better healthier foods. Land of the free doesn't always mean that the high rollers, aka government/corporations, can not limit your choices by arranging everything to their likings.

I have never tried croc. I have eaten rattle snake, lots of them in Nevada, so I figure it must taste like that. Reptile is some interesting meat.

Food fact for the day, Jack in the Box's tacos are full of TVP!

that's the exact same thing that popped in my mind when i read that post. elk is good too.

Nothing is more disgusting than JITB tacos!