Lightlife meatless chorizo is the only chorizo

Whether you’re a vegetarian, flexitarian, or none of the above, Lightlife meatless chorizo is more than enough to make your mouth and belly happy.

I wasn’t born a vegetarian, and consequently, I’ve had more than my share of meat between my teeth over the years. But since I have made the switch for a number of reasons, I won’t lie, there are just certain things I do sometimes miss. When it comes to meatless, a miss is often what we get.

I think anyone who considers or makes the switch to being vegetarian will tell you that the number one fall back food is bacon. It can snap you right back in the early days of switching over and is certainly behind one of the most common responses when people learn you are a vegetarian.

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“I could never give up bacon!” I hear it so very often. Many people remain flexitarian just because of bacon (hi, Mom!). For me, I was ready to switch, and the change was easy. But, like anyone else, there is a habit in my brain.

When I make breakfast for my kids and bacon comes out (I don’t force them to follow my diet choices, so it happens), I sometimes miss the activity — but not the food itself.

As time went by, I started to find some very decent meatless substitutes for things like chicken, certainly a million attempts at meatless burger, and even fish!

I also found a very significant number of these were nothing short of disgusting, IMO. I won’t name any names here, but um.. if you’re living the life like I am, I probably don’t need to tell you.

And then there are plenty that tastes amazing but is in no way meat-like. But let’s be honest, there’s nothing more sketchy than putting your “I’m so hungry” faith in some new product.

Figuring out how it’s best cooked, and then taking that first meatless bite, only to find that it tastes like some flavor that humans have never known before. Another one bites the dust.

(Photo by Steffi Loos/Getty Images)

So when it came to bacon, I didn’t even give it another thought. There was not going to be another like it, I didn’t even consider looking for a copy product. With chunks of olive in meatless burgers, and cheeses that seemed to be secretly made of Play-Doh, bacon was surely not going to meet its match.

Then, I decided to give this one a try. I just went into it knowing I wasn’t going to find bacon, but some other thing. Some new meatish thing that could never be bacon. “Don’t look for it to be like bacon, it’s not,” I told myself.

I have bought and opened one or two others over the few years I’ve been on this road, and they always just seemed like paste strips of some kind. Even the look of them was just plain ridiculous. But this time, Lightlife caught my eye on the shelf. Bologna, taco crumbles, breakfast sausage, and more.

But Lightlife has a few things I hadn’t found in the freezer. I thought, “Hm, it might be OK with this much variety on the shelf.” I saw hot dogs (we call them not-dogs at my house), bacon (fine, I’d try it), but that wasn’t the best thing. There it was, the Lightlife “Smart Sausages Chorizo” was staring back at me, and I was convinced this was going to be my new love.

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So I got them, all three. The bacon was even great! It is more like a turkey bacon texture than a pork bacon you may be used to, but the taste is pretty authentic. And if you cook it for like, a long time, it even gets crispy!

The hot dogs were a little different than a hot dog, full disclosure. But the flavor was still really great, especially compared to some competitors. Plus, it’s microwavable, unlike many vegetarian/vegan meats, so I was on board.

Then, let’s talk about this hero of the day — the chorizo. Oh my gosh, I had no idea what I was getting into. This package of links was covered with spices and absolutely looked like a sausage. It didn’t have the bounce of meat when you cut it, but after cooking, it was super close. I used a knife to slice it into little bits and threw it in a saucepan with too much butter.

Well, the sizzle started fast. Like most not-meats, the cook was quick. But this is where the stuff really stood out. I’m watching the melted butter sizzle and turn a grease-orange I remember from my past, and I notice the stuff was starting to get crispy!

Soon enough, the little discs of delight were greasy, crackling, spicy, and all over a plate of sticky rice. The butter was all flavored now and perfectly seasoned the whole plate of rice. Yes, my friends, I gobbled that stuff down. I was immediately addicted and on my way to a diet composed largely of Lightlife chorizo for an unknown amount of time.

And the best thing is that it has a lot of the stuff I need, like 14 grams of protein and only 150 calories! (I’ll have three, please, thanks). If that spicy zing isn’t for you, Lightlife also has Italian style “smart sausages” that might interest you instead!

Let’s get some of this stuff in your pasta, with eggs, on the grill, whatever! There’s no reason you can’t jump in the party with everyone else just because you aren’t eating meat. And even if you are, this is a delicious “other” food that you will probably love! Don’t think of it as wannabe meat. I mean, it is, but it isn’t. You can easily just eat it and love it just for what it is!

Anyway, no matter what your taste or flavor, whether you eat meat or not, this chorizo is the only chorizo, as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, it’s not for you vegan buddies because it does contain egg whites, sorry! But if that’s no hurdle for you, dive in and don’t miss out on this amazing, delicious treat! Now I continue my search for a reasonable not-cheese. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite not-meat? Have you tried products from Lightlife, or will you now? Let us know what you think in the comments below, or send us a tweet!

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