So...this was not the original Works-For-Me-Wednesday post that I was going to use, but it works for me:-) to follow the "theme" set forth for this week's blog carnival.What brand works for me? I actually had to think long and hard about this because we're really not very brand-loyal in our house. The first thing I thought of was Costco, which isn't exactly a brand, but they do have their own house-brand which we buy a lot of...but then I thought of this one:
Yes...the brand that Works for Me is Morningstar Farms....maker of "fake" stuff -- chik'n nuggets, chik'n patties, sausage links, veggie burgers, corn dogs, and even...bacon. Yep, we eat the stuff like it's going out of style. Dominick's had a sale yesterday, I stocked up. This pic is of my upstairs freezer (I must admit I straightened up before shooting this picture). Downstairs....yep, there's more.
So it brings me to an interesting question/dilemma that plagues me and, perhaps more annoyingly, my husband. Does it "count" to be a vegetarian (for primarily reasons of keeping kosher) if we eat these "meat substitutes"? If I would never in a million trillion years eat a piece of real bacon (it's meat, but more importantly, it's not even remotely kosher), why would I eat this (kosher) substitute? And, in doing so, am I giving off the wrong impression that I might be eating something treyf (not kosher)? In Jewish custom, this is known as morit ayin, giving off a bad eye (loose translation) -- as in, someone could see me eating this "bac'n" stuff and think that it's "okay" to eat because I am an "authority figure" in Jewish life. But if I only eat in the privacy of my own home?
It really bothers my husband that I am a fan of the meat substitutes. I don't even really like most of these foods in their "real" form (some I've never even eaten) but here in the Morningstar Farms varieties...well, they work for me.
What do you think????
See more Works for Me Wednesday here at Rocks in my Dryer.
6 comments:
The cultural question is a rich one indeed, but for you as a mama, I think it indeed ought to work for you.
I'm also a fake eater, when I wouldn't necessarily eat some of the real stuff.
Go Morningstar Farms!
I'm a HUGE (though not so huge as I used to be ;)) fan of Morningstar Farms, especially the corn dogs, chik patties, and my new love -- the tomato basil pizza "burger." That's the best fake burger I've ever had!
I LOVE Morning Star Farms too!!! :0) I used to eat Bocca products and then I tried MS and I am hooked!! I have not blogged this WFMW, but if I did I would blog about Morning Star Farms, Soy Milk, and Stoneybrook Farms yogurt. Yummmm!!
Morningstar Farms rocks! I am not remotely vegetarian, nor do I keep Kosher, but I have to say that it's the best of the "fake" stuff out there!
Halachically, if there's a hecksher, it's kosher. Morally, no animals were harmed in the making of the product. Ethically, that's a toughie. I suppose if you are only eating it in the privacy of your own home, wearing the multi-tasking "hat" of wife and Ima, and not also the kippah of Rabbi, I say "go for it, sister!"
Oh how I love the Mornigstar Farms corn dogs.
Great post with a very thoughtful question posed. As with most things, no real right answer, but it is refreshing to observe your willingness to engage the question.
I like Morning Star also. :)
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