Magpye (vegan meat pies from Northumberland)
Magpye is an amazing company in Northumberland, where a couple make vegan pies (without palm oil) then fill them with vegan steak and chicken, and sometimes vegan steak and blue cheese! They are even made with pastry made from regenerated local wheat.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. You can recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
The range includes:
- Steak & ale (in onion gravy)
- Chick’n, Leek & Bacun (in creamy parsley sauce)
- Mince & Onion (in homemade gravy)
- Mushroom & Roasted garlic
- Roast Chickn’ Dinner (in a pie!)
Why Choose Vegan Steak?
Red meats are hard to digest and very high in saturated fat. Steak and mince are not good foods to eat for anyone with issues like heart disease or high cholesterol. And red meats are also linked to certain cancers.
The benefits of real steak and mince (protein and flavour) can easily be replicated both in recipes and artisan food products. Some say they are ‘not natural’. But neither is steak before it’s been seasoned. So you may as well do the same with plants. Far kinder, healthier and no factory farms involved.
Steak and mince are popular foods, often served as part of dishes like spaghetti bolognese or shepherd’s pie. But in a country of 60 million people, we don’t have enough land for everyone to eat free-range. So even if you eat meat, most of the time it’s going to be factory-farmed, unless stated otherwise.
In fact, cows near the end of their lives are ‘fattened up’ by cramming them into pens so they can’t exercise off any calories. It’s heart-breaking if you’ve ever accidentally come across this, while out walking near a farm.
Why Choose Vegan Meats?
Often people are criticised for choosing vegan meats, saying they are ‘not natural’ and we should ‘support our farmers’. In fact, England has 60 million meat so we don’t have enough free-range land to eat meat in its present quantities, without resorting to horrible factory farms.
So if you eat meat, choose free-range (and pay a little more). And some of the time, choose vegan meats (these are fine if made without palm oil, and you recycle the packaging). No cholesterol too!
More Vegan Steaks on Sale
Vivera is a Dutch company that makes plant-based steak and mince. High in iron and vitamin B12, you’ll find this brand in most major supermarkets (it’s sold in 27,000 supermarkets across Europe). Just heat the steaks in a little oil in a pan, and they’re ready in around 12 minutes.
Nice with a fresh green salad for a low-carb high-protein meal. Made from wheat and soy protein. The same company also make plant-based mince for all your veggie recipes.
planted.steak is a Swiss food product in classic, Mexican or paprika flavours. Made from sustainable soy and pea proteins alongside rapeseed oil, it’s high in protein, low in saturated fat and packed with iron and vitamin B12.
Sons of Butchers Mince Cheat (Ireland) is from fourth-generation butchers who went from herds to herbs! It also makes burgers, meatballs and sausages!
Abbott’s ground ‘beef’ is made from pea protein, an earthy umami flavour of porcini mushrooms with onion and thyme. Simply heated in a pan or air-fryer, it’s ideal for shepherd’s pie, spaghetti bolognese or simple stuffed peppers.
Juicy Marbles (also available for food service)
Redefine is one of the new lab-created meat companies, this brand is eaten and served by chef Marco Pierre White. It’s like ‘real meat’, but created with plant-based non-GM wheat and soy protein, alongside beetroot and yeast extract. Available for food service.
Juicy Marbles uses natural ingredients (secret recipe!) to create gourmet plant-based steaks and joints, you seriously would not know the difference. Also available for food service, they are also super-easy to cook.
