I’ve been a vegetarian for… oh, about 4 years now.
It’s been a pretty easy transition for me. I was never a huge meat-eater to begin with so cutting it out of my diet didn’t feel like too much of a sacrifice.
Except that I desperately missed fish ‘n’ chips.
Brought up as a good Catholic girl, I was heavily stewed in the tradition of celebrating Good Friday with a feed of battered fish and fries. It wasn’t something we indulged in very often beyond that — and perhaps that’s why I loved that meal so darn much when we did.
So when I cut all meat and fish from my diet, it was fine. Except that I missed my fish ‘n’ chips.
And not just on Good Friday. All year round.
Enter #20 on my list of 30 Good Things Before 30:
Gardein Fish-Free Golden Filets
Imagine my joy when one wondrous Saturday not too long ago, I was browsing through the frozen food section in the natural foods corner of our grocery store. Right next to the beefless beef tips (also delicious, by the way) and “chick’n” nuggets, I found these:
What sorcery is this?
I snatched ’em up, brought ’em home, cooked ’em up and served ’em alongside some crash hot potatoes, burnt broccoli, and home-made tartar sauce.
Maybe not the most beautiful plate of food in the world, but then again neither are real fish ‘n’ chips. At least I included a vegetable! #PersonalGrowth
And maybe it was the prolonged absence of fish ‘n’ chips in my life, but, my god, they were delicious!
I baked mine (though you can also deep-fry or pan-fry them) and was impressed by how nicely golden-brown and crispy they become. On the inside, they flaked just like the fish filets of my youth. Delicious.
As for healthfulness? Bottom line: it’s a processed food. That means you aren’t going to want to eat it every day. Just like you wouldn’t eat fish ‘n’ chips every day.
Make it a treat. Have it only once in a while.
Say, every Good Friday?
If you need a good fish alternative in your life, check out Gardein’s Fish-Free Golden Filets. Also, I should mention that I have not received any kind of compensation from Gardein for this post. I just want to eat these everyday. I won’t. But I want to.
A Normal Woman's Guide to (Mostly) Healthy Living 
haha. I’ve never tried these. But have you tried the fake bacon.? it’s pretty good for a nice alternative. I like to make it on a rare occasion that I want breakfast burritos. the “chicken nuggets” are good too.
I’ve tried quite a few varieties of fake bacon. The tempeh stuff is the best! Makes for a delicious vegetarian BLT!
I LOVE Gardein!! I’m not a vegetarian but there was a time in my life that I tried it out. It wasn’t for me, but I loved this stuff!
I honestly haven’t tried anything from them that I didn’t love. Had some of their beefless beef tips yesterday. Their Mandarin chicken is good too. K, my mouth is watering now. I obviously need to eat breakfast!