Product Review: neat

We recently had the opportunity to try out some of Neat’s products.  For those that don’t know, Neat is a plant-based meat substitute, made mostly from pecans and garbanzo beans.   Neat’s founder Phil connected with us via Instagram and we were immediately intrigued by their products.  While neither of us are big on meat substitutes, we were really impressed by Neat’s ingredients (full ingredients listed below).  Neat does not have any soy or isolated plant proteins as many other substitutes do.  Neat is also gluten free, while many other meat substitutes (like Seitan, “wheat meat”) are actually concentrated gluten.  Additionally, all of Neat’s ingredients are also non GMO, which we’re a fan of.  Neat’s story is pretty awesome too.  Phil’s daughters (6 and 9 years old) came home one day and decided they wouldn’t be eating meat anymore for ethical reasons.  I wish we had that level of compassion and foresight at that young age!  Phil and his wife Laura went about trying a lot of meat substitutes on the market, although none of them really passed the test.  That’s when Laura went about creating Neat.

The “Neat Meat” comes packaged in dehydrated, powder form, and is cooked to form a substance remarkably close to ground beef.  To prepare Neat, you simply add water, eggs (vegan egg substitute in our case), mix and cook as if it were regular meat.  We tried out four of the main Neat products: The Original Mix, Italian Mix, Mexican Mix and Neat Egg.

Original Mix

INGREDIENTS: PECANS, GARBANZO BEANS, GLUTEN FREE WHOLE GRAIN OATS, ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN GLUTEN FREE CORNMEAL, GARLIC, ONION, SEA SALT, SPICES. 

For the original mix, we went with a classic veggie burger imitating the standard beef burger we both grew up eating.    After mixing the Neat with the water and egg substitute, we decided to toss in some chopped onion and garlic for a little more flare.  We grilled the burgers, about 4 minutes each side in a pan.  The burgers came out with a nice texture, blackened in a few places, very solid and dense.  Quite unlike most of the other veggie burgers we make.  We garnished the burgers with grilled Onions, Tomatoes, Swiss Chard and BBQ sauce, atop a whole wheat bun.  Sinking my teeth into the burger presented a pleasant flavor profile, with a nice, dense, although pleasant texture.  I imagine it to be very similar to a standard hamburger, although it’s been many years since I’ve had one.  Our omnivore friends over for dinner also enjoy it, thus passing the primary meat substitute test. 

By far the best meat replacement/imitation style veggie burger we've ever had.   This is a seriously tasty burger, with an incredibly quick prep time.  Although we’ll always prefer our homemade burgers, you can’t beat these in a pinch.  This will surely be a party favorite with us as well as thousands of others.  5 out of 5 for the original mix!      

Neat Egg Substitute

INGREDIENTS: CHIA SEEDS, GARBANZO BEAN

We’ve used a number of egg substitutes, and commonly make our own out of ground flax seed.  Most of the store bought substitutes and even our housemaid ones do the job, but don’t really have that egg look and feel to them.   The Neat Egg however, does.  It performs, looks and even feels just like an egg when mixing together the Neat.  While we’re going to stick to our trusty tofu for tofu scramble, we are definitely considering making the switch to the Neat Egg for our egg substitution needs.  5 out of 5 for Neat Egg!

Mexican Mix

INGREDIENTS: PECANS, GARBANZO BEANS, ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN GLUTEN FREE CORNMEAL, GARLIC, ONION, SEA SALT, SPICES. 

For the Mexican Mix, we decided to go with some ground Neat tacos.  We mixed the Neat together with the appropriate amount of water and egg substitute and tossed it on the pan.  We also grilled up some peppers and onions to complement the Neat, and served the tacos with Cilantro and Salsa.  It’s been a very long time since either of us had ground beef tacos, so we were pretty excited about these.  Unfortunately, the flavor profile of the Mexican Mix was rather underwhelming.  I will qualify this by saying we are both from Texas, well-acquainted with Mexican food, and have VERY LOFTY taco standards.  Bon Appetit on the Food Network singled out a taco shop about 10 blocks away from us as “the best tacos in America!”  For us, the spices just weren’t there.  The ingredients only list “spices,” not calling out individual ones, but if we had to guess, there is not nearly enough Cumin and Oregano in the mixture, and a hint of cayenne pepper would go a long way.   Texture was almost on point; although moisture content was a tad off.  It didn’t have that juicy and greasy texture I remember in ground beef tacos (although I never liked that greasiness anyway). 

Although the Mexican mix wasn’t our favorite, it was still good.  From a global perspective, we definitely understand the rationale of Neat with the spices and flavor profile.  Most people are not accustomed to real Mexican spices and “spiciness” like we are.  In Texas, we rate things from movies to restaurants on a chili pepper scale, and I’d rate these 3 out of 5 chili peppers and will likely try them again, with a supplemental spice blend.      

Italian Mix

INGREDIENTS: PECANS, GARBANZO BEANS, GLUTEN FREE WHOLE GRAIN OATS, GARLIC, ONION, SEA SALT, SPICES. 

For the Italian mix, our third and final foray into the Neat product line, we went with Neat balls.  I was really excited about these Neat balls, as meat balls were my favorite Italian dish back in my pre-plant-based days.  The directions were just as easy as the others, water, Neat mix, egg substitute, boom!  Couldn’t be any easier.  We did not add anything to the mix, and went straight up with these balls.  We decided to pair them with a Marinara sauce, Linguine and fresh basil.  Upon first bite, the balls are a little denser than I remember, and don’t quite have the same juiciness I remember from meat balls or our Beet Balls.  However, the spices are absolutely perfect and pair nicely with the marinara sauce and fresh basil.  Another super easy tasty meal with the help of Neat.  We also tried these in a meatball sub sandwich, and they were even better than with the Pasta.  Next batch we make, we’d like to try it with our Linguine or in a filled pasta such as Ravioli.  4 out of 5 on the Italian Mix.   

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Neat’s products.  They are easy, tasty, healthy, non-GMO, gluten free and entirely plant-based.  I have yet to see a meat substitute that has as few and whole ingredients as Neat.  They also come pretty darn close in taste and texture to the meat based alternative.  For guys like us who know our way around a kitchen, this isn’t the kind of thing we will be eating all the time. It’s more of something that we’ll have on hand in case we don’t have time for an extensive meal, or if we want to give our omnivore friends a familiar taste.  Additionally, with Neat, the mixture and preparation is simple, exact, and forgiving.  You cannot screw this up!  Even we mess up our own recipes at times, but you’ll be happy with your Neat creation 100 out of 100 times.  For someone just transitioning to a plant-based diet, or those omnivores out there that want to reduce their meat consumption, Neat can’t be beat!   

Another thing we really like about Neat is they are a company that cares about their impact beyond dollars and cents.  There aren’t that many companies out there, (let alone food manufacturers!) that we truly believe in and support wholeheartedly, but Neat is one of those companies.  The more I learn about Neat, the more I am impressed by the values the Neat team.  One example is their manufacturing facility is actually operated by Vision Corps, a facility that assists the visually impaired.  The production of Neat helps employ the visually impaired with stable, meaningful, well-paying jobs.  

Although we can get behind any company trying to decrease meat consumption, the manner in which Neat does it is truly admirable.  Healthy, quality ingredients, affordable, whole-foods, plant-based, local manufacturing and ethical production.   Neat truly exudes Plant-Pride!  We are definitely in support of Neat and their products and will be rooting for them from here on out.  You can find their products in a surprising number of grocery stores, or online in their online store.       

           

Enjoy, and let us know what you think!