Beyond 'Beyond Meat': 30 Natural Protein Options (That Are Goo-Free)
Ultra-processed meat substitutes are just Goo.
My husband and I were watching YouTube one night last week.
While looking for a new episode of Grand Designs, a video about the publicly-traded meat substitute food producer Beyond Meat appeared in our recommended feed.
The video is embedded at the bottom of this post, and you can read more about ‘Beyond Meat’ on this Wikipedia page or their own website BeyondMeat.com.
We couldn’t resist. Click.
Let me out myself upfront by saying: I eat meat. I love seafood, poultry, beef, pork, sausage, steak, you name it.
And, as I shared in my post with the Curry Chicken with Red Lentils and Veggies recipe, my Dad is (and always has been) an experimental international home cook. So, needless to say, I got to try just about everything that was available at the meat and fish markets when I was a kid.
But, back to my main point.
Watching this video was a bit surprising, to say the least.
As it turns out, even after going IPO, getting access to a variety of fast food chains, and seeing a massive pre-pandemic increase in demand, the stock value of Beyond Meat has tanked over 95% from a high of $239 in 2019 to $3.11 today (March 11, 2025).
What the heck happened?!?
Part of the reason for this massive stock price drop for ‘Beyond Meat’, per the video, is that people are more motivated by health benefits than ever before.
Health-conscious people are actually reading ingredients labels more, these days, and have discovered that many meat substitute products - like Beyond Meat - are loaded with ultra-processed ingredients.
In order to make plant-based ingredients taste like meat and have “mouth feel” like meat, you have to do a lot to the ingredients, such as adding ‘natural’ flavors, thickeners, gelling agents …Goo.
See for yourself.
At first glance, the following ingredients are either entirely unidentified or already qualify as “Goo” on The Goo Index:
canola oil (expeller pressed)
“natural flavours”
thickener ← ❓
antioxidant ← ❓
gelling agent ← ❓
They don’t even tell you what some of these ingredients are because - (uh-oh!) - you might go look them up and see that they are bad news.
I couldn’t find the actual ingredients (i.e.: what is “gelling agent” or “thickener”?) for a Beyond Burger on the Beyond Meat website. They obfuscate that information on a pretty webpage (linked in the footer under “Ingredients”) with images of avocados, peas, potatoes, and beets. I had to go to another website that sells this product to get the screen capture of the ingredients list (above).
What’s the Bottom Line?
Consumers who prefer not to or can’t eat meat are compelled to choose between:
❌ Ignoring labels and eating ultra-processed meat-flavored food products,
OR
✔️ Finding healthy and natural options that are not trying to be what they aren’t.
Ugh!
My husband likes to joke…
“Why is there so much effort to make broccoli taste like a burger, but no one is trying to make a burger taste like broccoli?”
30 high-protein Goo-Free foods
Here is a list of 30 natural or minimally-processed foods that you can eat to get the protein that you need in your diet and not have to eat processed foods with Goo.
Legumes & Beans
Black Beans – ~15g protein per cooked cup
Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) – ~15g protein per cooked cup
Edamame (Young Soybeans) – ~18g protein per cooked cup
Lentils – ~18g protein per cooked cup
Navy Beans – ~15g protein per cooked cup
Split Peas – ~16g protein per cooked cup
Soy & Soy-Based Foods
Miso Paste – ~6g protein per 3 tbsp
Tempeh – ~31g protein per cup
Tofu (Firm) – ~20g protein per cup
Seeds & Nuts
Almonds – ~6g protein per ounce
Cashews – ~5g protein per ounce
Chia Seeds – ~4g protein per 2 tbsp
Flaxseeds – ~5g protein per 2 tbsp
Hemp Seeds – ~9g protein per 3 tbsp
Pistachios – ~6g protein per ounce
Pumpkin Seeds – ~7g protein per ounce
Sesame Seeds – ~5g protein per 2 tbsp
Sunflower Seeds – ~5.5g protein per ounce
Walnuts – ~4g protein per ounce
Grains & Pseudograins
Amaranth – ~9g protein per cooked cup
Buckwheat – ~6g protein per cooked cup
Farro – ~8g protein per cooked cup
Oats – ~6g protein per half cup (dry)
Quinoa – ~8g protein per cooked cup
Spelt – ~11g protein per cooked cup
Teff – ~10g protein per cooked cup
Dairy & Eggs (For Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians)
Cottage Cheese – ~28g protein per cup
Eggs – ~6g protein per large egg
Greek Yogurt (Plain, Whole or Low-Fat) – ~20g protein per cup
Other Unique Protein Sources
Nutritional Yeast – ~8g protein per 2 tbsp (also high in B12 if fortified)
Seitan (Vital Wheat Gluten) – ~21g protein per 3.5 ounces (not suitable for gluten-free diets)
Spirulina – ~4g protein per tablespoon (a highly concentrated protein source from algae)