I'm not a vegetarian, but I play one on television

I'm an omnivore, and I'm proud of that fact. I enjoy the taste of blue-rare steak and well-charred ribs, brisket that's been smoked to fork-flake tenderness, grilled salmon and pan-seared trout, and a rack of lamb succulent with juice and redolent with herbs. By the same token, there's nothing quite so satisfying as the first crunch of a cold Pippin apple or a crisp Bosc pear, couscous and rice hold a strong place in both my heart and my pantry, oatmeal with cranberries is a marvelous comfort food, and an arugula and spinach salad topped with candied walnuts and fresh mushrooms goes well with almost any meal.

Because I am an omnivore, and also a foodie, I've tried various vegetarian offerings for meat replacements. No, not because I'm giving up meat -- far from it -- but because I want to continue to expand my horizons. I'd found, unfortunately, that while some animal protein replacements were moderately tolerable, most of the vegetarian options I'd tried had been less than appealing. Lately, though, I stumbled across a rather delectable exception to that rule.

The greater part of Lightlife's brand of vegetarian products is exceptionally tasty, and they have a benefit many of the other replacements don't: they have low to no cholesterol, and they're either low in fat or completely fat free. Now, in the sake of full disclosure, I have to say that their hot dogs are not the best I've ever had; however, both their Smart Ground beef replacement and their Gimme Lean faux sausage is quite good, and I love their Smart Chili and Smart BBQ. Unfortunately, the lighter proteins -- poultry, for example -- don't seem to translate as well as the beef and sausage replacements. Oh, they're good enough for use in recipes, and Lightlife's breaded nuggets and stuffers are quite flavorful, but I personally wouldn't use their turkey substitute in a sandwich.

All that being said, I feel it's important to experiment with your food choices. After all, it's how I discovered that I like pistachios, and it may give you the opportunity to find a heretofore undiscovered treasure. Then, too, continued testing -- even when I'd previously experienced some supremely unsatisfactory results -- is how I discovered that good taste doesn't always need to include animal protein.

Even so, I'm most assuredly not giving up steak and lobster for the 4th of July.