Anonymous wrote:I am a vegetarian. I tend to cook meat crumbles separately because they do not cook like regular meat. Simmering this is just not a good idea. I have moved away from substitute meat products because they are actually unhealthier than real meat. However, I would never use lentils for chili as that would be a culinary crime. The hard thing about being a real vegetarian is accepting that you are not going to be able to enjoy some of the things you did before.
For chili, you can make just a bean chili. I agree with you the fake meat are really unhealthy. My family will eat some but I will not. I try to avoid them.