Sadly, most of the responses here are exactly what I expected.
My wife makes some really tasty vegetarian meals, and some of the meat-free or vegan meals (eg, riblets, portobello burgers, etc) are really, really good.
The issue for some of you, IMO, is that you're comfortable with what you've always had, a simple diet of mostly meat, some starchy side and butter-drenched veggies. Let's face it, making some tasty ribs or burgers doesn't take much effort. Take the meats away and meals become a lot more complex, increasing the risk of it tasting foreign or just plain gross.
I have a very mixed diet, but try to eat healthy, which REQUIRES a large percentage of veggies, IMO. That means that, to make it enjoyable, additional spices and varied additions to, say, salads are necessary to make them not only palatable, but desirable and delicious.
With respect to faux food, I've had vegan hot dogs and hamburgers that nearly made me puke, they were so bad. I've had others that are so good, that I look forward to having them. They're spiced well, proportioned well, and have a nice texture. They usually don't taste like what they're trying to imitate, other than by shape, but they're tasty enough to stand their own as an addition to the weekly meal schedule without it seeming like a chore at all.
That may be another problem: I'd bet that most call vegan or vegetarian options odd or gross because, maybe it was a little too exotic for them; maybe they made the dishes themselves and simply didn't know what they were doing. Tossing in some [censored], low-nutrient lettuce, along with other bland-tasting veggies and then forcing yourself to down it without gagging isn't helping the case for a more-varied, veggie - rich diet.
Maybe some of you also hate the idea of these things because you think of hoity toity college kids going through a phase or the annoying, condescending greenies who comment on how inefficient your lawn-watering apparatus is and how your SUV is killing mother Earth. Well, sure, that's understandable, because they are annoying. However, there are some of us who like to eat salads most days for lunch, but throw in an egg and some smoked salmon. Some of us like our meatless Mondays and BBQ brisket Fridays, or to have veggie - rich meals each day with a relatively small meat portion (or to have a granola bar, a bag of chips and a cookie all day, if I'm at work and stuck on the job with no time to eat - i added this because the above is more my ideal than what I always have the time or wherewithal to maintain.) For this, there are tasty options, bland options and putrid options. It's up to you to find the task healthy options.
