Nowadays, being a vegetarian can be more convenient with delicious recipes, new tasty products and even hotels for those who live the sans meat lifestyle.

Fantastic Foods, however, is not one of those exciting, delectable products.

A sponsor of the Vegetarian Food Festival last weekend, Fantastic Foods has been around for 30 years. In a statement, the company said they provide “meal options that are always delicious, convenient, all-natural and vegetarian.”

The company’s meatless taco filling resembles cat food before cooking, and not even good cat food. Once microwaved with water and oil added, it definitely smells like tacos, but does not bring to mind any sort of fun fiesta. It’s chewy and very “un-fantastic.”

The company says it uses “authentic ethnic recipes and premium ingredients.” For those who have been to Mexico, there is nothing ethnic about this dish except for the name.

Another “ethnic” dish the company offers is their vegetarian Pad Thai with tofu. The freeze dried vegetables and hard tofu leave much to be desired. The dish is much spicier than what is served in many Thai eateries.

Although diners should not expect too much from meals originating in a box, Fantastic Foods is simply not trying.

A third dish is the Barley soup. When the package is shaken, it sounds so dry and course it could be fed to the animals the vegetarian cause is trying to save.

The company is right. The recipes are convenient because most of them include adding warm water and microwaving for a small period of time. Other than that, it would probably be worth the time it takes to prepare tofu and vegetable stir fry from scratch, in order to not compromise taste.