Try a meat substitute
High in protein, low in fat and chock full of vitamins, meat substitutes are popular on the plates of vegetarians and vegans. Recently, however, chefs have been adding them to the menus of some fancy restaurants, bringing items like tempeh, tofu, and seitan to the notice of foodies and even meat-lovers.
Meat substitutes come in a range of firmness, with an option for whole grain, cooked, raw, and pre-marinated versions. They all cook quickly, which makes them great for making dinner from scratch in a pinch. In the next 24 hours, find a meat substitute at your local market or restaurant and try it.
Tofu is great! I thought I wouldnt like it but it isnt bad at all and ive tried it in many recipes. My kids even liked it. Wow!
I made a big pot of vegetarian “meat”ball pasta sauce the other day (still have a few serves left in the fridge). I just used a pack of that dehydrated vegetarian sausage roll mix that had been sitting in the cupboard for a good long while. That’s good stuff to keep around as a “just incase” alternative ingredient.
I tried last week for two days in stir-fry & pasta dishes, it tasted bad to me and I feel that I had wasted some money the dishes when I could have used real meat instead. I plan on finishing the dishes up, I dislike wasting food. Good luck to everyone… it’s not for everyone…
Being a vegan is a very exciting thing. Tempeh and Tofu and Textured Vegetable Protein can be so much fun to make new things with. If more people learned how to make things using these things then the world would be a better place, also a thinner place. Try it you might like it.
Black bean burgers – tasty, easy to make, and a refreshing change from beef! Tofu and tempeh are excellent as well.
Meat subsitutes work into a healthy diet really well! I agree with black bean burgers, they are delicious and leave a good, light feeling in the stomach! Tofu is also very healthy, and can be prepared in a variety of ways.
Morningstar Farms veggie burgers and breakfast patties are FANTASTIC!
My boyfriend has recently gone completely vegetarian for spiritual reasons. He has been testing out the multitude of available meat substitutes, and honestly does not like most of them. This presents a problem in his mind because there is nothing with which to “replace” the meat. But I really think that instead of trying to substitute meat, we should try to stop thinking of food in terms of meat. There are many many good reasons not to eat meat – it takes the same energy to produce TEN TIMES the amount of grains as it does beef, the meat industry right now is chemically, microbially and behaviorally toxic, etc, etc. ad infinitum. But culturally we’re so addicted – how else do we eat less of of it without replacing it? Don’t get me wrong, there are/have been many traditional cultures in the world who practiced meat consumption in a responsible, respectful way – which I fully support. Despite how it sounds, I do eat meat – fish and fowl. But I really despise meat substitutes – with the exception of tofu – which I really don’t use that way anyways. But the majority just don’t taste or feel good to me, and they really are out of context in their conventional uses. What I love about true vegetarian food is the focus on nutrition through a wider variety of grains and veggies, as well as the attention to FLAVOR and subtlety. Just a thought.
Actually I grew up in an agricultural area and the whole “production of grains” thing is a little bit misleading – it takes a LOT of energy to turn a stalk of wheat rooted into the soil into a useable food item like bread on a modern mechanized farm.
My problem with many of the so-called meat substitutes is the problem I have with pretty much every pre-packaged, convenience food. The ingredient list – too much salt, preservatives, artificial flavorings. I quite like edame (soy beans) in their natural state. However it takes a pretty big chemical process involving industrial solvents in order to turn beans into ground “beef”, “chicken” nuggets, or a strawberry “milk” shake. I don’t eat anything without knowing what it is – read the fine print on some of these products – it can be creepy. Also a lot of “brand-name” soy-based products use genetically modified soybeans grown in unsustainable ways that are detrimental to the environment.
I’d rather eat natural, sustainably produced foods than processed artificial ones and I’m fortunate enough to live in a community with organic meat, eggs & dairy products available. I also eat a lot of meatless meals –I just don’t use fake meat. I have lots of vegetarian recipes that use fresh, wholesome ingredients and are so tasty & satisfying that you don’t miss the meat anyway. Morrocan lentil stew, spicy black bean chili, portabello ‘burgers’, pasta, pizza, paninis, burritos, enchiladas, grilled vegetable kabobs, salads galore (both hot & cold) plus a whole stack of Southeast Asian, Ethiopian, South American, Chinese & Indian recipes for both main & side dishes in multiple cookbooks. If a person eats a varied diet, rather than the same 6 things all the time, creating a meatless meal doesn’t require a lot of effort or ‘imitation sausages.’
Im vegetarian so when it comes to meat substitute thats all i eat :)
Although soy is suppossed to be good for everyone . I was told by my doctors to stay away from anything that may contain it . This is due to my recent bout of breast cancer . It is believed that if there is even a chance they have missed even a molucule of the cancer that the soy will feed it and make it spread . So far i’m cancer free .
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