Guide to Meat Alternatives."It's got a strange texture." - a life-long vegetarian child "It's been a great way to help my kids make the transition to vegetarianism vegetarianism, theory and practice of eating only fruits and vegetables, thus excluding animal flesh, fish, or fowl and often butter, eggs, and milk. In a strict vegetarian, or vegan, diet (i.e. and it's so convenient!" - a parent "This tastes too much like meat for me!" - a new vegetarian "It's so cool to eat food that looks like what other people are eating. I like fooling them." - another life-long vegan vegan /veg·an/ (ve´gan) (vej´an) a vegetarian whose diet excludes all food of animal origin. ve·gan n. kid What are they talking about? They're talking about meat alternatives like ,"chiken" chunks, seitan sei·tan n. A chewy, protein-rich food made from wheat gluten and used as a meat substitute. , veggie ground round, and other vegetarian foods that taste and/or look like meat. We'll give you information about ingredients and nutritional quality of these products. You'll have to decide for yourself whether they are appealing or just "too close to meat." Ground Meat Replacers Want to make chili (language) CHILI - D.L. Abt. A language for systems programming, based on ALGOL 60 with extensions for structures and type declarations. ["CHILI, An Algorithmic Language for Systems Programming", CHI-1014, Chi Corp, Sep 1975] , stuffed peppers, spaghetti spaghetti: see pasta. sauce, and all those favorite foods you used to make with hamburger? Ground meat replacers may be your answer. These products are typically made from textured soy protein Soy protein is generally regarded as the storage protein held in discrete particles called protein bodies which are estimated to contain at least 60–70% of the total soybean protein. or soy protein concentrate. They are completely cooked and can simply be added to a favorite recipe in place of cooked ground beef. They are generally free of cholesterol and saturated fats saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be . They tend to be high in sodium. They contain generous amounts of protein and some have added iron, zinc, and vitamin [B.sub.12]. Lightlife and Yves products are made with non-GMO soybeans.
Product Protein Fat Sodium Added
(serving size) Calories (g) (g) (mg) Nutrients
Lightlife
Gimme Lean Beef 70 9 0 240
(2 oz)
Gimme Lean 70 9 0 290
Sausage
(2 oz)
Smart Ground 70 12 0 180
Original
(1/3 c)
Smart Ground 60 10 0 170
Taco
Morningstar Farms
Ground Meatless 60 10 0 260 Iron,
(1/2 c) [B.sub.12]
Burger Style 80 10 2.5 210 Iron,
Recipe [B.sub.12]
Crumbles
(2/3 c)
Sausage Style 90 11 3 370 Iron,
Recipe [B.sub.12]
Crumbles
(2/3 c)(*)
Harvest Burger 70 12 0 200 Iron,
Recipe [B.sub.
Crumbles 12], Zinc
(1/2 c)
Yves Ground 60 12 0 250 Iron,
Round Original [B.sub.
or Italian 12], Zinc
(1/3 c)
Ground Beef, 157 14 11 44
cooked
(2 oz)(*)
(*) Not vegan Poultry Replacers Maybe you're wondering what to serve for a festive dinner, or maybe you want to add something to a stir-fry. Poultry replacers range from stuffed breast of tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. to chiken strips to diced chik for mock chicken salad. These products are commonly made from textured soy protein, wheat protein, or soy protein concentrate. They can be found frozen or refrigerated re·frig·er·ate tr.v. re·frig·er·at·ed, re·frig·er·at·ing, re·frig·er·ates 1. To cool or chill (a substance). 2. To preserve (food) by chilling. , and in cans and boxes. Some products are ready-to-serve while others need to be reconstituted and cooked. As is true for many prepared foods, vegetarian poultry replacers tend to be high in sodium. Most contain little cholesterol or fat and have protein levels similar to poultry products. Now and Zen's UnTurkey has some organic ingredients. Harvest Direct and Tofurky products are made with non-GMO soybeans.
Protein Fat Sodium
Product (serving size) Calories (g) (g) (mg)
Harvest Direct
Strip Style or Chunk Style
Chiken (1/4 c) 41 9 0 275
Breast Style Chiken (2 oz) 156 30 0 360
Lori's Earth Friendly TVP
Chicken Chunk (1 oz) 80 15 3 4.5
Chicken-Style Wheat Meat (3 oz) 194 32 0.6 420
Now & Zen UnTurkey (5 oz) 280 21 5 580
Tofurky
Stuffed Tofu Roast (4 oz) 193 9 5 310
Tempeh Drummettes (3 oz) 105 11 2 380
Veat Gourmet
Bites (2 oz)(*) 90 9 3 400
Breast (2 oz)(*) 100 9 4 500
Vegi-Deli Strips
Chicken Style (2 oz) 100 19 2 340
Turkey Style (2 oz) 110 17 2.5 370
White Wave Chicken Style Seitan
(3 oz) 130 20 0 470
Worthington Diced Chik
(1/4 c)(*) 40 7 0 270
(*) Not Vegan Beef Replacers These products can be used in stir-fries, fajitas fajitas Noun, pl a Mexican dish of soft tortillas wrapped around fried strips of meat or vegetables [Mexican Spanish] , stews STEWS, Eng. law., Places formerly permitted in England to women of professed lewdness, and who, for hire, would prostitute their bodies to all comers. 2. , or other dishes where chunks or strips are needed. They are similar in composition and nutrients to poultry replacers. Heartland Fields, Lightlife, The Bridge, and Up Country use organic ingredients.
Calories Protein Fat Sodium
Product (serving size) (g) (g) (mg)
Heartland Fields Soy Steak
Strips (1/3 c) 100 12 1.5 480
Lightlife
Barbecue Seitan (4 oz) 160 24 2 360
Teriyaki Seitan (4 oz) 160 26 2 320
The Bridge Seitan (4 oz) 100 18 0 500
Up Country Seitan (4 oz) 70 15 1 600
White Wave
Seitan (4 oz) 188 41 1 590
Vegetarian Stir Fry Strips
(3 oz)(*) 100 22 1 200
(*) Not vegan Other Options While prepared foods are certainly one way to replace meat in familiar recipes, vegetarian cooks have been using other foods for many years to replace meat. Beans, tofu, tempeh tem·peh n. A high-protein food of Indonesian origin made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans. [Indonesian tempe, from Javanese, soybean cakes.] , seitan (wheat gluten Noun 1. wheat gluten - gluten prepared from wheat gluten - a protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains; gives cohesiveness to dough ), and even bulgur bul·gur also bul·ghur n. Cracked wheat grains, often used in Middle Eastern dishes. Also called bulgur wheat. [Ottoman Turkish bul (cracked wheat cracked wheat n. Whole wheat grains that have been cut or crushed into smaller pieces. cracked wheat Noun whole wheat cracked between rollers so that it will cook more quickly Noun 1. ) can be used to give dishes a hearty heart·y adj. heart·i·er, heart·i·est 1. Expressed warmly, exuberantly, and unrestrainedly: a hearty welcome. 2. flavor and interesting texture. Some of these options are as convenient as commercial meat replacers and may be lower in sodium and in cost. Certainly commercial meat replacers are a wonderful option for many vegetarians and may ease the transition from a meat-centered diet. Thanks to WH (Dell) Lunceford, Jr., for help gathering product information for this article. |
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