posted on Apr, 2 2020 @ 01:54 PM
Good afternoon ATS,
I do hope anyone reading this is in good health and is able to find some form of enjoyment of life during all this.
I’ve been reading a lot of posts, on and off ATS, about shortages of meat in grocery stores and wanted to offer up a suggestion on maintaining your
protein intake. I’m certainly FAR from a preachy vegan, so you won’t find any of that in this thread, merely a suggestion that might help some of
you out who are short on cash and finding empty shelves in grocery stores. Nothing more.
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is an excellent source of protein and can be bought for dirt cheap (in some cases, a pound for $6). It can be
flavored easily with bouillon cubes or whatever seasonings you would cook ground beef with. My wife and I use it for any kind of Mexican food we make,
as well as bolognese sauce, shepherds pie, really, anything you normally make with ground beef, you can make it with TVP.
A 1/4 cup of TVP (measured from the package, before being reconstituted) contains 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbohydrates (4 grams of
fiber and 3 grams of sugars), and 12 grams of protein. It is also a good source of iron, delivering 15 percent of the recommended daily value.
It comes dried and needs to be hydrated, which is generally where I mix in the bullion cubes (for those wondering, yes, vegan bouillon cubes exist). I
recommend going heavy on the seasonings as I’m not a fan of it unless it’s heavily seasoned. It doesn’t taste horrible, I just don’t dig the
taste. My wife doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. A 1/4 cup of dry TVP will turn into around 3/4’-1 cup hydrated, depending on the actual
TVP sizes.
You can buy pre-flavored off Amazon all day long. Generally, I’ll hydrate it, strain it for a while, throw it in the oven at 400 to cook a lot of
the moisture out then cook it as I would anything I used to make with ground beef.
There also seems to be no shortage of vegetables and I saw a news story about produce going to waste in the stores. Now is definitely not a good time
to ignore your vegetable intake. Alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, spinach, asparagus, watercress and collard greens are all high in protein.
Chickpeas are another good source for protein and there are TONS of Indian dishes that utilize them. I often take a can of them, mash them up with
some mayo, celery, onion and seasonings to make a faux chicken salad with. Some vegan joints will use them for faux tuna salad as well.
That’s all. I just wanted to give people some options who are feeling pressed right now to find something efficient. While I have zero interest in
discussing vegans as a whole or animal agriculture, or lecturing people about anything vegan related, if anyone is interested in recipes or cooking
tips I’m more than happy to offer them, just ask in the thread and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Be safe and take care, everyone.