lately I've been buying that morning star farms ground meat subsitute, or the one made by boca. I've been using it to make chilli and tacos and stuff. I was wondering how heathy that stuff is in large doses, like if it were to be eaten in a dish where it was the major ingrediant, like a meatloaf. Is it good for you? I mean how does it compare to ground beef nutritionaly. I've read the box before i think and it talks about how it's lower in fat, but how much nutrition is in it? Would it be much healthier for me to just make my chilli out of a bunch of chopped veggies (such as onions, garlic, bellpeppers, tomatoes, kidney beans, and stuff like that)
TIA
Well, the biggest thing to improve one's health is to always eat fruits and veggies. I think since they are usually soy based, they are better than meat, but you can totally overdue soy! You only need (no matter your protein source) as much protein as a deck of cards a day. That's it. It is worth looking into dishes that are based on veggies to take the place of the meat substitutes and meat. Ex. of a meal with protein without substitute or meat is brown rice with garlic and onions and maybe some mushrooms, steamed veggie (green) and baked potatoes.
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A lot of "fake meat" products are high in sodium, and use Soy Protein Isolate. Here's a cautionary website about soy: http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/index.htm
I used to buy fake meat all the time but now I honestly feel like real meat, humanely raised, and organic, etc, is better for us. When we have soy it's usually in the more traditional forms, ie tofu, tempeh, and miso.
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Dawn,
mama to Maxine Day(8/01) and brand new Ivan Wolfgang(6/08), partner to Jason.
Honestly, rather than buying the Boca or Morningstar Farms ground beef substitute, you'd be better off making your own, especially for chili or tacos, where the "meat" is so heavily seasoned that it's not like you're getting a lot of beef flavor.
I've had a lot of success with TVP (check out Bob's Red Mill and find out if any stores around you sell it. I know that in my area, Safeway, Shopper's Food Warehouse, and Whole Foods do.). I just reconstitute it with vegetable broth, and add the seasoning packet. It ends up being a lot healthier, and a lot less expensive, too.
I admit I love some of the fake meat products but the sodium content bothers me. I will eat it only a couple times a week.
I think nutritionally you're better off with beans and fresh veggies as your meat substitutes. Although soy is a worthy component of a diet, it shouldn't be the staple.
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