Soya Based meat alternatives

Consuming beans and legumes can get a little mundane. Here’s a few options for processed meat replacements.

The soybean falls within the category of legumes (see previous post on “vegan staples”. The soybean in its raw form is edible. Soya based meat alternatives include, tofu, texturized vegetable protein and tempeh just to name a few.

Tofu, also known made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be silken, soft, firm, or extra firm. Tofu is diverse in its use in the kitchen. I often use to make a tofu scramble for breakfast, I have also use it as a protein in my smoothies. Uncooked tofu contains 8g of protein per 100g.

Texture vegetable protein is a by-product of extracting the oil from the soybean. Its protein content is comparable with that of some non-vegan meats. The taste when seasoned correctly, is not far off and it is likely to even satisfy non-vegans. Dry uncooked textured vegetable protein contains 47g per 100g.

The textured vegetable protein is the most widely used by processed vegan food brands. Here’s a few of my favourite brands.