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Quick Guide for New-to-You Vegetarian Foods |
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In
1968, I became vegetarian after realizing that animals feel
afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do….It was my dog
Boycott who led me to question the right of humans to eat other
sentient beings.
— Cesar Chavez, farming activist |
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- Ener-G’s Egg Replacer is a ready-made product available in
most health food stores that is not only quick and easy to use when
recipes call for eggs as a binding agent (such as in baking), but is
also cholesterol-free.
- Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast rich in vitamins and
minerals, with a wonderful cheesy flavor. It can be easily added to
soups, stews, casseroles, or in place of cheese to make any dish creamier.
Experiment and be pleasantly surprised by the delicious concoctions
you create!
- Seitan (SAY-tan), also known as wheat meat, is a delicious,
high-protein meat substitute. Made primarily from wheat gluten, find
it prepackaged in a variety of flavors and dishes. Try seitan in your
favorite entrée recipe or in a stir-fry.
- Soy cheese is a non-dairy cheese made from soybeans. Use it
as a cheese substitute in any dish. Check the product label as some
brands contain casein, a cow’s milk protein
 Soy
and rice milks are healthy alternatives to cow’s milk. Increasingly
available in your local grocery store (as well as in health food stores),
soy- or rice-based beverages come in flavors ranging from plain to vanilla
to cocoa to strawberry. Try it on your favorite cereal, in your morning
coffee, in any recipe that calls for milk, or drink it straight! Each
of the dozens of brands of soy and rice milks has its own distinct taste,
so taste test to find the one you like best.- Soy margarine is a tasty, non-dairy version of butter without
the cholesterol (and cruelty) found in other butters and margarines.
 Tofu,
a staple in Asian cooking, is a high-protein soybean product. Tofu comes
in many different textures and happily absorbs flavors and spices. Use
it in stir-fries, scrambled with nutritional yeast and other seasonings
in place of eggs, or marinate and bake it as an entrée. Blend the softer,
“silken” varieties for dressings, shakes, and pie and dessert fillings.- TVP (textured vegetable protein) is a dried soy product and
a simple substitute for ground beef in stews, chili, and pasta sauce.
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