After reading Kathy Freston's recent Huffington Post article mentioning different viewpoints on increasingly popular faux meats (a.k.a. meat alternatives, substitutes and analogues), I thought I'd share my favorite "faux" recipe.
I made this (below) on a recent morning for my visiting in-laws, and it was a big hit. Even my very carnivorous father-in-law ate the whole thing!
Faux meats are great for healthy people (like me) who'd like to cook a tasty, plant-based meal when our meat-eating friends or relatives are visiting, but don't want to make two separate meals. And meat substitutes are an excellent transition food for people moving toward a more plant-based way of eating.
As Kathy eloquently puts it:
"Showing people who are trying to move toward a plant-based diet that they can still eat their favorite comfort foods is an important way to break down barriers and resistance to a new way of eating. Once the mind opens, it continues to expand. For many people, starting out on transitional foods like vegan meats, cheeses, and milks is a first, fantastic step, and they'll likely later incorporate more "real foods" like unprocessed grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits into their diet."
If you've never tried vegan sausage or seitan or other so-called faux meats, you'll likely be pleasantly surprised. They're not some weird plastic foods (!) -- they're actually made of good-for-you whole grains, wheat and soy.
When I first started eating healthy 12 years ago to help me heal from invasive breast cancer, I often made a Hot & Sour Soup containing seitan to help my then-meat-eating family with the transition to healthier eating. It's still a favorite in my house.
My husband Tom started making this dish several years ago for my daughter Cammie as a breakfast treat when she came home from school or on vacations. We also use this as a burrito filling -- and it's a nice change of pace from the usual bean and rice burrito. To me, it's more of a warm German Potato Salad wrapped in a soft steamed tortilla.
Let me know what you think!
Faux Favorite
6 potatoes, washed and cubed
1 large onion, sliced in half, then each half sliced thinly
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 package Gimme Lean "sausage"
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
Sea salt, pepper to taste
6-8 whole wheat (or brown rice) tortillas
Optional: salsa
Put potatoes into a soup pot, cover with spring or filtered tap water, and bring to a boil on high. Cover, turn to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked but still firm. Drain water.
While potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium-high, add onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes with a pinch of salt. When onions are cooked, push to the side of the pan. Open the package of Gimme Lean sausage and break up into ¾ inches pieces. Add to the skillet with a little more oil, and cook for another 5-7 minutes until brown and slightly crispy.
Mix the cooked sausage and onion together and add the cooked potatoes. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, cover and keep on a low flame for a few more minutes.
In a 2 ½-quart saucepan, heat 3 cups of water to a boil on high. Turn down to medium-high. Put a steamed basket or wire mesh basket over the top of the pan to use as a steamer.
Steam a tortilla for about 20-30 seconds or until soft. Pull it from the basket with tongs and place on work area. Place ¾ cup of the potato, onion and sausage mixture on the tortilla and roll it into a wrap. Turn the sides it while wrapping. Place on a serving plate, and top with salsa if desired. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas.
For breakfast, these are nice served with cut-up fresh fruit. For lunch and dinner, serve with a salad or vegetables!
This meal will rival the real stuff, minus the saturated fat and animal protein! I'd be willing to wager that cookbook author Mark Bittman -- an outspoken critic of faux meats -- would be wowed by it, too!
Do you have a meat-free meal that you love? Please share your favorite here in the comments section. Would you consider trying this recipe?
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Kathy Freston: The Case For Fake Meat (Omnivores, We're Looking At You!)
Christina Pirello: Real Things You Can Do to Prevent Breast Cancer
Water, textured soy protein concentrate, soy flour, tapioca starch, soy sauce (water, soybeans, salt, wheat), less than 2% of: soy protein isolate, natural flavors (from vegetable sources), wheat gluten, soy protein concentrate, cellulose gum, natural cane sugar, sea salt, spices, soy milk powder, maltodextrin, barley malt extract, torula yeast, beet powder, salt, yeast extract.
I prefer to eat REAL food, not chemistry projects.
Yes, and there is also Gimme Lean Beef which has no cane sugar and is the same consistency as the sausage. Elecerritan also has to remember that in this recipe the "meat" is also only part of this dish (about 1/4-1/3), the other part ARE real vegetables.
http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=gimmeleanbeef
Welcome back! Thanks for commenting.
Yes, I read the ingredients and linked them to one of the comments ... if you read my whole article, I think it puts this processed food into perspective. It's about "leaning in" to a change in diet. Of course real whole foods, whole grain, beans and vegetables are the best case scenario, but I think that a recipe using this has it's place.
And I respect that you might not choose to eat this over meat and that's OK. I just wouldn't myself!
So are you saying that you don't eat ANY processed foods at all? Just curious, because for a processed food (and I do no eat many) this product has better ingredients that most.
Thank you! I appreciate your comment.
This one looks great, too: http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/gypsy-soup-fid-203735
Also, I have a best friend from high school whose family owned a meat and dairy farm.. she used to LOVE meat and dairy and was very hesitant to all the vegetables I eat, (and the lack there of animal products).. but this summer she came to live with me. She trying to make a change over to a healthier way of eating. She said her body was always sore, achey, and sluggish. She also suffered from headaches and was discouraged about how "lazy" she had become after high school. When she moved in with me she started consuming more vegetables- and I started looking into faux meats to help her make an easy transition. MorningStar has a number of different faux meats, her favorite was Morningstar Hickory BBQ Riblets. She absolutely loved them, and the faux meats made her new diet feel less foreign.
She said it was the best summer of her life- it helped her to learn what foods ACTUALLY made her body FEEL good, and how the tastes she loved could still be part of her new found health. If you knew what a meat-lover this girl used to be, you would be amazed that she picks Morningstar's Riblets over the "real" meat any day!
Just a little food for thought! You rock Meg!
XOXO KRPeace
So great to hear from you! I love stories like this, because this is a wonderful about what Kathy Freston wrote about–helping people transition or "lean in" to a healthier way of eating.
Great that you were able to help your friend and that she found plant foods that helped her body feel good.
Right back at you, Kate R Peace. You rock! XOXO
Testing....Gypsy
Did you check the other post, they did come through. Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't get my newsletter yet. If you resend me your email at: meg@megwolff.com I'll make sure that you get it. :-)
Great to hear from you. Yes, I agree that the traditional soy products like tofu and tempeh are the best, but for those as Kathy says "leaning in" to a change in their eating habits (or just as you tried it on a pizza (yum!), it can make a great transition food. Like you, I agree that it's a great alternative to fatty meat. Would you consider trying this "Faux Favorite?"
How exciting to be reading your posts here!! I'm gonna try this recipe. I miss you, it's been ages since we've seen each other...spring is right around the corner and before we know it we'll be back to the farmers markets again. YAY!!
Big Hugs,
Marky B
Thanks SO much for the surprise of visiting me here on the HP. More BIG HUGS to you, sweetie.
I bought your book right after Christmas and love it! It is already stained and dogeared from making many of the recipes. I made the pad thai last night and it was definitely restaurant-quality! Keep up the great recipes!
Glad that you bought my book right after Christmas and love it! Stained and dog-eared are what I LOVE hearing, millerb68!
Glad that you made the pad thai-wow that is SO great. Sounds like you're a great cook!
Thank you for commenting!
Everyone says that Gimme Lean tastes identical to the real thing. I will be serving this recipe to my brother in law. Its hearty and not too expensive for a crowded house. Thank you!
This story warms my heart! Your brother-in-law sounds really sweet and appreciative, and so nice of you to make something special for him. (The reverse of that is one time I visited my husband's 80-something year-old aunt, an omnivore, who cooked a vegan macrobiotic meal for us. Wow, did we appreciate that!)
That's amazing that he didn't know it wasn't real pork. And I agree that it is economical for a large crowd. Please let me know if your brother-in-law likes the recipe.
Right now I'm loving your version of Waldorf Salad even with the tofu mayo. (Best Foods mayo is one thing I really miss.) I must say it does take discipline to follow the PBD and I'm taking it very seriously so I'm doing some substitutions with recipes but I've gotten great ideas and thank you for writing this great book.
Thanks for getting "A Life In Balance" cookbook! Could you tell me which Marin Whole Foods Market as I'm trying to figure out who has it, who doesn't for WFM.
I am familiar with the Cornell online program it as my sister-in-law took it. I would definitely recommend it (do you teach?).
Three years on a PBD, good going! And two dress sizes is amazing! Yeah, I did the same when I first started eating this way (with not much exercise, because of my leg) and people just would not believe it, you can eat a LOT of great food three times a day and you'll loose weight if you need to.
Glad that you like the Waldorf Salad recipe and yes, it does take discipline to follow and stay with, but for me (and it sounds like for you, too!) the pay-off is a thousand-fold in health, weight (I don't really have to think much about it anymore, I'm not up and down like I was) and just feeling calm most of the time without mood swings. General great health!
Thank you for appreciating my book, it really means a lot to me. Comments like yours make my day.
No I don't teach but I'd like to know if I want to know more. Someone told me I could the on line course so I'd have to figure out how to do that. My computer helper is in Vienna for 3 weeks and I'm not sure I could figure that one out on my own.
Yes, it's just great eating and not having to think about weight though I was never a big eater or very big either. I went from a six to a two and don't want to lose anymore weight because it's hard for me to find pants in twos. Yet I don't gain and to be careful because I lose when I have green smoothies EVERY day during the summer. I want my blueberries and oatmeal these cold winter mornings. I never thought I'd be saying this. I have friends who tell me I'm skinny but I'm not skinny! I just don't have any fat anywhere on me:-)
No, I must thank you Meg. You are my favorite blogger on HP.
Except, I have no idea what "Gimme Lean "sausage" is. I found though that in a dish like this a combination of sauted onion and sauted mushrooms (especially what I found in English as 'king trumpet mushroom, french horn mushroom, or king oyster mushroom') can well substitute meat, with no complaints coming.
Great to hear from you. Yes, indeed, breakfast around the world is different. I neglected to say that this was more of a Sunday brunch for us–so it WAS more like lunch. And, I would certainly eat this for dinner!
I was going to add the Gimme Lean link, here it is: http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=gimmeleansausage
The mushrooms sound heavenly and I would surely be happy with them as a substitute ... or in addition!
Thanks for your excellent suggestion, sheherezade!
Love soups too! Very cool that you have so many recipes that you can't count them.
Thanks for the vegweb site, I'll check it out! Are you a member?