Meat Alternatives

[MommyMuffin]

I've noticed food prices going up at my grocery stores. And my income isnt going up...lol

On the food program we have to serve a meat with lunch. Meat is so expensive.
I sometimes make egg salad or serve cottage cheese with some lunch meat to satisfy the fp.

Any ideas, recipies for meat alternatives. Just this week I made a pasta with beans, but I have no more ideas. I dont want to serve chicken and lunchmeat all the time.

[Meyou]

TVP - textured vegatable protein (you buy it dry and rehydrate it with water and then use it as a ground beef substitute in sauces and casseroles

Tofu - chopped fine it takes on the flavor of what you're cooking and disapears into the dish

Quinoa - a south american grain that is high in protein (use it like you would rice)

Legumes (beans, peanuts, lentils, chick peas)

Peanut or almond butter

Eggs

Tuna

I do alot of meat alternatives because I have one vegetarian and two pescetarians (no meat but eat fish). It's really not that hard once you get rolling. :) I found the hardest part was to retrain my brain to understand that a meal can be complete without meat on the plate.

[meganlavonnesmommy]

Meatless ideas:
Scrambled eggs
Quiche
egg and cheese burritos
breakfast pizza
hard boiled eggs
black bean quesadillas
refried bean tacos
grilled cheese sandwiches
chili with beans
spaghetti with white bean tomato sauce
split pea soup
string cheese and yogurt

[KEG123]

BEANS! I make chilli and then put it in a tortilla like a quesadilla. Or a bean burrito. Or lentil tacos. Basically, Mexican food. :D

[MommyMuffin]

What wonderful ideas! Thank you. I am just starting to learn to cook so I'm going to have to find some recipes and practice.

[queenbee]

MommyMuffin,

I run a vegetarian daycare so my specialty is finding and using meat-alternatives ;)

I will be posting a few of my menus in the Weekly Menus thread in a day or two if you are interested.

[Unregistered]

I see this is an older thread, but I've been looking for ideas myself. So far I've had some successes and some failures. We've been eating a lot of cheese and yogurt (a favorite with the kids). I've also done things to extend the meat - like making a cheeseburger (half the met required when you add half the cheese required :) ). I've made meatless meatballs and meatless hamburgers (still perfecting the recipe, but the last one was pretty good). Used beans, but lentils are good, too, along with oatmeal and rice. And so many carrots that each hamburger qualified as a veggie as well. :)

Some other ideas I've been working on - veggie stew served with some cottage cheese or hard cheese or a hard boiled egg, pot pies the same way. And again, you can make the above with half the meat and add half the cheese or some beans!

I haven't done a lot with tofu, and am really looking forward to some recipes for that! I really shy away from the TVP and soy sauce as they are basically loaded with msg. I am deathly allergic and so I don't use it at all. I loved the other ideas - bean and cheese tacos and burritos and bean tomato sauce! yummy! And chili on burritos!

I make breakfast pizza and veggie pizza as well, just make sure I put enough cheese on it. A Mexican pizza with beans would be a fun try! :) Maybe next week......

[HelenS1985]

does it irritate you when people use the word meat to mean Lamb?

why do people talk about eating chiken, or aash or goroor goos but then switch to the word meat when they should say berrir goos?

Get it right

Meat = Mangsho = Goos

[Bella99]

Would almond milk count as a meat alternative (almonds) or milk (milk type)

Hmmmm :confused: