Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Works for Me Wednesday - Easy Vegetarian

We are not vegetarians in my family. Not by a long shot. We loooove ourselves some red meat. And we eat it way too often.

But, the fattyness of red meat has a tendency to add a bit of, um, much undesired fattyness to my swim suit areas. So, in an attempt to get healthy and cut cholesterol we've been trying to cut out some red meat from our daily diets. It's hard, though, 'cause A LOT of the easy family meals seem to call for a pound of ground beef.

So, in an effort to replace the meat without making cooking too difficult I found an awesome substitute: Veggie crumbles. They're located in the frozen vegetarian section of your grocery and they are an absolute lifesaver.

Basically, they are "fake" meat. Which seems wrong and unnatural, but I promise they are quite delicious.

They look like ground beef. They taste like ground beef. But, they lack the fat and cholesterol of ground beef. They're actually even easier to use because they only have to be warmed up in the pan and take less time than cooking raw meat.

The brands we've used are Boca Burger and MorningStar. They come in package that is the equivalent of 1 or 1.5 pounds ground beef (depending on the brand) and generally cost a little less than $3. It is the perfect way to cut the fat content of a meal and still keep the tastiness that comes from using red meat. Check it out for yourself and (for extra fun) don't tell your family before you do. I promise, they'll never know the difference!

Well, that's what is working for me this Wednesday. Head over to Shannon's Dryer to see what's working for all the cool bloggy moms!

13 comments:

Amy said...

I'm so very excited to find your blog. I'm a mom of two bi-racial children, working a full time job, and enjoying every min. I can spend with my family. I have been looking for other multi-racial families in blog land. YAHOO, I to loved Top Chef! Looking forward to continued stories about your family, you are all beautiful!

Lady Why said...

I use these all the time and my family loves them! They never know the difference.

Sheila said...

What a great tip! I've used the Boca burgers for hamburgers but that is a good idea.

The Apron Queen said...

Umm, I could probaly use this too. :D Cuz I've been eating these....

Come check out my finger licking good, sticky, messy, but SUPER EASY ribs recipe: http://anapronaday.blogspot.com/2008/07/easy-bbq-ribs-recipe.html

Anonymous said...

Oh I love Boca Bratwurst. I could eat them daily. Not crazy about the hamburgers though. Great substitute! I too am a meat eater needing more veggies. Wish I could find that ultimate chocolate diet.

Anonymous said...

Great idea, thanks so much for the tip!

Audra Krell said...

I am allergic to soy and wish they would come out with fake meat that tastes good,and isn't filled with things that could kill me! :) I'll have to stick to the red meat. It'll be tough, but someone's got to do it! Thanks for sharing and glad this is working for you!

Anonymous said...

Thats an awesome idea!

The Momster said...

What a great way to 'sneak' some healthy into our lives :)

Thanks for the tip.

Carol said...

I was raised eating vegetarian meat substitutes. They were okay back then, but they are so much better now! Great tip!

Heather said...

I use the veggie crumbs from time to time. They are yummy. I also use ground turkey in some recipies that call for GB. My husband, a true meat and potatoes guy, doesn't really notice the difference.

Anonymous said...

Huh. I had no idea--thanks for the tip!

Rae said...

Oh, thank you thank you thank you! I love going vegetarian. I'm proud to say Sadie Claire's first solid was tofu! But I get a little burnt out on tofu sometimes, and end up going back to ground beef--which I hate. I'm all about chicken & fish. I just am not big on red meat. So hooray for veggie crumbles!