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Best Results: Season or marinate for 30 minutes prior to cooking to enhance the flavor. Tempeh is a pro at absorbing the flavor of the foods or spices it simmers with. I recommend stir-frying, grilling, sautéing, or adding to soups, stews, or chilis as a substitute for meat.

SEITAN

If your burger or Sloppy Joe cravings are too strong to resist, look no further. Seitan has the same chewy, meaty, and dense texture of meat when cooked. It is, however, missing things that meat is full of—saturated fat and bad cholesterol. Yuck. On the nutritional side, seitan, aka the “wheat meat,” tips the scale. In both quality and quantity, it has a similar amount of protein as beef, and boasts twice as much protein as tofu and 40 percent more than what you would get from two medium eggs. To put it simply, seitan is the cat’s pajamas.72

Best Results: Truth be told, raw seitan can be bland. Just a little seasoning or marinade gives it the flavor punch it needs to make your taste buds go buck wild. Seitan is superb when cooked in red wine or vegetable stock, makes for a succulent bourguignon, grounds like chopped meat, and pan-fries or breads like cutlets. Just switch it out for ground beef next time you feel like making lasagna, Sloppy Joe, or some roll-up tacos and you’ll have something to write home to Mom about.

QUICK TIP: UNSEASONED SEITAN IS LOW IN ONE ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID, LYCINE. NO PROBLEMO. JUST SAUTÉ OR COOK IT IN A BROTH SEASONED WITH SOY SAUCE OR COMBINE WITH LYSINE-RICH FOODS LIKE BEANS.

TOFU

A popular option among both vegetarians and vegans, tofu has reached grocery stores across mass America as one of the most accessible meat alternatives. You can get it in a silken or firm (solid) form, but no matter how you dice it, tofu has a much spongier consistency than meat. I heart tofu because it’s packed with such vitamins as iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids, but it trumps meat with zero cholesterol or saturated fat.

Best Results: Tofu’s versatility is great for all kinds of dishes, from sweet to savory. Silken tofu is best used as an ingredient in dressings, sauces, and dairy-free desserts like ice cream or cheesecake. But firm tofu fills in the blanks as a fun substitute in stir-fried, grilled, scrambled, smoked, or barbecued dishes. Similar to other meat alternatives, it also soaks up the flavor of cooking or marinating liquids and seasonings.

BITCHWORTHY: WHENEVER POSSIBLE, BUY ORGANIC TOFU. IT GREATLY CUTS DOWN YOUR EXPOSURE TO HARMFUL CHEMICALS AND GENETIC MODIFICATION (GM).73

BEANS

You never thought of beans as an alternative to meat, right? Boy, did they have you fooled. One of the easiest foods to fit into a plant-based diet, beans are a fine source of protein, minerals, and vitamins. The anthocyanins in beans also act as a powerful antioxidant that help to ward off damage from free radicals.

Best Results: Pinto beans, black beans, chickpeas, and black-eyed peas are the easiest to digest. Simmer beans with a bay leaf or cumin to reduce gas. Nobody wants a stinky ass at dinner.

LEGUMES

Another simple alternative to getting your daily dose of protein, legumes are a class of veggies ranging from peas to peanuts to lentils. They are the most versatile and nutritious in the produce aisle, with “good” fats, antioxidants, and soluble and insoluble fiber. For those watching their weight, legumes are also low in fat and free of cholesterol. Kiss those pounds goodbye.

Best Results: Most supermarkets stock a wide variety of both dried and canned legumes. They are a perfect addition to stews, soups, casseroles, salads, or on their own as a side dish.

With the rise of vegetarians and vegans, most major grocery retailers are carrying soy- or vegetable-based proteins and meat alternatives now. You will find the best selection of product lines and brands at specialty health food stores. Use some of the recipes in this book to do a taste test and decide which proteins you and your family go gaga