Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) question

[Earnie]

I have never cooked with texturized vegetable protein (TVP). How do you prepare it?

[S B]

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that textured vegetable protein is a form of ISOLATED protein and Dr. McDougall says that isolated protein is not healthy for us to eat on a regular basis, if at all. Therefore, I have never used it and cannot help you.

The only times I "cook" something with isolated protein in it are very special occasions. The special "something" is usually a little bit of fat-free veggie ham and the special occasions are usually ONLY Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! (......and I do not even eat it at those times!)

Sorry for having to tell you this, but this is something that ALL McDers should know!

Hope your McDougalling goes well!

[Earnie]

Thanks for the reply. That's a lot of help. I guess I just don't need it.

[groundhogg]

We used to use it a lot just to make familiar dishes, but SB is right...more and more evidence is coming to light all the time as to how dangerous concentrated vegetable proteins really are.

These days, if I want a meat substitute that goes into in a recipe I find shiitake mushrooms to work very well for that.

Also, where I used to use TVP for loaves, fillings, etc., I now use nut loavees, etc., recipes I've found here and there on the net. Of course, many McDougallers don't want to use nuts. I've also used Grape Nuts cereal in place of TVP...I don't anymore, because now I'm gluten free...but it works fairly well in place of TVP in loaves and stuffed veggies, etc.

[LoriM]

I have never cooked with texturized vegetable protein (TVP). How do you prepare it?

Well, unlike the other posters, I find TVP a wonderful and affordable way to make non-veggie-like foods for my family and friends when they are visiting, and be able to eat along. I make my chili with TVP, and feed it to veggies and non-veggies alike. No non-veggie has ever been able to tell, and I don't mention it. A lot of "South Beach" diet followers are now buying Boca burger crumbles or another brand in order to get protein but cholesterol free.

Now, I agree that it is not something to eat EVERY meal. But we do have it a couple of times a week, and maybe more often in the winter.

Oh, and dry TVP is very easy to use. I usually hydrate it with some hot water by allowing it stand for about 10 minutes (equal parts TVP and hot water) before adding it to a dish, OR I just add more water to whatever dish I'm making and add it directly. Spagetti sauce, for example, I just dump an extra cup of water to go with the extra cup of TVP.

HTH,

Lori

[victw]

I use bulgur wheat in my chili recipe. It gives a texture similar to ground beef. I'm sure it could be used in other recipes where tvp is usually - but actually this is the only time I use it. It gives a nice bulk.

Dr. McDougall touches why isolated soy protein is a problem in several articles.
One place you can read about the problems with soy is April 2005
http://drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/apri ... 0pusoy.htm

This article does touch on the problems with IGF - Insulin Growth Hormone.
After hearing Dr. McDougall talk about this at the vegsource conference - I'd being willing to bet that tvp is not something he's feeding his grandkids.

After listening to him talk - I started making my veggie burgers at home. I had been buying some of the ones that were mostly tvp.

Try the bulgur wheat.
Vicki

[LoriM]

Try the bulgur wheat.

I do also eat bulgur wheat, but again, TVP as an *occasional* portion of your diet is not quite the same thing as browning up a pound or two of ground chuck and blowing your McDougall program to bits.

I guess I'll just be the voice of moderation on this one. I've been McDougalling for 8 years. My family easily adapted to eating a healthy vegetarian diet, my husband never complained about my cooking or eating what I made (and he was a hunter who was used to venison or salmon he'd caught or killed), and my children have grown into beautiful young people. And yes, we did it while eating TVP occasionally. It is not the staple of our diet (I'd blame potatoes for that one!), but it does make a nice "normal" meal to share with "normal" people.

[VeggieSue]

I'd being willing to bet that tvp is not something he's feeding his grandkids.

Mary McDougall has been using TVP in the books' recipes since the Health Supporting Cookbook back in 1986. And I think she even held a bag of it up in one of the newer videos, too, didn't she?


I agree it's not a food one would eat every day due to its high protein content, but a little goes a long way. Like Lori, I put some in chili, soups, stews, mix it with veggies for a burrito or tortilla stuffing, even use the sausage or pepperoni flavored ones, rehydrated, as pizza toppings.

I buy it in bulk, and the card that comes with it says to rehydrate 1 cup of granules with 7/8 cup of boiling water. When tossing a bit in with wet stuff in soups and such I don't rehydrate it first.