Top 7 Bean & Nut Meat Alternatives for Protein
How to prep them
The big thing to remember when you are using nuts and beans as meat substitutes is to soak, soak, soak! It is so important to soak them to make them more digestible.
Beans and nuts are essentially seeds, which would become plants if they were put into the ground. As such they have sorta a hard shell, so that they can keep the parts of themselves intact until they can be planted into an environment which allows them to grow into plants.
When come along and eat them instead of planting them, we have to soak and soften the hard shell, so that we can digest them more easily. Soaking for 8 hours is optimal. However, you always use the quick soak method of adding hot boiling water and letting it sit on the beans or nuts for an hour or until softened.
Will you get enough protein?
When adding nuts or seeds with beans (legumes), you get a complete protein. A complete protein is a protein which includes all 9 of the amino acids. So when your friends and family question you about whether you are getting enough protein, just tell yes. You are because you are adding nuts to beans.
Nuts
Nuts can be used to substitute meats. They are a great source of protein and are especially great when combined with other substitutes. These are made good fats, fiber, and nutrients. Nuts are an essential part of the diet of non-meat eaters. Remember to buy them raw to make them into meat substitutes.
Walnuts
Walnuts are great to make vegan taco meat, chili meat, or add some mushrooms to make bolognese sauce. Add walnuts to black beans or lentils to make a meatloaf. Walnut meat can be can be eaten raw or sautéd a bit. Anywhere you want to replace ground beef, try ground walnut meat. These are little sweeter than pecans.
Pecans
Pecans have the same versatility as walnuts. It’s always good to be aware of what ingredients are similar because some days you’ll be out of one, but can easily replace it for another. Try Vegan tempeh Bolognese or Tabitha Brown’s Raw Pecan Tacos. She is loves pecan meat in her dishes. Overall, there is not much difference between walnuts or pecans. However the nutritional make up is different.
Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds are a meat substitute. They should be bought raw and soaked for hours before preparing. This seed is great for making an untuna salad. It will go great in in a carrot loaf or a raw beet burger. They are a lot less expensive than pecans and tacos, but can be used in many of the same ways as a meat substitute.
These are great added to salads or as a great snack.
Beans
Beans are a great source of fiber and protein. When adding beans to rice, pasta, bread or another grain you have a complete protein. Remember to soak t
hem for easy digestion and less chance of gas.
Black Beans
Black bean soup is a lovely dish to try. Just add soaked beans, veggies, and seasoning into a instant pot or pressure cooker and you will have a meal for a few days.
If soup isn’t your thing, add oats, veggies, and seasoning to smashed beans to make a black bean burger or loaf. Add some sazon or abodo to black beans for Caribbean and Latin flavor. Use a little liquid aminos for salty flavor, mushroom seasoning for hearty flavor, or liquid smoke for a smokey and meaty flavor. These added seasonings are essential flavor enhancers for vegan cooking, especially when you are first starting out.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas are also known as Garbanzo beans. The are great to replace tuna in Macaroni Salad. The key is to mash the chickpeas well. Although the linked article doesn’t have it as an ingredient, dulse flakes are a magic ingredient to add to anything you want to taste more like fish or seafood. Chick peas are great added to chili, soups, and salads. With these you can make fresh hummus, which combined with whole wheat pita makes a complete protein.
Lentils
Lentils are a great substitute for beef. They can be used in burgers, bolognese, tacos, and chili. Walnuts and grains such as quinoa, make a great combo for vegan meat loaves and meatballs, don’t forget to smother them in gravy. The cook up quickly and they are a small hearty bean. Don’t forget a nice hearty lentil soup in the winter months.
Soybeans
Soybeans are very controversial in the plant-based world. People have all kinds of opinions about them, but we won’t be discussing that here. The truth is, if you eat plant-based, you will be faced with eating soy at some point because it is one of the most frequently used meat alternatives. It has been around in the vegan and vegetarian world for a very long time, and it is not going anywhere. Below is a list of variations.
Tempeh – This is a fermented soy bean meat substitute. This is the ingredient in the TTLA sandwich that made Tabitha Brown famous. It makes a yummy bacon. Marinate it with maple syrup, soy sauce, sriracha, and an acid, grill it or sauté and then use in salad, sandwiches, pasta, or barbecue it.
Tofu – Tofu is very versatile. If you buy if silken it can be used to make creamy desserts or creamy dressing. Many complain that tofu is boring. It can be prepared to taste very flavorful. Here’s the trick: freeze it, thaw it, and then squeeze the water out. It will then act a sponge to absorb lots of flavor. Add any marinade you like and you will have a very tasty tofu. Tofu prepared this way will never be boring again. Tofu is also great as an scrambled egg substitute.
Soy meat – Most processed meat alternative that you find in the grocery store are made of soy or include soy in some form. If you are looking for quick and easy to prepare items, soy will become your friend.
Four napkins and four placemat collections.