Have you noticed the growing plant based trend lately in food? Even fast food chains like Wendy’s, Pizza Hut and Panda Express are adding meat alternatives to their menus. A nephew, Travis (who eats meat) introduced me to Beyond Beef which is a plant based protein. The proteins used are pea, mung bean, fava bean and brown rice. I also heard from my vegetarian niece, Bethany that plant based foods aren’t necessarily that good for you either; processed and often high in sodium and fat. So, with a little research I decided to give a few products a try!
I first tried Chick’n Sliders – a plant based chicken substitute. A little Sriracha Mayo and lettuce and the slider was good to go for a light lunch. I then tried Marie Callendar’s plant based beef pot pie. The flavor was pretty good with the veggies (needed more veggies) sauce and crust but I didn’t care for the texture of the plant based meat. Lot of calories and fat! This pot pie didn’t get great reviews either! See bottom of post where I tried Beyond Meat’s Beyond Sausage Hot Italian Sausage in a Cajun dish and they were delicious.
With this pasta dish I used a pound of Beyond Beef – it reminded me of canned dog food and had an “off” odor. Please note this is my personal experience as I only tried three of the products available to the consumer. I don’t want to discourage or encourage you to give plant based items a try that you can buy in refrigerated or freezer sections of your store. I’m not trying to turn people away but this was my first impression. I think all ingredients can grow on you, but I still don’t like brown rice. Hey, I thought if I doctored this pasta dish up with tomato sauce, peppers (including jalapeno), carrots, onions, garlic and some seasonings I would cover up any unpleasant taste.
It kind of worked but I still could taste something different that I didn’t like. My nephew gave me credit for at least trying it.
I had originally planned on making a David Lebovitz Persian Kafta recipe and he mentioned using plant based meat. But I thought I would start out simple before attempting one of his recipes which was on the fancy side! I also received an email from thekitchn where plant-based ground beef substitute was used in a Taco Pizza.
Plant based products use significantly less water, land, energy, and generates fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions. No cholesterol, less saturated fat and no antibiotics or hormones. They say it gives you the meaty experience you crave – well, this beef didn’t.
My Mom made a dish she called “Yankee Doodle Macaroni” which we all liked but I don’t have the recipe. I have no idea where she got it from – most likely a magazine or a neighbor. So, I have kind of made up this recipe trying to replicate it from long ago – of course she used real beef!
A fun twist to this recipe Yankee Doodle is a famous American song and a nursery rhyme. The song was a pre-Revolutionary War song (1755) originally sung by British Military officers to mock the disorganized colonial “Yankees” with whom they served in the French and Indian War. Verses were added by the Americans that mocked the British troops while praising George Washington. By 1781, Yankee Doodle became a song of pride!
Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni
And so on… – you can find the whole song online…
Beyond Beef Yankee Doodle Macaroni
- a little oil to saute the onions, carrots and peppers
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- green pepper + I used a jalapeno, de-stemmed, seeded and chopped
- 2 (28 oz.) cans tomatoes or diced tomatoes (I did use puree as that is what I had)
- 2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb. Beyond Beef
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. basil
- 1/2 tsp. sugar (optional)
- 8 oz. small macaroni – can use elbow I used small rotini
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese (use a cheese of your choice)
- fresh parsley, minced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with non-stick oil. Use a large nonstick skillet and heat the oil; add the carrots, onions and peppers. Saute for 5-8 minutes then add the minced garlic and cook another minute.
Stir in the beef and seasonings; cook while breaking up the plant based meat 5-10 minutes. It does brown and there is no grease from it. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up and bring to a boil. Simmer, mostly covered for 30 minutes.
Cook the pasta according to package directions; undercook a little as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain and rinse – you will wash off some of the starch.
Add the plant-based meat mixture to the baking dish along with the pasta. Stir to combine, sprinkle with cheese and minced parsley.
Bake, uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the cheese melts. I tried it two days in a row and I won’t tell you what I did with the rest – I rarely waste food!
recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
About a month after making Yankee Doodle Macaroni I decided to give another product a try. Beyond Meat’s Beyond Sausage Hot Italian Sausage and used them in Cajun Shrimps and Andouille Sausages Fried Rice. These are delicious mainly because they are seasoned very well!
To sum it up, out of four products I did like two of them and will buy again; the Chicken Sliders and Beyond Meat’s Beyond Sausage Hot Italian Sausage.
Good for you for trying all the different plant-based meats Aunt Juju! It all looks really good, though I agree, sometimes the taste is a little off-putting. I’ll have to give those chicken sliders and the Italian sausage a try though!
Thanks Travis – I’m so glad I tried the sausage as it is seasoned very well and masked any “off” taste like the beef had. I do like sausage and have cut back on using it, now I feel a little better about cooking with it. Of course there is the sodium… 🙂