Soooo, my friend who is doing the Vegan diet for a month brought me some of one of her meals to try.  There was guacamole with black olives in it, made from soy sour cream.  She had blue corn chips to go with that.  Then there was  Mexican flavored meat.  I put some of the guacamole on that, and it was really good.  It was so good, in fact, that I called her then to make sure she really hadn’t slipped a little beef in there………she hadn’t, that was soy.  Oh wow.

Now I’m not about to give up beef cos I love it, but to have something to substitute sometimes with fewer calories and less fat, and if I could get it to taste as good as hers did, well yea, I’ll do that sometimes!

I read more about soy and discovered some soy product producing companies use a chemical called hexane in the preparation of the soy.  The articles I read said they don’t really know yet how harmful hexane is.  A lot of the major companies use that, and these articles said the way to avoid it is to look for “organic soy”  on the label.  I found one brand at the market near me that isn’t on the list of companies who use hexane.

I always liked to make a burger with sautéed mushrooms, onions, and Worcestershire sauce.  So I tried the soy burger that way, and it was good!  It was different, and will take some getting used to, but I can substitute this for beef sometimes. 

I’ve also discovered some entrees at the grocery store that are very good, and meatless.  Lots of veggies, including brown rice, mushrooms, barley, and other wholesome things.  They are a little pricey, but with a coupon or a sale, I’ll get some.  The company is called Lightlife, and their website shows all their products:  http://www.lightlife.com/index.jsp

My favorite one has mushrooms, barley, and asparagus. Each one has a separate sauce you add.

I’m still exploring healthy and less meat ideas, and finding all sorts of possibilities out there.  Add some time and some imagination, and you can have great meals.  I’m open minded, and learning, and enjoying every bite!