Eating less meat and UPFs

[CiaraLiara]

Hello. I am new to this so please be kind. I want to cut down on meat but without increasing UPFs. I am not usually keen on meat substitutes or heavily processed products that are made to look and taste like meat. Thinking about mince substitute in particular, would soy mince be considered UPF? Is there a particular dry product you'd recommend, say to initially mix with pork mince for a lasagna, and gradually increase the quantity of soy mince?

Lentils. The Puy lentils (or green lentils) are nicest, I always mix them with mince. I make cottage pie with a tin of lentils. And put black or kidney beans in with a small amount of mince, for a chilli.

Thanks @Daisies12. We eat a lot of pulses at home, inc red and green lentils, so would really like to look into expanding repertoire, not adding pulses to other foods.

I'd rather just make a vegetable lasagne for when you don't want meat. Like a lovely mushroom and root veg one.

The Roasting Tin series have some great recipes in them which ca help with this, without resorting to meat substitutes (which I personally think are gross and they don't agree with me). We use the original Roasting Tin book, and the green one, and seem to do OK with it. And unless you are going vegan you can include cheese, egg and dairy which makes a huge difference to your diet too.

Personally the easiest way for me to cut down on meat has been to have a vegetarian night (which then turned into 2, then 3) and avoid looking at meat substitutes. Or in fact thinking of veg meals as any thing like meat based meals. Get a nice recipe book like Anna Jones.

If you like lasagne, look at recipes for vegetarian lasagne. They don't contain soya mince. OK they aren't exactly like a meat lasagne but they are a great meal in their own right.

Slowly subbing in soya mince sounds awful.

I don’t eat fake meat, I eat foods that are naturally vegetarian, if I do need to substitute out I’ll change the recipe slightly, eg. For ragù for lasagne I’ll make it with small green lentils and mushrooms, but all the other ingredients will be the same. Still very tasty but it doesn’t taste like meat. I’ve used TVP in the past, it doesn’t taste like meat, it only gives the texture and just absorbs the flavour of whatever you’re cooking. I much prefer lentils, the TVP I found difficult to digest.

If you want to eat less meat you need to adjust your palate. Looking for meaty flavours in a vegetarian diet is a bit pointless. I suppose you could add miso or marmite to add a more beefy flavour, but it’s never going to taste the same so you might as well change the flavour completely.

I'm trying to cut out UHPF too, and OH wants to eat less meat.
I cook from scratch most of the time , I don't use soya favouring nuts and beans.
This weeks veggy offerings have been aubergine and chestnut tagine and black bean "meat" balls, he didn't spot the lack of meat.

Totally agree with @Melassa

Vegetarian food suffers from often not having it's own names, just veg version of meat based dish.
If I serve DH 'vegetarian ragu' you have the memory of the meat based dish and it's often disappointing.
If you enjoy it as flavours in its own right, it's delicious.

I always add red lentils and plenty of finely chopped veg to any mince-based dish. They all blend in nicely. I’ve tried the likes of Quorn but I really don’t care for it.

I am happy to skip soy mince if it's not a healthy option.

I love all vegetables and don't have a problem eating mostly vegetarian food, but carbs are not my friends so I need to be careful my protein intake is not too low.

No self respecting vegetarian or vegan book contains soya mince or Quorn recipes. Tofu yes but that has been around for thousands of years.

DH looked so sad when he realised the cookery book I'd got him to buy me for Christmas was vegetarian. Started cooking from it and he loves it.

The authors know they have to provide nutritionally balanced meals and they won't sell if it's all carbs as so many people low carb. I've got loads of use out of my books even with avoiding the potato/rice based dishes.

I avoid replacing meat as I feel if I want a lasagne I want the meat one, I would just be disappointed with quorn or lentils.

I cook pasta with halloumi or just vegetables, stir-frys just with veggies as well or salmon (if you like to eat fish).

I just make sure I get protein during the day from another meal or if I have enough meat dishes during the week a day with low protein is not a disaster.

I also look at other shop bought UPF like bread, cakes, biscuits. I got a breadmaker for Christmas I use now regularly and will start baking more cakes and biscuits for DD to take as snacks instead of buying.
Same with ready made sauces.

I think the problem is that when people become vegetarian they feel most comfortable changing from meat based recipes to vegetarian ones, and picking up vegetarian mince etc is the easiest way.

When I make lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise I use lentils and more veggies.