Delicious answers to your cooking questionsOur family is used to eating meat at least five nights a week. I’ve read it’s healthier to avoid eating meat every day. Are there any good replacement foods that will satisfy my family's tastes?

Yes, yes, and yes. There are a wide variety of incredible meat-replacement products such as soya-based sausage, meatballs, burgers, and beef mince on the market, sold refrigerated or frozen. Many of them taste wonderful and have a very meat-like texture. They are also lower in saturated fats than meat, and so are better for heart health.

All these substitutes can be used in recipes, perhaps not as the main ingredient, but as a component in a great meal. Some examples might be lasagna, spicy chipotle chilli, or enchiladas made just as you normally would, except with crumbled soya sausage or soya beef. Stir fry red, yellow, and orange peppers, with a flavored soya sausage, adding some fresh basil at the very end—just until it’s wilted—and serve over pasta. I’ve made pizza using soya sausage, soya beef, and soya pepperoni with great results—with most people not even realizing that the pizza was vegetarian. See if your family notices!

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Chef Steve Petusevsky

Chef Steve Petusevsky, a graduate and former instructor of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, is a nationally syndicated columnist whose writing appears in Natural Health, Fine Cooking, the Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, and the Chicago Tribune.

2007-09-01