Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)

[maxman]

Anyone else eat this stuff?
I put it on my salads mostly.

It's cheap and gives you protein equal to meat.

[Pebcak]

Not sure if your a vegetarian so if you are just ignore the following but just eat real meat.

[COHunter]

No, but I was maybe hoping some blowhard celebrity chef would get all wound up about it and start a campaign against it.
Sarcasm, yes. Really wanting to take your right to eat it away, no. Sorry, couldn't resist after the "pink slime" discussion.

[Neognosis]

It's in a lot of backpacking meals. Other than that, I don't eat it intentionally.

[luvmysuper]

Let's start a campaign to eliminate this "Green Slime" menace.

[COHunter]

Let's start a campaign to eliminate this "Green Slime" menace.

Here here!!
It's probably made from the unsavory bits that anyone above a pure savage would trim off and put in the compost pile. No place at all in polite society!

[maxman]

I eat meat. In fact i eat a lot of yummy, yummy meat.
This is just an alternative.

You can!t ruin it for me. I just won't pay attention.

[itsmedave]

I love TVP and it eat at least once per week. It works really well in spaghetti, sloppy joes, and mexican style dishes.

[COHunter]

Not aiming at ruination, just a good jab or two!

Although it does bring up somewhat of a sociological/psychological paradigm that suggests good vs. evil. Perception being what it is can view these two "textured protein" products with opposite lenses. Or like Godzilla vs. Mothra kind of thing.. I bet there are folks that would never eat "pink slime" that would eat TVP with no issue whatsoever. Even though at a basic level they really aren't much different. They were both living entities at one time that are no longer and are being utilized to their full potential with minimum waste and providing nutritional value of one sort or another.

[SmoovD]

I am not a vegetarian but I find TVP to be rather handy in the kitchen. I use it in tacos, soups & stews, hot breakfast cereal, stir frys, etc. It is fairly benign, bland but nutritious. My family refuses to eat it so it must be used selectively.

[diyguy]

TVP tastes like cardboard by itself, but I use it when camping. Doesn't spoil and is great to add to soups and such.

[Obsessed]

What texture do you use? Stucco is nice. . .

[maxman]

If anyone is unsure, think of it looking like and having the texture of Grape Nuts.

[SiBurning]

First there was spam. Then...

Pink slime. Followed by...

Orange and yellow colored textured vegetable protein...

and finally...

Spoiler:

Soylent Green

[Kazeryu]

I agree with the comments about the taste and texture, but that doesn't stop me from putting it in a mug of miso soup as a tofu replacement.

[COHunter]

I agree with the comments about the taste and texture, but that doesn't stop me from putting it in a mug of miso soup as a tofu replacement.

Like a distinction on whether you'd rather light yourself ablaze with kerosene or gasoline. Gritty and granular vs. yellowish and squishy...

[SmoovD]

If anyone is unsure, think of it looking like and having the texture of Grape Nuts.

Or you can go with the larger pieces, up to ~ 1". They are great for marinating for flavor than cooking...I prefer them a little over cooked in a stir fry.

[Kazeryu]

Like a distinction on whether you'd rather light yourself ablaze with kerosene or gasoline. Gritty and granular vs. yellowish and squishy...

If you are violently opposed to the idea of tofu I suppose that might be true, but it's not really what I was saying.

Sure, if you eat it all by itself it's very similar to eating a piece of crunchy cardboard, but put it in something with a strong flavour and it becomes inoffensively bland while providing valuable nutrition - protein. In the case of make-your-own miso soup, real tofu is not worth the effort of keeping it handy. TVP, on the other hand, is like rice or pasta - if you keep it reasonably dry it will never go bad.

And sometimes, eating a handful or two of plain TVP can make your life easier. It's boring to eat, but because it's so bland, it won't upset your stomach when you're already sick. I also find that plain TVP is significantly less nauseating than a protein shake or protein bar.


I guess what I'm saying is that TVP is sort of like the MRE of the health food world. Anyone who wants to eat it regularly for its own sake has got some kind of problem, but it's better than nothing and there are situations where it's just so much more convenient than real food.

[itsmedave]

I enjoy TVP because I don't like Tofu at all.

[rtb178]

Interesting. I put bulgur wheat in my vegetarian chili. Acts like ground meat.