How do I use soya mince?

Julimk

I made bolognaise using onions/carrots/celery whizzed up in the food processor (so no chunks of veg), 250g of beef mince, 100g of soya mince reconstituted, 2 tins of toms, a small amount of thick beef gravy made from granules (the soya mince is very pale looking & doesn’t have much flavour) plus garlic & herbs. Made 8 portions!! The beef mince was 90p (reduced from £1.20) and the soya mince £1.19 for 375g in Mr T.

On the taste test my 9 year old DD said it was delicious & v meaty!

Did the same with chilli con carne too.

The soya mince increases in size; 250g of beef mince would normally be for 2 portions, as would 100g soya mince. So it works out about ¼ the price for the soya mince. I looked in Holland & Barrett today but Mr T was cheaper, though it may be different elsewhere as the prices aren’t consistent.

HTH

arunadasi

Don't want to discourage anyone, but soya is nowhere near as healthy as thez claim. I'm vegetarian, but I won't ever use it. If you're iterested do some googling.

PurpleK8

I would recommend that you try different soya products as I know loads of people who've tried 1 type, thought it was horrible and won't eat soya products again. I've been veggi for decades and the difference is unbelievable. My kids won't even look at the dried soya mince but don't mind the quorn mince, it is unfortunately a lot dearer but Asda did have it on offer last week. I think quorn pieces are better than the mince and use them all the time in curries, fajitas etc.

arunadasi

Quorn is not soya.

penguine

arunadasi wrote: »

Don't want to discourage anyone, but soya is nowhere near as healthy as thez claim. I'm vegetarian, but I won't ever use it. If you're iterested do some googling.

There is a great deal of pseudo-science circulating on the internet about the health dangers of soya, much of it promulgated by the Weston A Price Foundation, an American organisation which claims that eating large quantities of meat, including raw meat, raw milk and butter is best for our health.

So I would take anything you read about soya on the internet with a huge grain of salt.

Having said that, I am a vegan and try to consume soya in moderation (2-3 times a week) because it is a rich food that's high in fat and protein. I try to base my diet on whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit as much as possible, because these are not only healthy but often cheaper than vegetarian meat substitutes too.

Patchwork_Quilt

Perhaps the problem is that soya mince is a processed food.

naturally_2

Dried Soya mince is much cheaper than mince. A packet the same size of soya mince vs standard chilled mince is 99p vs £1.99 and soya rehydrates to many times that volume.

I think of it as a "plain" food - it does need plenty of herbs/spice/stock etc to make it taste of anything.

SolicitorMidlands

i am a veggie and even i wouldnt eat that soya stuff. the nicest is quorn mine shortly followed by the realeat veggie mince. i always keep an eye out in the reduced shelfs for quorn mince and freeze it. i have it once a week at least and often cook some of it for my lunch at work.

i love the idea of using value tomato soup - will get some and try it! thank you.

randyravingrhian

It can be quite bland....I rehydrate it in veg stock, or something a bit more flavoursome (I think they just say rehydrate in water on the pack ). And don't forget to add plenty of herbs or seasoning....it helps make it a bit more interesting!

arunadasi

penguine wrote: »

There is a great deal of pseudo-science circulating on the internet about the health dangers of soya, much of it promulgated by the Weston A Price Foundation, an American organisation which claims that eating large quantities of meat, including raw meat, raw milk and butter is best for our health.

So I would take anything you read about soya on the internet with a huge grain of salt.
.

Actually, I'm a huge fan of the Weston A Price Foundation, even though I don't eat meat. Read the articles there (on that site) with a neutral eye, forgetting what the media has told you about fats. They make absolute sense: healthy fats are the ones that have nourished mankind for centuries; it's the modern, highly processed ones such as margarine, sunflower and soya oil which cause concern.

I believe, like them, that much of the negative hype concerning saturated fats is just that - hype, set into the world originally by commercial interests in the USA. Soya is a HUGE business, and they managed to sell it to vegetarians as a health food. It;s all good marketing! What the Weston Price people say is only common sense - they observe what healthy people in simpler societies eat, and that;s what they recommend. Natural foods, natural fats.
I first discovered them when I discovered Coconut Oil, which is one of the most fantastic health foods around, and has been badly treated for the last 50 years; demonized as a poison, when it;s actually the very opposite.

Mary Enig, one of the main writers on that site, is a leading international fat expert so I would certainly take what she says earnestly. It's actually through her I learnt of the dangers of soya! A few years ago I corresponded wth Sally Fallon, who works with her, and everything I learnt was extremely convincing.