My Whole Deal

These tips is tiptastic!

Vegan MoFo IV, Day #20, Week #3: Vegan Food You Can Feed to Non-Vegans Without Receiving Any Guff

It is not very often that you will find me recommending that you feed any “meat analogue” (mmmmmm….sound tasty?) to a non-vegan friend or companion, but Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips are definitely an exception.

I’ll admit it. I was a really crappy omnivore, so my experience with cow flesh is pretty much limited to my memories of the occasional restaurant hamburger as a child and the way my father (love you Daddy!) absolutely massacred animal pieces into dry bits of charcoal. Do Gardein Beefless Tips taste like either of these things? No. But they do have a luscious, flame kissed flavour that I’ve often smelled emanating from other people’s backyards in the summer (did I mention I love you, Daddy?).

My husband was an adventurous carnivore, however, and he assures me, while not texturally comparable to actual exploited bovine flesh, Gardein is much better than any other of the faux beef alternatives on the market. He especially likes that Gardein does not have “that fake meat taste,” which I wholeheartedly attest to: although I really have no clue what a “beef tip” is, these tender, juicy little morsels taste savoury and flame kissed and are quite simply a delicious addition to any number of dishes. I’ve skewered them with veggies and threw them on the bbq, chopped them up to add to Shepherd’s pie and stir fried them with rice, noodles and spicy, spicy vegetables to name just a few of the fantastic meals these tips have enhanced.

Nutritionally speaking, Gardein Beefless tips boast a crazy respectable 18g protein per 100g serving, 2.5g fat and 130 calories. Not too shabby at all. One serving also provides 20% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C, 30% of your Iron and 70% of your B12 and you know us vegans are always seeking out B12!

Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips are available in the freezer section of more and more grocers, including (shudder) WalMart. I know, I know, WalMart is the absolute a-hole of the earth, but let’s just say, for example, you have 3 little children and diapers are on sale there for like $20 off the regular price and wipes are $10 off and they are the only place you can find cheap flushable toddler wipes because you are sick and tired of doing laundry 7 days a week so you swallow your ethics and dive into the pits of hell about once a month to stock up on essentials–why not pick up some Gardein while you are at it? Why not, I say. This product retails for between $5-7 per 255g package in my neck of the woods and I think it is well worth the price for the occasional flavour and nutrient boost to your traditional vegan meals.

Try them, love them. Feed them to omnivores so the world can rejoice in yummy flavour without needless suffering (unless you bought them at WalMart, then there was a whole lot suffering involved at various places along the line, but we all do the best we can as much as we can, so relax and eat a happy, healthy meal. Not a healthy Happy Meal; those do not exist, no matter what Ronald tells you).

Ginger Gardein Beef and Broccoli with Thai Jasmine Rice. Leave me a comment if you want the recipe, but it can't be about a weight-loss calculator or increasing my hits per day or about how you and your neighbour were just researching this topic and now you don't have to go to the library. I'm VEGAN, for flip's sake, I don't care for SPAM!