> Hello! I'm curious as to what TVP is. I've seen mentions of it many times
> before on the list, but never knew what it was or took a chance to ask.
> What do you use it for? How easy is it to purchase?
> Thanks, guys!
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), sometimes called Textured Soy Protein (TSP),
is made from defatted soy flour that has been compressed and processed into
granules or chunks. When you buy it, usually in bulk from a natural food
store, it is dry and needs to be rehydrated--which is nice because you can
flavor the water you soak it in and therefore flavor TVP before you cook it.
The really great thing about it is that it has almost no fat. The granules
substitute well for ground beef in things like spaghetti sauce, chili, and
tacos and the chunks are excellent in beef(less) stews and fajitas (I sauté
onions and green peppers in water and add rehydrated chunk TVP and chili
powder to make the best fajitas).
If you can't find TVP locally, you can mail order it. I recently moved and
can't find the chunks here, so I ordered them from The Mail Order Catalog and
had excellent service. That website is http://www.healthy-eating.com. They
have flavored and unflavored TVP, as well as light-colored TVP that works as a
chicken substitute (great in pot pies). I've also heard good things about
http://www.dixiediner.com/, but I don't have personal experience ordering from
them.
As for TVP recipes, I've posted several to fatfree over the years. Here are a
few of mine that are in the archives:
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/sandwiches/barbeque-sandwicheshttp://www.fatfree.com/recipes/dinner-pies/spinach-mushroom-piehttp://www.fatfree.com/recipes/chili/easy-chili
You can find many more by searching the fatfree archives for TVP. I also have
a couple on my website at
http://veganconnection.com/recipes/soy.html.
Hope this explains things!
Susan