Quorn, Textured Soy protein and other alternative protein souces

If your dietary equation equals Gluten Free and Vegetarian, this one's particularly for you. For those of you who require a gluten free diet and are mostly omnivorous, but like to vary your protein sources and give your bodies a rest from daily meat intake, this will also be interesting.

Because I'm curious by nature and I like variety, I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting tasting food. I get tired of the same old stuff day in and day out and if I wasn't curious and incensed by not having different flavours and textures to eat where protein sources are concerned I'd probably be happy using eggs, nuts, legumes and plain tofu to satisfy my protein intake requirements. As it happens, I'm omnivorous by nature and have had to develop ovo-vegetarian eating habits to keep my digestive system happy. The bottom line is that I like variety and there are only so many eggs, tofu slices, nuts and beans I can eat without feeling there should be something more. It drives my partner nuts when I stop to look at every new vegetarian listed package in the cold section. Not because I'm interested and looking for something new, but because it also means that I have to read the fine print on each label of everything that looks like it might be an option.

What I've learned by reading those lablels is that while most of the vegetarian sausages and many of the burger options are soy or tofu based, they also contain wheat and or gluten. I guess it's used to help bind things together, but surely there's a better option!

In England, parts of Europe and the US there IS. Its called Quorn and it tastes GREAT. Not all Quorn products (made by Marlow Foods) are gluten free, but their fillets and nuggets (without crumbs) most definitely are. Quorn is made from mycoprotein and egg whites and provides some great nutrition - you can read about it on their web site. The downer of it all is that as great as it tastes, food regulations in Australia prevent it from being imported and sold here so I've had to find another alternative for when I'm at home.

There are some, and I discovered them at TQC Burlington Supermarkets here in Sydney. Lamyong Vegetarian Food Supply products are stocked at TQC Burlington and included in the range are a number of Gluten Free protein sources. These products are based on Textured Soy Protein, and Mushrooms, and they are the best tasting meat substitutes I've found yet. My personal favourites are the Vegetarian Soy nuggets; the Vegetarian USA Sausages and the Vegetarian Fragrant Seaweed Soy Slices. The Soy nuggets are surprisingly oily, and if you want a lower fat version, the Soy Crispy slices are probably more for you, but I find they have an aftertaste that I'm not so fond of so I try to enjoy the nuggets in smaller portions. The sausages are not strong in flavour and you need to cook them slowly so that the flavour comes out and they're well worth the effort. All of the products are equally at home by themselves, or mixed with fresh or frozen vegies in Stir fries, casseroles, or curries. Try them out.