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I have TWO awesome announcements to make your summer!
#1 It’s time to buy the books!
I have lowered the price on my books to $9.95 each from $17.95 each. This is an amazing value. Create a healthy family, a peaceful kitchen, and a happy you! If you’ve been on the fence about buying the Healthy Mama’s Guide to feeding your family well or the corresponding Healthy Family Healthy You Cookbook, take advantage of this price now and take the leap. You will thank yourself!
The Healthy Family Healthy You Cookbook
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I bought this cookbook and the corresponding book for my sister in law and wanted to pass on her text to me:
“I just sat down and read Natasha’s book in one sitting! I can’t wait to try the cookbook! Her book was full of sooo much stuff I never knew. Thanks so much.”Ever since then she has been cooking much more and feels empowered to cook healthy meals for herself now that they’re easy, tasty and fun!
The Healthy Mama’s Guide to feeding your family well – simply and sanely!
Format: Paperback
Very well written and easy to read book. I read it cover to cover in a short time and enjoyed it very much. It was light and informative at the same time. If you are thinking about going vegan or looking for some facts about your health this is a great book. Bonus cookbook with lots of vegan recipes.
#2 It’s time to get out the grill!
Almost all Beyond Meat products are kosher certified! After much delay, Beyond Meat has been rolling out kosher certified products. So far, I love everything! The burgers and sausages cooked very well on a real live grill, a grill pan and just a regular non-stick pan. At the time of this writing (July 2019), the only Beyond Meat products NOT kosher-certified are the Beefy Crumbles. The company says everything will be kosher-certified by the end of 2019.
Beyond Burgers. I piled on all the fixin’s possible and it felt like eating a real burger more than any other veggie burger I’ve ever had. I wrote in my review of The Impossible Burger that I didn’t want my veggie burgers to be realistically “bloody.” This has a similar texture to a real hamburger, but not in an “I feel like I’m eating flesh,” way. A lot of veggie burgers are just vegetables held together by bread crumbs. These feel like a realistic substitute if you’re craving that nostalgic flavor.
Beyond Sausages. These come in Bratwurst and Hot Italian flavors. The Hot Italian is perfect for slicing, sauteing, and adding to Mama Soup! The Bratwurst is just incredibly spot-on. I added mustard and used these new gluten-free buns I’ve discovered and it was pretty awesome.
Beyond Beef. This is essentially their version of ground beef. I admit this one was so realistic it did freak me out a bit. I had to use gloves, just like I do on the rare occasions I handle real ground beef. I made the Italian meatball recipe from the Beyond Meat website. I’m all about making things up as I go, but I felt like I needed a tried and true recipe. I made meatballs with spaghetti (made out of chickpeas) and added jarred pasta sauce.
Wow. I haven’t tasted anything like that in many years. It just made me think…why do we bother with real meat when it is destroying our environment? Even if you disagree about whether it is good for you, it would be hard to argue with the devastating effects our industrial animal agriculture system has on communities around them, in addition to the entire world. A new documentary, Right to Harm, shows the devastating public health effects of factory farming.
Depending on where you buy it, you may find these products under a little “plant-based” sign… in the meat case! There is a larger audience for those that eat meat but want to eat less, than people already vegan or vegetarian. And telling people they SHOULD be vegetarian or vegan is usually a losing proposition. So this is their marketing focus. Already, my sister (who is NOT vegetarian or vegan), has said she will use some of the products as healthier replacements for meat.
The Big Issue
Fake food. Meat substitutes. Generally, I’m trying to not just be vegan (remember, white flour, sugar and french fries are vegan), I’m trying to live a long and healthy life with energy and focus. That means eating a Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB) diet. This is definitely not a whole food. However, I don’t think the pea protein burgers engineered to taste and feel like meat are bad for you like the meat substitutes that are made with a lot of junk (and wheat!) that gives me a stomachache. Beyond Meat is gluten-free.
One never knows what information will come out in the future, but right now I feel comfortable eating the Beyond Meat products once a week or so. They do have a lot of fat. Remember, they’re trying to imitate the feel of meat, which requires fat. The fat is generally from coconut oil. At the moment, the jury is still out on the health benefits or dangers of coconut oil. It is certainly better than the usual processed oils in most ultra-processed foods.
Tell me how you like these new products and how you’re eating them!
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