Spring is upon us and we all know what follows.
Bathing suit season.
Which means, if you are like me, you are looking for ways to cut back a little bit on fat and calories, and increase protein and other healthy ingredients after the winter “slide”. A lot of people think this means giving up their favorite foods, but you don’t have to! In many cases you can simply swap out some of the high calorie ingredients with soy based products for a higher protein, lower fat, lower calorie and lower cholesterol option.
Soy milk is a great alternative to dairy milk offering 7 grams of protein. Soy nuts have 11 grams of protein compared to only 7 grams in peanuts. Steamed edamame is a great alternative to french fried boasting less than half of the calories and less than 1/4 of the fat. Soy crumbles have 1/5th of the fat of 80/20 ground beef.
April is National Soyfoods Month and to help celebrate, I swapped out a couple ingredients in one of my favorite indulgent recipes – Swedish meatballs.
Instead of ground beef and ground pork for the meatballs, I chose to use MorningStar Farms Garden Veggie Nuggets and instead of heavy cream I chose Silk Unsweetened Soymilk. Yay for non-GMO options!
Even the dog agreed (see the little brown nose above?) – the recipe turned out delicious!
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PinIngredients
- 1 Package MorningStar Farms Garden Veggie Nuggets
- 2 tbsp butter (or vegetarian butter substitute)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (gluten-free preferred but not required)
- 1 cup vegetable (or chicken flavor) broth
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 3/4 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Cook Veggie Nuggets according to package instructions.
- While nuggets are cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- When butter is melted, add the flour and whisk for about a minute.
- Pour in chicken broth and whisk until smooth then add in the coconut sugar.
- Turn heat to high and bring to a boil then reduce heat back to medium and cook for 10 minutes until sauce is thickened stirring frequently.
- Add in soy milk, soy sauce and black pepper, raise heat to high and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium.
- Cook for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Sauce should thicken.
- Add Veggie Nuggets to sauce over low heat for a few minutes until warm.
- Garnish with parsley for some added color.
- Serve.
Notes
This is a sweeter sauce, if you would like it less sweet simply omit the coconut sugar.
This sauce was delicious and the perfect compliment to the MorningStar Farms nuggets. It thickened up just fine with the soy milk, which honestly kind of surprised me. I thought it would end up being a thinner sauce than I am used to. The nuggets were better than I expected, you could taste the veggies and I like that I could SEE them as well.
This is a great appetizer or snack or even part of a meal. It would go great over some gluten-free egg noodles or wild rice. Or do like I did and enjoy them by themselves!
Soyfoods can be a heart-healthy alternative to certain ingredients in your favorite foods. You don’t have to avoid these indulgent foods you just have to make some creative swaps!
For more information about National Soyfoods Month, the benefits of soy and some great swap ideas visit: www.soyfoodsmonth.org.
What indulgent favorite food would you consider swapping out soy ingredients to make it a better fit for a healthy diet?
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Wow those came out great, although I may want to try something stronger then black pepper. I would need the heat.
I’m a huge fan of beef stroganoff and think I could easily upgrade the healthiness of my go-to recipe with these two ingredients. You’ve inspired me to try something new this weekend!
Those sound delicious! We’re all carnivores here, but I think this might go over great!
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Oh wow these meatballs look and sound so delicious! I’m going to try this recipe with my family!
Love the dog checking out the meatballs! That’s how you know if a recipe is good, lol.
This sounds good and I like that you can use gluten free flour. Thank you for the recipe I can’t wait to make it.
We always have silk milk at the house. We recently tried their almond milk and cashew milk too! Love their flavors.
This sounds yummy! But the addition of the chicken broth would nix the vegetarian part lol! I will have to try those veggie nuggets too, yum!
Wow these look amazing. I’m not vegetarian (wish I was) but even I would love to enjoy these. What a great option for vegetarians too. This looks sooo good.
These meatless meatballs look delicious and like a great way to change things up. We are not actually vegetarian but do not mind eating vegetarian dishes and meals.
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These actually sound really delicious! I like that you used soy milk. I may try this with my almond milk since me and soy don’t mix well, though.
I just purchased a swimsuit yesterday. Haven’t purchased one for over 14 years and I was long overdue.
A lot of meatless swaps are even better than the meat version. I know no one would be missing the meat in this recipe.
We love to swap out vegetarian crumbles for ground beef in tacos. They are just as filling, and have a different flavor. It’s amazing the range of meatless products available now.
These are both great vegan options! I l love both Silk and Morningstar Farms! And those meat balls look so delicious!
Those meat balls look delicious! If I were just judging by the pics, I would have never guessed they were vegetarian!
My hubby is a BIG fan of the Chick Patties from Morningstar and I like their black bean burgers. I’ll have to give these a try too.
I’m curious what the family would think if I made them and didn’t tell them they were veggie until after. I bet they’d gobble them up!
Mm, that looks so great! I wouldn’t have been able to tell that they’re veggie.
I’m finally looking forward to bathing suit weather this year. Eating healthy by trying to pick all the right foods for me.
What a super creative combination! My mom would love this recipe, she’s vegetarian!
This looks so delicious and simple to make. My Daughter loves meatballs. I will have to try this recipe.
What a great recipe, looks so tasty. I will be sharing with my son’s girlfriend who is vegetarian!
Swedish meatballs are so yummy. Yours don’t even look meatless!
These would be good over brown rice or quinoa! Thanks for the recipe.
Oh such gorgeous pictures! These look delicious!
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That looks tasty. Great idea
My best friend is a vegetarian and she would love this! I think morning star is her favorite brand too!
This is a greta way to cut out meat! Always looking out for foods to do this. Thanks,