help. suggestions for pork and chicken substitution

[bratty55]

I am giving up eating chicken and pork for awhile(or forever) because I read an article on the hormones and other harmful chemicals that are being fed to chickens and pigs (more so than cows). For some reason, that article turned me off to chicken big time, but how do I make a ham and cheese omelet without ham?? I am still eating beef and eggs however as I need protein to satisfy my hunger but what do I substitute chicken and other pork products with?

I have eating a lot of fish (tuna especially) but even that isn't good for you because of the mercury content. I never realized how much I depended on chicken for almost every meal until now. Caesar salad doesnt taste the same with chicken and I'm getting so tired of salmon and tuna!

help

[LoriInND]

The only thing I can think of is can you find an organic source of chicken and/or pork? :confused:

[sidneygirl]

That's a good idea....something organic.

Soy stuff, like Boca or maybe Tofu stuff comes to mind...but, I believe that lots of soy has estrogen-like hormone effects on the body too.....

Too bad we can't just eat Chocolate~! ;)

~~tracy

[Mary ND]

I have been able to find hormone free, free-range meats at Whole Foods. I don't know where you live, or what grocery market resourses you have, but look into it!

[AlmostPerfect]

I haven't eaten any meat or poultry for many years. Prefer fish anyway. I love the St. Yves brand of "fake meat" products. Delicious! I don't know how they manage to capture the flavor of the real thing.

[NeonJungle]

That's what I was going to suggest -- organic, bought at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Good luck! Tofu is supposed to take on whatever flavor you cook it with, so it would be a good substitute. Though I have read that it's possible to get too much soy. Have you read "The Detox Solution?" The author may have some good ideas about chicken and pork substitutes. Good luck!

[Firm Believer]

You really need to get another book that explains vegetarian eating. You don't need to go to animal sources for protein, but you need to know what you are doing. You need to adopt some new foods or else there will be this big hole in your diet where meat used to be. :p

There are also some excellent vegetarian cookbooks. One that I like is called "Vegetariana" - I found a copy on eBay for cheap.

Sometimes you want as close as you can get to the real thing - like the ham omelette. For occaisional substitutions, there are some *excellent* substitute products made from TVP (texturized vegetable protein). I'll get you the brand name next time I go shopping, but there is an excellent "canadian bacon" made from all vegetable protein that I highly recommend. Might be the st ives mentioned in another post. In my grocery store there is a section on the wall with fresh produce with all that stuff on it.

Good luck - and many many chickies and piggies thank you I'm sure. :cool: