So TVP is sometimes known as hamburger helper, meat extender, or meatless crumbles and if you’ve ever eaten a cafeteria meal at school or had a processed meal which included ground beef then you’ve almost definitely eaten TVP before. (Back when there was the European horse meat scandal and the EU was testing meat products for horse, they discovered that one particular brand of meat pie on sale there actually contained zero meat products — it was all TVP!)

TVP, or Textured Vegetable Protein, is made from soybeans, and it’s the leftovers from soy oil pressing which then undergoes some processing before being extruded into different shapes.

Nutritionally it’s virtually fat-free and mostly protein when dried. When rehydrated it has a protein content comparable to ground beef.

TVP is ideal because you can store it dried for a year (or more - I have and it’s no big deal), you can leave it in your cupboard and it doesn’t take up too much space, and it’s perfect for those times in between paychecks where the fridge is bare and the cupboard isn’t looking much better. TVP goes particularly well in chili, bolognese, and other sauce-heavy dishes, which is great because all you need is some rice or pasta, a tin of tomatoes, and a few spices before you have yourself a hearty and nutritious meal on the cheap.

Depending on how it’s cooked, TVP rehydrates at around a 2:1 ratio, meaning that if you buy 5 ounces of TVP you effectively have a pound of “meat” waiting to happen so you can really stretch your money using this stuff, and that’s exactly why it gets used in so many processed foods.

I made a post here about how to get the best texture out of TVP which is good for using in recipes that feature ground meat as the star of the dish such as Keema Mattar, and I will make a post about how to flavor TVP soon too, but in the meantime you can simply grab a handful or two of TVP, shake off the dust using a sieve, and throw it in a dish when you are frying your ground meat (for best results) or you can even add it towards the end of cooking when you’re making something like a bolognese, just remember to allow it a few minutes to rehydrate in the sauce before serving. If you are new to eating it, try adding TVP at up to a 50:50 ratio your meat — you probably won’t even notice it’s there.

So there you have it: TVP is cheap, healthy, simple, long-life, high protein, and easier to use than ground beef so I’d strongly recommend giving it a try to anyone, rich or poor. (Plus it’s more environmentally friendly than eating meat to boot!)