Weird that it wouldn’t show the alt text, but it says

As People Increasingly Swap Beans For Meat, Risk of More Bean Memes on Lemmy Grows

There are environmental and ethical reasons to do this. Not just cost

“for” usually means the first thing is replacing the second. If it said “with” than it’d go the other way

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/23360/substitute-x-for-y

Out of curiosity what’s your native language?

“swap beans for meat” is a valid way to say “beans instead of meat”

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/23360/substitute-x-for-y

as are nuts (can’t have those myself unfortunately)

Unsolicited story time!

I made a few batches of baklava for my coworkers a while back, with various fillings. Most recipes call for dates or some kind of nut, so I was just like ‘fuck it, we’re trying them all’.

One of those coworkers had a nut allergy, so I make a batch that used sunflower seeds instead (no recipe for that, just sub the nuts 1-1) and honestly is was one of the best of the 10 or so different types I made. Baklava is something a lot of people with nut allergies have never tried cuz it’s always got some kind of nut in it. - if you’re one of those, definitely give it a whirl some times (and do NOT use one of the recipes that go through making your own filo dough… that stuff is… involved. You can get premade rolls in most grocery stores - look near things like those refrigerated tubes of cookie dough, or in the frozen section).

I’m sure sunflower seeds as a nut substitute is nothing new, but baklava specifically might be something that wasn’t previously on your radar. (if that’s the case, and you do go for, shoot me a message to let me know how it went ^_^)

That coworker was fucking stoked - when people bring in food for the group they don’t usually put much thought into things like allergies or religious accommodations, but hooking those folks up with some noms when they’re expecting to be left out is a great way to make their day.

counting chickpeas as beans

Wait, then what’s the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo bean?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6QDlGTnYxpEQRrBz7aSGfVE6TAHeoQRa. The series is called Will It Tofu.

Oh and to add to my other comment, there’s good reason why soy is the legume of choice, it has a very unique taste, texture, and nutritional profile compared to other legumes. If you can find some pre-cooked canned beans, having a meal with the beans themselves makes their properties very apparent. The texture is completely different to what you would expect from a bean.

As already mentioned, the Will it Tofu series is great. There’s another kind of tofu, sometimes known as Burmese tofu, which is basically the whole cooked beans mashed and chilled in a try to form up. The texture is very different since it’s literally just the whole bean.

Also need to mention soy curls. Those are also a whole bean product, with a similar texture to tvp products - makes an amazing alternative to things like chicken strips and pulled-meat products, and unlike tofu, soy curls are great flavor sponges.

Then there’s the whole world of gluten-based products, mainly known as seitan. In stores you can sometimes find plant-based sandwich slices that are overpriced. If you make it at home, you’ll be amazed at the crazy amount of super high protein food you can turn two cups of vital wheat gluten into. I like to blend a block of tofu in with mine, and usually end up with a big log that comes out to about 270 grams of protein in total.

Then if you’re not averse to synthetically augmented products, methylcellulose is the key ingredient that gives products like Beyond and Impossible their characteristic chew.

And I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing. Plant-based proteins are more of an iceberg than most people realize.

Not what you asked but you’ll still like it: you should try chickpea pasta! Just don’t overcook it and it’s awesome!

Another vegetarian cooking tip you didn’t ask for: cook with more fat! Meat has a shiiiiiiitload of fat in it, even the “lean” stuff. You will feel much more satisfied with vegetarian meals if you just use more oil. And you will still be eating less fat than with meat.

I saw a thing for making Red Lentil Tofu. I doubt it’s the same texture, but you’re essentially making a block of it and it slices. You can probably accomplish the same with mashed beans.

I can’t think of any that mimic the process of tofu, given it requires coagulation. The closest is cheese, specifically paneer. Maybe imitations, like with gelatin, but not in the same way as tofu.

So why not? I’m not sure, as you can make a paste from chickpeas (hummus), beans, or lentils. But you kind of need to make a milk out of it, coagulate that liquid, mold and press the mixture. Do those mixtures create milky liquid if cooked? Do they react to chemicals to coagulate into a curd?

Given I never see bean or lentil milk, I think that’s the bottleneck. Nor almond or oat milk tofu, although I bet that’s a safer bet. I think soy just fulfills certain requirements and it’s kind of genius that people even figured out how to make tofu in the first place!

There are indeed. I’ve bought pre-made Chickpea Tofu at the store before though it has a very different texture and taste than soy based tofu. I’ve also heard of Pumfu (Pumpkin Seed Tofu) as a thing you can buy. Looking it up there’s a ton more that I hadn’t heard of like fava bean, split yellow pea, split green pea, pigeon pea tofu, red lentil, sunflower seed, and more though I’d assume those you’d probably have to make it yourself instead of being able to buy?

you can make your own from any bean, nut, or legume

I think I’ve seen, will it tofu, videos on YouTube. But I have made tempeh from beans other than soy, black bean was better than chickpea, but both good.