As we trimmed our meat consumption over the last several years, we discovered the versatility of meat substitutes—soy burgers that we can grill, crumbles that replace ground beef, sausage patties for breakfast and others.

I often prepare stuffed portobello mushrooms, a recipe from Cooking Light. With this recipe, a mixture of crumbles, tomatoes, reduced-fat cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and seasonings is stuffed into the mushroom caps. I also add a dash of fennel seeds to make the stuffing taste even more like Italian sausage. To reduce fat even further, I use fat-free cream cheese, a substitution that’s easy to hide with this combination of flavors.

Soy crumbles can sub for ground beef in a variety of recipes. I stir them into vegetarian chili and some family members haven’t detected the difference!