The Beyond Meat Challenge

A typical meal in my home consists of meat and potatoes.  Or maybe a pasta bake…with meat.  Or dough wrapped around… meat.  See a pattern here?  Both my husband and I are the progeny of parents that lived through WWII.  Protein in the form of meat was a luxury for most during that time and so we grew up with a very real appreciation for meat.  There was rarely a dinner where we didn’t hear:”at least finish your meat,” if one of us children left some food on our plate. Plant-based proteins were foreign to us.

But as we get older and our agriculture changes I realize that I need to evolve my thinking on how we eat our protein.  Beyond Meat is planting The Future of Protein, using protein from plants to create tasty products ranging from chicken strips & tenders to meatballs to beef crumbles.

A plant-based diet has many health benefits and Beyond Meat’s products let families incorporate these 100% plant-based foods into their meals like pasta, tacos, salads, casseroles, fajitas and so many more favorite dinners – without the downsides of animal protein.

The Beyond Meat Challenge

In an effort to try and introduce plant-based protein into our diet I did a switch out in our meal the other night.  I used Beyond Meat’s Beyond Beef Italian Meatballs instead of the regular beef/pork meatballs I’d regularly use to eat with our spaghetti.I lightly sautéed them with some olive oil.Then I put them on top of the noodles and sauce.My husband didn’t know in advance that I was serving him ‘meatless meatballs.’  See what he thought in this short video:

I asked him a bit more after I taped his reaction (he doesn’t like being on video, so kudos to him for allowing me to get even 12 seconds!).  He said the only reason that he knew they weren’t our normal meatballs was because of the texture.  But he actually preferred the taste of the Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Italian Meatballs to the ones I usually buy!  Score one for Beyond Meat!

After trying them, I like Beyond Meat products and am eager to use it more in our meals and so it didn’t surprise me that athletes, like J.J. Redick from the LA Clippers, choose Beyond Meat products as a protein source.  Here’s a quote for why he eats Beyond Meat:

During the season, I’m always in need of food that fills me up without slowing me down. Beyond Meat is the perfect meal for both recovering after the game and getting ready for the next one.

That’s high praise from a Shooting Guard on a professional team!  J.J. Redick has partnered with Beyond Meat to effectively communicate the benefits of their products and plant-based proteins to families and children.  His favorite Beyond Meat product are the Southwest Chicken Tenders.

The FUTURE OF PROTEIN CHALLENGE Sweepstakes

5 lucky fans of the bloggers who took part in the Beyond Meat Challenge can win prizes ranging from Le Crueset cookware, 3 months of Chef’d meal delivery, a $500 Visa Gift Card, and a chance to watch their athletes in action!  Here’s how you can enter and hopefully win!

• Grab this coupon to buy discounted Beyond Meat products by visiting this link: http://marker.ly/b/beyond9045/11549/118
• Secretly substitute a Beyond Meat product in a family-favorite meal. Click here to download Beyond Meat product info and some suggested recipes.
• After everyone has enjoyed the meal, reveal to them that the meat they just ate was made from 100% plants! Capture what they thought about the meal (especially the Beyond Meat product), comments, and of course, empty plates and happy faces.
• Post your photos and a recap of the dinner to Instagram or Twitter by 11:00PM PST on 10/31, tagging “@ BeyondMeat” and “#FutureOfProtein.”—this will automatically enter you in the sweepstakes.
• Repeat whenever your family wants to enjoy protein-packed meals without the downsides of animal meat.

What does The Future of Protein look like? I think what you’ll find is that plant protein will appear on the menus of restaurants nationwide and on school lunch menus.  I like that we as consumers will be given more options to choose how we eat protein!  Beyond Meat the #FutureOfProtein.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Beyond Meat.  All opinions are my own.