Until recently, TVP had 1.1 role in my life: Cincinnati chili. The 0.1 is me trying to use it in other ways, noncommittally. See, I moved to Ohio as a vegan, so my first and only experience with this peculiar thing that calls itself chili but expects you to serve it over spaghetti was therefore meatless. I imprinted on that taste, and never appreciated subsequent beef, pork, or turkey versions of the same when I fell off the vegan wagon. Oddly enough, Nate felt the same way. Although he was by no means vegan, he did his best to humor me at the time and somehow came away with the same preference for TVP-based Cincy chili. I guess TVP provides such a neutral base that you can really taste the Cincinnati. Or the chili. I honestly don't know what it is we're tasting but it deserves a place in anyone's menu rotation.
The original inspiration for these puddings comes from Sprint 2 The Table. To use a video game analogy, my version is a min-maxer's approach to her concept: portions sized to fill in gaps in a daily meal plan, with a heavy focus on protein. I have been playing around with isocaloric variants that use different proportions of the same ingredients and I must confess my palate is not sophisticated enough to know the difference. If I were vegan, I'd replace the egg whites by a splash of nut milk and some ground chia or flax.
Note: My LoseIt for these recipes do not include the specific extract amounts, so add a few calories to account for those (varies based on whether you are using alcohol-based or not).
Maple-cinnamon variant
TVP pudding version 1
Makes: 2 servings
40 g TVP
14 g rice protein powder
2.5 g coconut flour
3 T Splenda
1 cup water
1.5 T (23g) egg whites
1/4 t sugar-free brown sugar (!)
1/2 t vanilla and/or maple extract(s)
The maple cinnamon variant has 100 calories, 17g protein, 6.7g carbs (3.8g fiber), and 0.3g fat.
Rosewater-cardamom variant
TVP pudding version 1
Makes: 2 servings
35 g TVP
13 g soy protein powder
5 g coconut flour
3 T Splenda
1 cup water
3 T (46g) egg whites
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t rose water
1/8 t ground cardamom
The rose-cardamom variant clocks in at 101 calories, 17.2g protein, 5.7g carbs (5.1g fiber), and 0.3g fat.
Having consumed the above TVP puddings, I set out to make some variants that incorporated root vegetables. (After all, it is still winter here). I did not know to what extent the shredded veg would reduce during cooking, but in hindsight I'd have favored a finer grater, at least for the carrots.
Carrot Cake Variant
Makes: 2 servings
40 g TVP
15 g rice protein powder
5 g coconut flour
1/4 c Splenda
1 cup water
75 g shredded carrots, raw
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground ginger
pinch allspice
1.5 T (23g) egg whites
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t butter extract
1/8 t rum extract
The carrot cake-inspired pudding has 124 calories per serving: 18.7g protein, 9.5g carb (6.2g fiber), and 0.3g fat.
Having "discovered" some beets in the crisper, I also made a beet-chocolate-coconut version. I spiced this one with cardamom only but cannot help wonder at a more Mexican chocolate-inspired blend. (Edit: this is exactly what I made the next day: 1/4 t cinnamon, pinch cayenne, allspice, and mace.)
Choco-beet-coco variant
Makes: 2 servings
40 g TVP
12.5 g soy protein powder
5g cocoa powder (I used 100% special dark, but would suggest a blend of regular and dark to tone down the bitterness but keep that rich color)
5 g coconut flour
1 T shredded, unsweetened, reduced fat coconut (about 4g)
1/4 c Splenda (I added more, but see my note on cocoa bitterness)
1 .25 cup water
75 g shredded beets, raw
1/8 t ground cardamom (optional)
pinch salt
1.5 T (23g) egg whites
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t butter extract (optional)
The choco-beet pudding has 140 calories per serving: 18.7g protein, 11.7g carb (7.3g fiber), and 1.7g fat.
Because I haven't exactly provided scale information, here's a rather unsexy spoon to provide a sense of each serving. Clearly, these are supplement to more complete meals meant to round up protein counts.
If you'd like to turn these into a more substantial snack, I'd suggest throwing in some grains (like 2T oats), maybe some quinoa, a bit of almond meal, flax, or chia and increasing the water or liquids to produce a creamier base. I bet some nut butter or cashew cream (1 T?) to boost the fat content would round it out even better.