Healthy Eating Made Simple for Even Picky Eaters with Beyond Protein + Sweepstakes

In my house, finding ways to ensure that my family eats healthy can be easier said than done. We have kids who each have their own likes and dislikes, and out of our group we also have ones who refuse to eat anything that might be remotely healthy looking. As a mom, I seek out products and recipes that are both tasty and healthy, and that can help to get even my pickiest eaters to enjoy a great good for them meal. So when I was recently introduced to the products from Beyond Meat, I was not only excited to try the products for myself, but also share them with my family and see if I could fool, even my pickiest eaters during a sort of blind taste test!

When our package of the Beyond Meat products arrived, my family had no clue what was in the packages. Even after I took the products out of their pouches for cooking, they still had no clue that the products were made with plant proteins. With the Beyond Meat products, I found that I can create some of my families favorite dishes like tacos, spaghetti, and stir fry, substituting the meat with the Beyond Meat products.

To get started with trying these products on my family, I chose to go with a stir fry using the Beyond Chicken Lightly Seasoned Strips. That way when the kids or even my husband went to see what I was cooking, they thought it was chicken and not a 100% plant based product that is made to look and taste just like chicken.

I liked that when it came preparing and cooking the stir fry dish using the Beyond Meat, Beyond Chicken strips, it was just like cooking with real grilled chicken strips. They did not take long to cook, and I was able to add the peas, carrots, baby corn, broccoli with a stir fry sauce in a pan, then add the Beyond Chicken to the pan and continue cooking.

Beyond Chicken Stir Fry: (to serve enough for a family of 6 I had to double this recipe)

1 Pack of the Beyond Chicken Strips
1 can of baby corn
1 cup green peas
2 carrots julienned
1/2 cup chopped broccoli

Put vegetables in pan with olive oil and let cook for about 3 minutes, then add the Beyond Chicken Strips to the pan

1 pack of stir fry noodles
Cook noodles as instructed on the package then set aside, add to the stir fry mix before serving and mix so the noodles have sauce on them

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe:

1⁄4 cup soy sauce
1 1⁄4 cups water
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dry sherry or 2 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine all ingredients except cornstarch in a small bowl or a cup and put aside. Put the cornstarch in a separate small bowl, and whisk in the mixture that was put aside. Just before mixing in to vegetables and/or meat, whisk the mixture one more time. Add to your stir fry about 2/3 of the way through stir frying.

Aside from the cooking process being the same as it would be if we used real grilled chicken strips in our stir fry, I also liked that the smell was the same when it cooked. Helping for me to keep the secret of what I was cooking going. Once the stir fry dish was done cooking, I served my family, serving it with some sesame green beans and a spiced sweet potato and apple puree.

Then it was time, time to see what everyone thought of the food I put in front of them. Now I knew that with my pickiest eater, he would only eat the meat, noodles, baby corns and puree, so I was not too surprised to see that his plate still had food left on it when he did not touch the peas, carrots, broccoli or green beans. But along with my family, we all enjoyed the taste and texture of the Beyond Chicken Strips that I used in our meal. In fact, my husband who is very weary of trying any meat substitute products, did not even notice a difference and complimented me on an amazing meal!

I waited until everyone had finished their plates, before revealing to them that the chicken that was used in the stir fry that they all enjoyed so much, was a plant based protein product from the Beyond Meat Beyond Chicken selection of products. I was very surprised to see that they were all pleased and were also surprised that the dish they enjoyed so much, did not contain any actual meat.

I like knowing and sharing with family and friends the facts behind plant protein. Like how plant protein consumption is at a tipping point with elite athletes like Tia Blanco, as early adopters. These athletes intuitively understand the benefits of plant-based proteins, and so they’ve partnered with Beyond Meat to effectively communicate–by example–the benefits to other families and their children. *Beyond Meat’s athlete partners hail from the NBA, WNBA, MLB, AVP, and Pro Surfing. They include J.J. Redick, David Wright, Maya Moore, DeAndre Jordan, April Ross, Eric Bledsoe, Maggie Vessey, and Tia Blanco.

Making our Beyond Meat Blind Tasting as well as the info we were able to get and share on the Beyond Meat a huge success! And to help with making you and your family believers when it comes to the products you can find from Beyond Meat, the people from Beyond Meat invite you, my readers to enter the FUTURE OF PROTEIN CHALLENGE Sweepstakes!

You can buy discounted Beyond Meat products with this coupon: Beyond Meat Retail Coupon

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 their thoughts, 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.

PRIZES: Le Crueset cookware, 3 months of Chef’d meal delivery, a $500 Visa Gift Card, and a chance to watch our athletes in action!

This is part of a sponsored campaign through Markerly for Beyond Meat. All opinions are my own.