There's more to meat substitutes than Tofurky, that scary-looking tofu loaf some veggies slice on Thanksgiving. I'd know, I cooked for my vegetarian husband the first three years of our marriage, until I covertly convinced him to start joining me in occasional chicken and fish. That roasting chicken worked, and we're now flexitarians (aka part-time veggies).

Cracking open the bbq this weekend? A diet heavy in red meat is not the best choice, and charred red meat is even worse. Take a look at these five vegetarian swap-outs from AskMen. Here are three I love:

• Seitan -- This king of the grill, soups and stews is not soy-based, it's wheat gluten, made from the same dough used for pasta. I often find it in seasoned or unseasoned slices, but it can be purchased in block form, too. It'd be great on a bbq kabob. Seitan has as much protein as beef, but be aware, it's high in sodium.
• Textured Vegetable Protein -- TVP is defatted soy flour, primarily sold in dried chunks or flakes, which require rehydration. I always pack high-protein TVP soups when I backpack -- like tofu, it picks up the flavors around it. Next time you make a burger or turkey joes, substitute in some TVP and see how it goes.
• Tofu -- This nutritional powerhouse boasts nearly 20 percent of your daily protein in only half a cup. That 100-calorie serving also has more calcium than a cup of milk and is a good source of iron. Sold in soft, silken or firm/extra-firm, tofu is immensely versatile for everything from your pre/post workout smoothie (try soft or silken) or marinated, then tossed in a fresh veggie stir-fry (extra-firm). Crispy, seasoned baked tofu is incredibly good. The World's Healthiest Foods non-profit talks all about tofu here.

If you're still scratching your head at the thought of veggie grilling this summer, order "The Vegetarian Grill" or "The Complete Book of Vegetarian Grilling" from your local library.

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I recently wrote about how much protein we need to get each day to eat a nutritious diet. And while getting our protein fix isn't difficult for those of us who eat some sort of meat with most of our meals, it's a bit harder for someone who doesn't eat meat -- or dairy either. Vegan protein sounds like an oxymoron to some people, but it's really not. Fitsugar recently compiled a list of the top 5 vegan proteins:

• Tempeh: (like tofu but different -- read more here). There's 22 g of protein in 4 oz of tempeh.
  
• Tofu: It has 19.9 g of protein per 1/2 cup.
  
• Seitan: (a form of wheat gluten.) There's 19.9 g of protein for each 3oz.
  
• Soy Milk: (the plain variety). It has 11 g of protein for each cup.
  
• Edamame: Eat half a cup and you'll get 10 g of protein.
  
  

Any vegans out there want to share their main sources of protein?

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