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Soy or other ground beef substitute?

The cafeteria at work sometimes serves a vegetarian chili that I found to be really good (imagine my surprise). I know I can recreate it, but there's a ground-meat-like substance in there that lends a nice texture, and I don't recall ever having seen a ground soy or other "ground meat substitute" product at the grocery store. Have I just been missing it?
I guess I could process up some extra-firm tofu, but I know damn well they didn't do that at work, they don't make anything from scratch any more.

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  1. Look for TVP (texturized vegetable protein) preferably in a bulk store. Come sin all shapes and sizes: ground beef like, bigger nuggets for stew likeness, etc. A byproduct of making soy milk.
    You need to hydrate it to meat like consistency when using it.

    1. I'm guessing that you're looking for TVP (textured vegetable protein.) It's a soy based ground beef substitute. You can sometimes buy it dehydrated in bulk at health food stores, and you can also usually find it in the frozen section with the Morningstar Farms veggie burgers and the like - typically labelled soy crumbles or something similar.

        1. Morningstar has a nice product that mimics ground beef quite nicely. It is Veggie Crumbles and can be found in the frozen food section at many grocers. It cooks up like ground beef, absorbing the flavors of the dish it is used in (ie, spaghetti sauce, taco or enchilada sauce, etc.), and doesn't lose volume due to fat. I have served it to many an unsuspecting carnivore. :-)

          1. Trader Joe's also sells a house brand ground beef substitute, as does Lightlife.