Stocking at least one kind of soy, wheat or vegetable protein makes it easier for kitchens to deliver nutritionally balanced vegetarian choices. Ann Gentry, founder and CEO of organic-vegetarian restaurant Real Food Daily in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., and Janine Doran, executive chef of vegetarian eatery Cafe Flora in Seattle, break down the available options and how to use them.

• Tofu is made from liquid that is extracted from ground, cooked soybeans and pressed into blocks. Gentry recommends first steaming tofu to help make it easier to digest and then marinating it to add flavor. It can then be baked, broiled, grilled or sauteed,

• Tempeh is made from fermented, cooked soybeans formed into cakes, Like tofu, it also benefits from steaming and marinating. Tempeh can be used interchangeably with tofu, Gentry says, but it works better than tofu for crumbling.

• Seitan, often called “wheat meat,” is made from wheat gluten, and its chewy consistency, makes it a popular substitution for meat in sandwiches and main courses. Doran, who uses seitan in recipes such as grilled fajitas, says the product doesn’t absorb as much flavor from marinades as tofu or tempeh, so it works best when cooked and served with sauces.

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is a dried, granular product made of soy flour from which the soybean oil has been extracted. Once it is soaked and rehydrated, Doran says, TVP can be used just like ground meat.