4 Meatless Corporate Event Menus for Meatlovers

While many of us try to eat healthy during the winter, those traditional vegan tastes haven't exactly warmed the soul when it's 30 degrees outside.

Until now.

New York City is becoming a leader in making healthy, vegetarian food tasty, fulfilling and mainstream enough for your corporate meeting attendees to enjoy it throughout their destination experience.  Even the most loyal meat eaters are taking notice!

According to the market research firm Mintel, 36 percent of U.S. consumers said they buy meat substitutes although only 7 percent identified themselves as vegetarian. That might explain why sales of meat alternatives reached $553 million in 2012, up 8 percent from 2010. And New York is the kind of destination that can offer unique twists on the 110 new meat substitute products that have entered the market since 2010.

Whether featured at a meeting break, lunch, outside event venue or even a corporate gala, here are 6 of our favorite meat-free menu ideas:

1. The "UnReuben". Want the Katz's Deli taste without the calories? Serve tempeh Reubens. You can also try other  deli meats without having meat at all.  These include Philly Cheesesteaks made with seitan, Buffalo chicken wraps and a meatless-ball hero.

2. Vegetarian Surf and Turf. We recommend a shark fin soup that won’t damage any endangered species.  Combine it with BBQ’d vegetarian meat and a five-color assorted appetizer that includes stuffed bread, beef, chicken, and duck

3. "Soyful" Soul. Try a creole soul chicken that consists of panko breaded soy chicken with Cajun and rosemary seasoning, served with sweet corn mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, and classic mushroom gravy.

4. The Fried Fatless Bucket. This is a new twist on Texas Fried Chicken consisting of deep fried soy chicken with taters, with a hickory smoked BBQ sauce on the side.