Cooking with Seitan!

I'm branching out in the world of Vegan cooking.  I picked up some seitan at the grocery store to try this week.

This reminds me of a delightful quote from Buddy Garrity on Friday Night Lights- "Seitan?  What in the hell is that?"

It's a wheat meat substitute that's more meatlike than tofu.  I found lots of barbecue and stew recipes with it that I will definitely try.

Some quick googling and I decided to make some seitan stir fry.

I gathered fresh green beans, broccoli, carrots and zucchini and cooked them in olive oil and garlic.

I love green beans in stir fry. 

The seitan I bought was pre-cooked so I really just needed to cube it and toss it in to heat up.

Then I tossed in 1/2 cup of brown rice and a couple tablespoons of stir fry sauce.

It smelled delicious, I had both my dogs sitting in the kitchen floor whining at me for a taste.  I tossed it into my bowl and settled down to test it and was pleasantly surprised.

Now I haven't had meat since January, I've had a bit of cheese and yogurt in the vegan months, sometimes out of necessity when I'm out, sometimes out of weakness, but this seitan tasted pretty damn close to meat.

It gave my normal stir fry more oomph and kept me full because of the boost of protein. 

So I still have half a package of seitan to use.. will have to pick my next recipe.



Meatless Monday...

So my friend Sarah suggested Spaghetti Squash as a meatless monday... so I'm going for it.

It's been on my list of foods to try for a while, so I picked one up at Reasor's and found a recipe online at one of my fave recipe sites Epicurious.

I'm going the simple route... trying Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Basil and Paremsean.

Here's the recipe.

So I cut the squash in half and followed the directions for cooking it in the microwave.



Bella waited and hoped I'd drop something yummy.



Then I gathered the sauce ingredients. Olive Oil, Basil, Oregano and cherry tomatoes.

 

15 minutes later the sauce was mixed and the squash was done... so I used a fork to get the squash out.

And mixed it all together.  I ate it with some french bread and it was yummy!


It was really filling and had a great flavor.  Definitely something I'm going to make again.

Bonus I have half a squash left and Mems has a recipe for a baked casserole with squash, zucchini and spaghetti squash we're going to try tomorrow night.

A Word About Salad

Sometimes the easier meatless Monday meal is a simple salad.

I've blogged about my love of salad before, that was when I used chicken and eggs to make it more filling.  Now I go about my salad a little differently.

I skip lettuce and just use spinach leaves as a base.  Partially because my auto-immune disease causes anemia as a side effect so I need the iron, and also because I love spinach.  

Then I'll shred a carrot on to the spinach, dice a tomato (or 2, I love tomatoes)... cucumber if we have any... and some chick peas for protein, edamame and some toasted almond slivers. 

I make this salad in a huge bowl and then toss it with raspberry vinaigrette  (which is my current salad dressing obsession) although I'm about to steal a recipe from my pal Jason for a new salad dressing. 

I was a little worried the first time I made this salad that I was going to be hungry an hour later after the salad... but this with a slice of toasted bread and I stuffed for the rest of the night. 

Meatless Monday! (Kind of)

So my meatless monday meal today consists of some falafel from a few weeks ago ( I froze a couple to see how they hold up) hummus and salad.  So I have no fancy recipe for you today.

The other day I was talking with my mother and she was talking about an article she read in Time that talked about how centuries ago being curvy or chubby was a sign of wealth because you could afford to eat more.

Now it's a sign you can't afford to buy healthy foods like fresh veggies and fruits and are instead eating cheaper, carb-laden foods.  I found this really interesting, I can see the point of the article... I know I spend a lot more on groceries now than I did before I started eating better.  But it's not impossible to stick to a budget and stay healthy.

So I went back to Time for some advice- Healthy Eating Costs

And some tips from Spark People- Healthy Eating On Budget

How do you guys eat healthy without breaking the bank?

Meatless Monday

So I was watching Bobby Flay's Thanksgiving Throwdown the other day.  Mainly because The Pioneer Woman was on, my lack of cooking skills mean I rarely watch cooking shows.

But it was fun to watch, Ree and Bobby were wowing me with their skills and I found two recipes I wanted try... I know I was shocked too... but I was enamored by the Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (I made them Thanksgiving and they rocked) and by Bobby Flay's brussel sprouts.

I'd never had the sprouts before... so I looked them up to see how healthy they were... and then I googled Bobby Flay's recipe.

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed

2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Seeds from 2 pomegranates
¼ cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place Brussels sprouts on a large baking sheet, toss with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

2. Transfer sprouts to a large bowl, add the butter and stir until melted. Stir in the pomegranates seeds and walnuts.

Now I left out the walnuts cause I'm not a big fan of nuts (no snide comments, I've made them all already.)

I also only made about half of this recipe because I was the only one eating it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the dish.

It was delicious!  I loved the roasty-ness of the brussel sprouts with the sweetness of the pomegranate seeds. 

I just ate a big bowl of these and was full for the evening.

That's also two slices of no preservative bread from Ann's Bakery which is delicious too!

So now that I know I love Brussel Sprouts... who else has recipes for me to try?

Meatless Monday: Cajun Quinoa

This week I decided to try Cajun Quinoa from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

 

 First I cooked some onions in Olive Oil and added about 6 cloves of garlic and shredded carrots to the mix.

Then I measured out some quinoa.  I love looking at grains in my canning jars.  I could do a photo blog all about it.

Add that and water and then let it boil for about 10 minutes till it's cooked like this... then add zucchini and hominy and cook about five minutes more until everything is tender.

The finished product was a little dry so I added some vegetable broth and heated it back up.  I think it's yummy. 

I love the nutty flavor of the quinoa and zucchini is one of my most favorite veggies.  Quinoa is also packed with protein so a bowl of this with a side salad is pretty damn filling.

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup chopped onion
 1 teaspoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 1/4 cups quinoa
1 cup shredded carrots
1 medium zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 14-15.5 ounce can golden hominy drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning

Cook onions in the hot oil about three minutes... then add the garlic and cook another minute.
Stir in quinoa, carrots, seasoning and 2 cups water.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes
Then add the zucchini and hominy and cook 5 more minutes... or until quinoa and zucchini are tender.
Season with salt to taste.

Meatless Monday (A Few Hours Early)

So my friend Brigid posted another contest this time to try a vegan meal in a cuisine you've never cooked. 

We all know that it is not hard to find a cuisine I've never cooked.  But the first thing that popped into my head was falafel.  If you follow me on twitter you know I've been craving falafel for like three weeks. 

So I went to my handy-dandy Better Crocker Cookbook- true story the most delicious, alcoholic Sangria recipe I've ever made came from this cook book I love Sangria-

That's the Filafel-Millet Burger recipe.  You may remember when I talked about macrobiotics that I talked about eating millet- it's a grain that is a tonic to the spleen.  My crazy immune disease jacks with my spleen... so I try to include millet in my diet.  SO I decided to make this.

I picked up some falafel mix, the recipe didn't call for any particular one so I grabbed this one at Reasor's:

Then I gathered my ingredients... millet which I keep in a handy jar- I keep all my grain in jars in the cabinet.  It makes me feel more chef-fy.

 

So I took the millet and filafel mix and added the water and let it set for about 10 minutes. Then started making falafal-millet patties.

Some patties turned out better than others.


Remember last week when I talked about my love of garlic?  Same goes for olive oil.  Would bathe in the stuff if I could.  I brushed both sides of the patties with olive oil before cooking them.

Now, instead of frying the patties I used a tip off the back of the falafel mix and broiled them instead.  Partially cause Mems was pretty sure I'd burn the house down trying to fry something for the first time ever. 

Instead I broiled them 3 minutes on each side for a crispy patty... some got a little crumbly but that doesn't dampen the flavor.

Then I put together a little meatless meal... 2 falafel patties, hummus and some sliced baby carrots.  I would have loved some tahini dressing with it, but Mems and I were both cooking at the same time and she's super allergic to sesame so I didn't want to risk any tahini getting near her ingredients.

Totally didn't realize my picture didn't include the falafel on my plate... but I promise it was there. Also I had a little salad of spinach, almonds and raspberry vinaigerette. 



Then I sat down to eat and it was soo good.  The Falafel had a little different flavor than what I'm used to getting at Cafe Samana, but it still had the falafel flavor I'd been craving and a fun crunch from the millet.  I probably could have used a little more water in the mix and cooked them a little less on each side- but I just used the hummus to pick up the crumbly bits.

Plus I have a bout six patties still in the kitchen to eat this week.

Here's the recipe and cooking directions I used.

Falafel-Millet Patties (From Betty Crocker)
2 Cups dry falafel mix
1/4 cup Millet
1 1/3 cup water

Combine and let set 10 minutes to let the water soak into the mix.  I recommend adding another 1/3 cup water.
Then make them into 1/2 inch patties.  Brush both sides with olive oil and put on baking sheet.
Broil for 2-3 minutes on both sides.

I had my baking rack on the 2nd row down from the top and broiled about 3 minutes each- probably could have done about 30 less on each side.





Meatless Monday: Zucchini Soup

One of my fave things in this world is Mems' Zucchini Soup.

It's warm and spicy and filling and reminds me of my childhood.  Now that there's a nip in the air Mems decided it was time to make a pot and I decided to help.  Of course by help I mean be in the kitchen while Mems cooked.

So we collected the ingredients and I turned on the Merle Haggard Pandora station and Mems went to work.

 First up carrots, cleaned and sliced... then boiled in some water.



She sliced and diced the zucchini while I was messing with the dogs... so no pictures of that.  But I was back in time for the garlic!  I think garlic is my favorite food.  I never have to worry about an evil vampite coming after me... too much garlic in my system.

Then the tomatoes, garlic and onions keep boiling.

Then some basil and zucchini get added to the mix to boil till all the veggies are done.

Then it's to the blender to puree the mixture into a smooth soup.  We also add tofu when we blend it.  It makes it creamier and more filling.

Then it's all finished except for salt and Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste.

I love this soup and I've raved about it for years.  Eat it hot or cold, with crackers or rice or my fave quinoa.

Zucchini Soup Recipe

1/2 Cup diced onion

2 large clove of garlic

2 Cups thinly sliced zucchini

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

2 teaspoon basil

4 cups water

Salt, Pepper, Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste.

Combine onions, carrots and garlic with water.  Cook about 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes and spices, cook until carrots are almost done.  Then add zucchini and cook until veggies are very done.

Process in blender with tofu until it's creamy.  Then add salt and pepper and hot sauce to taste. 

Meatless Monday

So I'm on day 5 of a 10 day stretch of working.  I did it so a friend/co-worker could go out of town and I don't really mind that much, but it is making it harder to stick to healthy eating.

For example I'm at work tonight till after a football game so there will be no time to prep some awesomely delicious meal for Meatless Monday... so I'm cheating a little bit.

This morning I made something I've made before and something I was making for my mother for her birthday.

It's corn, black bean and avocado salsa...

No avocados yet... they get added right before you eat it.  It's pretty easy to make and can be eaten with corn chips or tortillas... I've even had it with brown rice and it was pretty tasty.  Here's the recipe... which I got from my Aunt Stacy.

Recipe:

1 Can organic black beans drained, rinsed

1 can shoepeg corn, drained, rinsed

4-5 diced Roma Tomatoes

1-2 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1-2 limes (I like the tang so I use 2 limes)

1 diced avocado

Mix everything but the avocado in a flat dish and let it marinate all day, stirring periodically.  Then add the avocado just before you serve.

One Note- be very careful when dicing tomatoes.  I sliced the hell out of my thumb and when I told Mems and asked her to finish dicing them she laughed at me.

No sympathy...

Meatless Monday!

I'm keeping it simple tonight... sinus hell plus several nights of not sleeping well (insomnia sucks, just so you know) and I'm exhausted and sickly tonight.

So I canceled my plans to take Bella on a playdate, which I fear she'll never forgive me for, and ended up eating some multi-grain cheerios and almond milk for dinner.  Not the healthiest meal... but it's meat free so yay!

But I did find a yummy recipe I was going to try if I did have the energy to go to the store and eat... so here it is for someone feeling less like crap.

Fitnessista

I discovered over the summer that I'm obsessed with eggplant... so this is on my to make list.

Enjoy!

Meatless Mondays

So I'm starting a new trend here on Fat Ass to Fit Ass: Meatless Mondays.

As part of my macrobiotic diet I need to cut out meat again (vacation was a repreive) and I need to get a bit more creative about doing it. So once a week I'm going to break out of my rut and try new meatless recipes.

Today I went for some basic nachos. Baked tortilla chips, organic black beans, a little sour cream and cheese and diced tomato and avocado. A simple and filling meatless meal.

I've also been checking out these websites for more ideas:

Vegging Out In T-Town
 
Fit Sugar: Vegetarian Recipes
 
Meatless Mondays
 
So check back next week for a new recipe and adventure into going meatless... and if you've gone meatless let me know your fave recipes or meals.