Better-than-Beef Meatless Meat

Seitan/Wheat-Meat (made from wheat gluten flour) is one of the best meat substitutes for flavor absorption as well as texture. High in protein and low in fat, seitan (when properly prepared) will win over the meat-oholics in your life, from kids to grown-ups.

Once cooked, it can be used fresh or frozen until needed. When it’s defrosted, you can simply slice it into strips and serve with different sauces or ground in a food processor for tacos, lasagna, chili, or any other recipe where one would usually use ground beef.

Wheat gluten is the natural protein portion of wheat that is extracted when wheat is milled into flour. In its processed form, wheat gluten is a fine, tan-colored flour consisting of about 75-80 percent protein. You may be familiar with it as an additive to home-made bread, because the extra gluten helps the bread to stick together and therefore rise better without collapsing.

As many people know, gluten can cause allergic reactions or sensitivities in some people, which means that seitan is not a food to serve to your friends with wheat allergies! But for those who don’t react badly to gluten, seitan is a good source of protein and can be a big help for those transitioning to veganism.

Because of its amazing ability to imitate meat, seitan is a great food to serve at educational events or meals with non-vegan friends and family. When you add it to sauteed veggies and season it up with your favorite flavors or sauces, it is bound to surprise people who are not expecting the meal to contain any meat.

To make an easy, delicious dish for vegan educational events or pot-lucks, you can simply sauté up some onions and garlic with thinly sliced cabbage or dark garden greens. Mix this together with some sliced seitan that has been marinating in a pre-made vegan barbecue sauce, and then bake it in a casserole dish for 30-40 minutes. We served this recently at a vegan booth at a local fair, and people went wild over it. One diner commented that it was the best food she had ever eaten. You can’t get much better than that!

(For more ‘vegan food event’ ideas, please check out the recipes for Cashew-Carrot Paté and Tofu Eggless Salad, both of which are simple, easy recipes that are always a big hit and go well served in wraps or on crackers for a food sampling event.)

See the next page for a basic recipe to make your own seitan, then make sure to view the following pages for a variety of preparation ideas.

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Nelson B.

6:49AM PST on Nov 7, 2011

I never heard of it. Thank you.

November 7
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Sandra H.

4:41AM PDT on Oct 30, 2011

Seitan is incredibly easy (and cheap!) to make at home...just Google "how to make seitan".
You can make a batch and keep it in the frig a couple of weeks.
The

October 30
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Laurie H.

7:10PM PDT on Sep 16, 2011

Always good to learn about other food possibilities that are healthy and meatless. The grocery store needs to add more to their offerings for meatless foods. The seitan looks very good-I have heard and read about it before. Thanks for the tips!~~

September 16
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Christa L.

11:44AM PDT on Sep 14, 2011

I have been a vegan for 15 years and don't need any meat substitutes.Yes, I make veggie burgers from carrots and other veggies on hand and you do taste the veggies.