Seitan is simple, Seitan is cheap!

I think, if most folks realized that they could feed a lot more people a healthier diet, on fewer dollars, without lots of hard, mysterious, or complicated work, they would.

So, let's talk nutrition and price, since I am on a pro-seitan rant (that is not just for the lazy, but also for the cheap!):

22 oz of (dry) Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten flour costs around $6.50, and contains 20 30gram servings, each with 120 calories, 5 of which are from fat (0.5 g fat, no saturated or trans fats), only 9 grams of sodium (although, admittedly, I add quite a bit in the cooking process), and 23 grams of protein. (so $6.50 buys you 20 servings of about 23 grams of protein each)

in contrast, 4 oz. of frozen white meat chicken (a standard serving size, info from Empire Kosher) contains 100 calories, 9 of which are from fat in a typical piece of boneless, skinless white meat (1 gram of fat, nearly all of which is saturated), 470 mg of sodium, and 23 grams of protein. A pound of frozen skinless boneless chicken breast costs about $6.50. (i.e. $6.50 buys you four servings with about 23 grams of protein each).

So, with very similar nutrient densities (cutlet sizes are similar to chicken once the seitan is prepared), you can feed FIVE TIMES the number of people a source of lean, palatable, easy-to-prepare protein for the same price.

No kidding.

to say nothing of cholesterol. Milligrams of dietary cholesterol in vital wheat gluten: none. zip. zilch. zero. Meanwhile...

Lots of my patients and friends who are on lower-cholesterol diets choose chicken and eschew red meat to lower their cholesterol intake. But here's the kicker - that very same 23 grams of protein, when you take it from chickens will punish you with 60-200mg (or more, depending on feed, and how skinless/boneless your meat really is).

(not) Fettucini, (totally) Tasty! (WWFD #1)

As a beginning of a new series, that I shall now title, uncreatively, What Was For Dinner (to be known, henceforth, for brevity, as WWFD), I'd like to start to address an annoying phenomenon in the anti-vegan/anti-vegetarian world:

I am so tired of other people claiming that it is too time consuming, requires too much forethought and preparation, or takes too much money to make a healthy vegetarian (or vegan - even more so!) meal in the evening.

If you understand some basics (just as with all cooking), an easy, healthy, uncomplicated, and FAST meal can (and if you try this recipe, will!) be yours.

Here's WWFD #1: low carb fettucini with seared tofu and spinach with a quick pan sauce of garlic, lemon, basil.

Pantry items:
Low-carb Fettucini (I used this since I had some really high protein low carb stuff on hand, the brand I have is not vegan, you use what you want)
salt (kosher) and pepper
dried lemon (no joke, try "real lemon" and "real lime" - delicious and extremely versatile) crystals.
olive oil

Freezer items:
prefrozen cubes of garlic and basil (three of each, I get the dorot brand at Trader Joe's)
firm tofu (I almost always freeze my tofu before using it, then defrost and press - gives a much drier, more easy to crisp, texture - but a block of firm tofu from the fridge would be perfectly fine here)
you could use frozen spinach (defrost in the microwave just to room temp, then press well) - I used fresh

Fresh items: (this is where most people feel fouled up since savvy shopping won't save you)
soy milk (unflavored, you could also use dairy milk)
spinach (you could use frozen, but i didn't)

easy:
heat about 2 tsp of olive oil in a large skillet.
meanwhile, heat some water (salted) in a pot for your pasta.
slice the tofu into large uniform bite-sized pieces.
and toss it into the skillet.
cook the pasta.
when you have about a minute left on the pasta, and you have been lightly turning the tofu here and there and now it is golden, add to the tofu the garlic and the basil and mush them around.
add the spinach. add about 2 cups - sounds like a lot but it'll wilt into nearly nothing, agitate gently.
to finish - drain the pasta, save some of the water.
toss it into the skillet with the tofu etc.
finish with a splash of soy milk, stir it all up, and let thicken.
finish with salt, black pepper, and lemon granules to taste.

viola! it's WWFD.

I served this with roasted cauliflower. Red peppers would have been better.
if you try this one, let me know! Made with Carb-o-nada pasta (from the Al Dente company) to serve 4 each serving would have about 200 calories, and 18 grams of protein. this takes under ten minutes to prepare. The tofu I had on hand was .99 a pound at Costco, and including the fancy pasta (4.99 a bag, I used half a bag) and spinach (3 bucks for a big thing of it, I used less than 1/4) and the random ingredients, still cheap no matter how you crunch it.