Hey hey my lovely readers!
I hope you are all having a great week so far. I’ve been getting up SUPER early this week to be at work by 6:30am and it is kicking my butt! I laid down around 4pm today for a short nap and woke up TWO hours later…ugh!
But anywho, you didn’t come here to hear me complain, go ahead and break out those party hats and noisemakers…
It’s time for What I Ate Wednesday!
As always, a HUGE thank you goes out to Jenn for making this party fun for all every Wednesday! If you’re interested in linking up or just want to drool over some delicious looking eats, head on over to Peas & Crayons and have a look!
What’s your take on “faux” meat?
No, this broccoli kisser isn’t planning on going vegan/vegetarian any time soon, but I’ve always been interested in new and different foods which I guess started the whole curiosity I have for tofu, tempeh, and other “faux” meat eats!
Well, after seeing Elise whip up strips, patties, and logs of seitan for months now, I finally got around to trying out her recipe over the weekend!
Looks delicious doesn’t it? Lol 😉
I had big plans for this phallic looking lump of faux meat, but those plans only required about 1/3 of the batch…so you know what that means?
Time to get a little creative with leftovers!
After fumbling with the coffee pot with bleary eyes and some raging bed head, I poured myself a weekend-sized cup of coffee…I think 5am wake ups require heavily caffeinated measures!
Then it was time for breakfast!
Breakfast (5:45am)
1 egg + 2 egg whites, scrambled with cubed seitan, goat cheese crumbles and raspberry hot pepper preserves alongside a chocolate cherry cake doughnut and 1/2 an orange
Morning snack (10:30am)
Verry Berry Chobani
Lunch (12:30pm)
Roasted Vegetable Chili with Seitan and blue corn tortilla chips and nooch for topping
This is what I originally made the seitan for. All I did was exchange a few of the spices in Elise’s recipe for chili type spices and it worked perfectly!
Recipe coming soon!
Afternoon Snack (3:30pm)
My first Tango apple…I’m definitely a fan!
*Insert two hour nap INSTEAD of my plans for working out*
It didn’t take long for the hunger bug to bite (what is it about waking up that makes you so hungry?) so I gathered up a few ingredients to whip up a quick dinner:
a handful of chopped seitan
=
I promise there’s spaghetti squash in there somewhere 😉
And now I’m thinking a repeat of last week’s “dessert” is in order. Funny how my day started AND ended with me sipping from a mug the size of my face!
Water count:
Camelbak x 5 = 80 ounces of high quality H2O!
Have you ever tried seitan?
Are you a napper or a go-to-bed-a-little-earlier kind of person?
I just tried seitan jerky yesterday. It was pretty good! Can’t wait to see your take on making your own.
I’ve tried seitan and surprisingly, they taste pretty good!
Raspberry hot pepper preserves?? Sounds interesting! 😀
I confess. Almost ALL of my cups of coffee are that big….afternoon one included (in my defense we have a coffee machine and you need a big mug for froth! ;))
I used to love seitan. I was vegetarian for a few years and it was my main source of protein (turns out I was allergic to pretty much all the rest!). Simmered on the stove in a frying pan was my favourite (you can make loads of different textures depending on how you cook it). That and “sausages”. I managed to perfect those about 5 minutes before I never made them again (now that I’m thinking about them though, I really should see if I still have that recipe somewhere, they were yummy!).
I love your chilli! Jealous (again!) of your spaghetti squash. They don’t sell it in Australia :(. I have seeds though! Just need to keep my fingers crossed my black thumb of death doesn’t kill them before they grow me anything!
Haha! I always refer to myself as having a “black thumb of death” too! I’m like the Dr. Kevorkian of the plant world…they come to me and their end is in sight! Surprisingly I have an aloe plant and some sort of green leafy thing that was given to me years ago that I’ve managed to keep alive, but if it has flowers or grows anything edible, consider it toast!
I didn’t know that about getting different textures with the seitan! Those sausages sound like they’d be awesome. I’d love your recipe if you happen to find it!
And sure, sure…blame it on the inanimate coffee maker! 😉
During my vegan and vegetarian high school days, I ate seitan on a regular basis! I loved that the protein count was so high, and it was usually the best non-processed substitute for meat. Now I avoid it like the plague because it’s made entirely of wheat gluten, which unfortunately which isn’t so friendly with this stomach. :-p
I LOVE taking afternoon naps, but usually try to power through because if I lay down, I usually sleep two+ hours just like you! Sleep deprived much? Yeppp!
I used seitan at least twice a week when we switched to a vegan diet. It helped with the whole texture thing and getting used to not having meat as the center of the meal. Kudos to your first batch. I need to whip some more up soon. You know you can freeze it, right?
Yeah, I heard someone say that it freezes really well. I’m the worst with putting stuff in the freezer and forgetting about it though so I just use it as an excuse to flex my creativity muscles in the kitchen when it comes to leftovers! 😉
I tried store bought seitan and I really liked it! But I’ve never been brave enough to attempt making my own. Was it hard?
No, not hard at all! It came together in like 5 minutes….it just takes a while to cook, but I’m sure if you halved the recipe it wouldn’t take quite as long (it’s a REALLY big batch!)
Happy Wednesday!
Your dinner with the seitan looks amazing!
I have had seitan, but never made it on my own at home! I always wanted to, but not sure how good it would be, I would have to make it in a stir fry maybe with a good sauce!
xoxo
Oh girl, it’s so good! A little different texture compared to the kind I’ve bought from the store, but in a good way…chewier, denser, and SO filling! It would be great in a stir fry!
yeah I’ve had seitan before but it was pre-made….I dunno if i could make it myself – wouldn’t know where to start! great eats sweetie!
It’s super easy! Elise’s directions are pretty straightforward…all you need is a couple of packages of vital wheat gluten (in the baking section along with the flours) and nutritional yeast (at health food stores). The other ingredients are all stuff you’d normally have in your kitchen already! 🙂
I love how you mixed spaghetti squash in with your pasta! That looks so good. I don’t do a lot of faux meat since most of it is soy based (which I can’t have) and I don’t eat much gluten anymore (tummy troubles). So, that leave me with beans and eggs for protein. No worries…I love both equally! Your eats look delicious!
I’ve (shamefully) never had seitan before!!
I’m an early riser too…
…early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise!
Still waiting for the wealthy part though ha!!
Yay for you finding the SweetTango apple! I love them, but our store ran out and hasn’t gotten anymore in 🙁
I’ve never seen seitan in my stores but that’s no surprise. I’d try it for sure.
I usually don’t nap and I go to bed too late and get up too early. I need to go to bed earlier since adequate sleep is important.
I tell myself I need to go to bed earlier ALL the time…though it never actually happens! :-/
I’m so glad you told me about the Tango apples…I think I may like them a bit more than Honeycrisps, but shh don’t want to hurt any apple feelings now! 😉
please don’t go veg on me! I think I would be the last carnivore left in blogworld! I try to do meat alternatives but for some reason they creep me out. Plus, I think my body hates soy. Its gives me gas. :-x.
if you ever think of becoming a vegetarian, just think of those PB and BBQ bacon sandwiches you’d miss so much 😉 then think of me!
For sure!! It does feel like us carnivores are quite the minority here in blogworld, huh? No worries, I could never give up my PB and bacon sandwiches! 😉
I’m a napper! 2-3 times a week you’ll find me napping after work!
Hooray for the Sweetango apples! I am obsessive about them…but already I’m saddened by the fact that the crop we had at the store two or three weeks ago was SOOOOO much better (like, told everyone who walked by me to eat one/buy one immediately) than they are right now.
And making seitan was on my list of things to do for the Vegan Month of Food…and I have yet to have time to do it! I guess I’ll just have to do it as an “unofficial” vegan activity. 🙂
So you shot yourself in the foot, huh? That’ll teach you to be such a good salesperson…you gotta keep the really good stuff hush hush!
Hey, you’ve still got this weekend before the month’s over! 😉
Never tried seitan but I’m not a big fan of faux meats – although I definitely used to be. The linda mccartney range of frozen products made a huge chunk of cash off of me 🙂 The roasted vegetable chilli looks so good, looking forward to the recipe!
I thought that was a picture of a loaf of bread at first, instead it’s a loaf of seitan. I go through stages with faux meat. Sometimes I’m all about them and other times not so much. I am totally a napper. I could take a nap every day after work if I’d let myself. It also helps that I can literally fall asleep anywhere!
It does look like bread! If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was throwing croutons into my chili instead of cubes of seitan!
I never got around to eating seitan before I went gluten free, so I don’t imagine I’ll be trying straight up wheat gluten anytime soon! 😉 Your seitan phallic log looked like a loaf of bread to me, and every time I read seitan I think “Satan,” and I’m thinking “Satan Loaf” would be a good name for a band, or at the very least an album title. And with this nonsensical ramble, I’m going to shut the hell up, ha!
Haha! Girl, you CRACK me up! Now I’m going to start calling it “satan”!
Naps are always like that, that’s how you know you’re just really tired.
I’m not big on fake meats like the conventional ones, but I’ll go for seitan and tempeh and tofu every odd time. Your seitan looks like french bread!
what? a chocolate cherry donut? I almost wrote “cheery” which I imagine it was 🙂 Did you make those?! How innovative to cube the seitan as well. I should really try the stuff. And in chili? yum. Need to make chili now. Gosh, I can’t wait to get cooking! I’m missing Chobani here though. That stuff needs to get in my life. We have Fage though!
spaghetti squash as well. Gosh, have I just been eating the same things over and over?
Props to you for having seitan 3x in one day. I don’t know if I could do it, I might get sick of whatever it was. Granted, you put it in other creative things. Perhaps I should make variety dishes like you!
I don’t nap as a rule….only in emergencies. I usually retire around 10 if I’m super tired. But my natural clock wakes me up super early. Why were you up so early? Job?
Yeah, I’m on my early shift this week. Have to be at the hospital by 6:30am so the latest I can sleep till is only 5am! 🙁 It’s nice to get off early and have the rest of the day, but man, is it hard to peel myself out from under those covers…especially with as cold as it’s been in the morning lately. Hmm, maybe I should consider bumping the heat up higher than 68 degrees! 😉
As much as I do love all of Chobani’s wonderful flavors, nothing beats the consistency of Fage…the creme de la creme of Greek yogurts in my opinion!
I DID make the chocolate cherry donuts! Check out Monday’s post for the recipe if your interested!
I tried making Seitan one time. Came out really good. Then I sliced it and froze the rest in individual packages. Maybe I should do it again. Sounds really yummy. And I am having spaghetti tonight. So maybe I will stop to pick some up. Are you sure there is squash in there??? I really cannot see it. 😉
I swear! I swear! It was hiding under the sauce! 🙂
I’ve never tried seitan but I’m always interested in veggie things too! Everything looks super yummy 🙂 I usually can’t take naps so I’d rather go to bed earlier. Happy Wednesday!
I think you’ve convinced me to finally make/try homemade seitan! Because that looks freaking delicious 🙂 Happy WIAW!
Alright!! Do it!!
I made seitan once! And it wasn’t the best so I got discouraged and never tried again, but adding it to chili is SUCH a good idea!! For faux meat, seitan sure tastes like meat. I did a double take on that dinner picture. I thought it was the craziest looking spaghetti squash noodles of all time, then I realized it was real noodles.
seitan log? can’t say i have ever seen such a thing or cooked with it for that matter. seems like you turned it into a delicious breakfast though. maybe i should try it out!
If you want, trying buying the pre-made kind just to get a taste for it…though I haven’t heard many people say they didn’t like it after the first time. It’s got a good hearty texture so it makes for a good substitute for beef in chili, stir fries, or I even roll it up in a wrap with hummus sometimes!
I am working my butt off on trying to get as much water intake as I possible can these days! Aww a two hour nap sounds divine but waking up at 5:30 doesn’t!
I have tried seitan before, but it was at a restaurant and they salted it SO much! It wasn’t too bad though. I really like tempeh! You should try that if you haven’t already.
By the way, you won my Sparkly Soul giveaway! SO glad you entered because it brought me to your amazing blog! Send me your info so I can get them out to you!
Tempeh is actually my favorite…love at first bite if you will! 😉
And woo hoo! I was JUST at the gym earlier this evening struggling with my stupid “no slip” headbands today…and that was with bobby pins as reinforcements! Can’t wait to try the Sparkly Soul ones!! Thank you and I’m emailing you now!
This just reminded me that it’s been WAY too long since I’ve made any seitan! Mm, now I have a craving for pasta, sauce and seitan. And yet, dinner time is so very far away… I love faux meat, but I love HOME MADE faux meat, the grocery store stuff is so full of salt/unnecessary ingredients, and homemade always tastes better anyway!
AMEN sister! And it’s such a cinch to make! I will no longer be shelling out my precious monies for overpriced/oversalted seitan again!
can i say that i’m both a napper and a go-to-bed-early person? i love sleep.
yesterday, i woke up at 5:15, took a 1.5 hour nap when i got home, and went to bed at 10pm….
also, i’ve never had seitan, but i just tried tempeh recently (i liked it!) and to me, they’re in the same category of faux meats….!
That sounds like the perfect wake/sleep schedule to me! I’ve been trying to be in bed by 10 all week…key word, TRYING! I just can’t seem to tear myself away from Twitter, the blog, or that damn Pinterest until after 11! 😉
Tempeh is my favorite! Crumbled up, it makes the BEST tacos…I even fooled my sister into thinking it was real meat!
I’ve never tried Seitan! The dining halls here serve it fried, but I’m not huge on fried food so I haven’t tried it yet. That roasted vege chili looks incredible though! Maybe over Christmas break (when I find my kitchen again) I’ll try to make a seitan log.. my brother’s girlfriend said it’s not too tough!
I love Trader Joe’s Meatless Meatballs with marinara in a sub bun. Faux meat but oh so delicious 🙂
Yummm. Your roasted chili looks SO good!!!
I’d love to try seitan but something tells me the vital wheat gluten in it isn’t exactly coeliac-friendly 😉
I’m neither, sadly. I used to be able to sleep for Britain; till lunchtimes at weekends and was the queen of daytime napping – but if I try either now, I can’t sleep at night… I think I must be getting old…!
ive been reading your blog for a couple weeks now and i love it! your eats always look so good and are so inspiring. i have never heard of this seitan stuff, what is it? amy
Thank you, Amy! You are too sweet! It’s made from mostly vital wheat gluten (in the baking section) mixed with nutritional yeast, veg broth, and seasonings and it’s one of my favorite alternatives to meat. The texture is probably the closest I’ve ever had to the real stuff and it is super filling! I can usually find the prepackaged kind in my grocery store next to the tofu…you should give it a try next time your shopping!
Oh man, that’s so funny you made Elise’s seitan and actually posted a picture of it. I actually made it last week but didn’t blog about it because it ended up looking like a giant brown turd. It tasted awesome though. I can’t wait to see what changes you made to her recipe. Can you imagine how nasty that dang loaf would look with the addition of some spinach? Nothing like a green tube of poo to appetize your pallette.
Have a great evening! 🙂
Bahaha! Ewww!
I’ve never heard of seitan, but I checked out the recipe. I would try it for sure. No way I would give up actual meat, though, haha! Lots of good eats today, girl!