MetaMoreFoodSis of My Food - I’m the Sultana of Seitan
Posted on November 2, 2007 - Filed Under Food, Low Fat, Seitan, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Gluten
When I first starting eating more of a vegetarian diet, my first fears were that I’d have to be eating a lot of boring stir fried vegetables and foods I wasn’t familiar with. I like stir-fry but I know I could get tired of it quickly. Also, many Asian and Indian foods are really popular right now. They are good so no disrespect is meant to them, but I was really concerned about MY old favorites. I was willing to give up a lot but I wanted to still have my comfort foods or some version of them so that I didn’t get too discouraged and so that I could maybe get TGH to eat more healthy as well.
Well, now you can just call me the Sultana of Seitan because I’ve been able to overcome my obstacle with the soy issue thanks to wheat gluten. I’ve also been able to make much healthier (meatless) versions of some old favorites. And TGH has jumped on the bandwagon and come up with a lot of great ideas to help me out. The latest creation has been a favorite comfort and cold weather food because it is easy to put together but uses the oven so it helps warm up the house on cooler days as well.
I’ve posted before about how I like to make a roast of my wheat gluten (seitan). Well, that roast can then be ground up like ground beef. Here is a pic of my ground roast wheat gluten.
Looks a lot like burger, right? But it’s not. It’s just wheat gluten! With some black beans, and then layering it with corn and topping with mashed potatoes, I was able to metamorph this into a really yummy, meat-free Shepard’s Pie. Here’s what it looked like after TGH and I had gotten at it.
This can be made vegetarian or vegan and could also be made with peas instead of (or in addition to) corn. I have heard some people have shepard’s pie that way. I’ve always had it with corn but hey, this is one flexible dish! Adding a few meatless meals to your menu plan doesn’t need to be awful and it doesn’t need to be stir fry or pizza. There are more options and TGH and I will keep trying to find them!
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Looks yum!!
Thanks, Hannah. This is another one I really enjoyed and didn’t miss the meat from at all.
What a tasty looking dinner! I’ve been thinking about making something like this for a while, but in individual ramekins so that I can freeze the extras and heat them up as I need them. Hopefully this is the inspiration that I needed so I’ll actually get off my butt and make it!
Hi Hannah! What a great idea to do it in individual ramekins! That makes a lot of sense - I love having some premade, homemade “frozen dinners” in the freezer to give myself a break every once in a while.
LOL. I have a hard time parting with my ramekins long enough to freeze them, they are so darned cute and I love using them to serve sides of veggies and stuff. LOL - But that is a great reason to keep extras on hand at all times!
my mouth is watering! I love Shepard’s pie!! I am not doing good on the meatless thing at all. Hubby doesnt want to be meatless, and I have a hard time making 2 separate meals every day. I am getting very discouraged because I really was starting to feel better. I will look today and see if I can find this wheat gluten. Maybe with that I can be more creative and he will give me a bit of a break!
I’m trying to post foods that I found were helping me to transition to a more vegetarian diet in hopes it will help others as well. Don’t give up, Calamity. Even if you do just a couple of dinners a week that is a step in the right direction. You can sneak some in without him even knowing it - for instance, macaroni and cheese isn’t supposed to have meat in it anyway so he wouldn’t miss it. Serve it with some yummy veggies. Or pizza - it can just be a vegetarian pizza on whole wheat dough! Healthy, yummy, and you hardly miss the meat. That and a salad and you have a great dinner. I’m going to be posting more of these meal ideas so stay tuned.
I think I have only had shephard’s pie once and it wasn’t memorable but perhaps not a good recipe. What kind of herb/spices/flavorings are you using in this?
Well, I season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper, a little butter and milk (or vegan butter, rice or soymilk) to make it a little easier to spread around on top. The wheat gluten has already been roasted with nutritional yeast, salt, onion, garlic, a bit of soy sauce, ketchup, and italian seasonings like oregano, basil and thyme. The corn really doesn’t get any seasoning but you could use creamed corn to make it a little sweeter on that layer or any kind of gravy would add a lot of flavor too. I love gravies and sauces and I use a lot more herbs than I ever used to in order to make my food flavorful yet keep it healthy.
I am quite the carnivore but I will admit, that looks delicious!
Thanks, Antibarbie. This is actually one of a few dishes that you really don’t miss the meat from too much. I haven’t been a vaguetarian all that long but this one really wouldn’t have bothered me even back when I used to eat meat.
Looks great i want that
That does look good. I haven’t yet found the gluten but I am going to try it when I do.
Hey Teeni,
That looks really yummy. I can almost smell it. Do you eat cheese? Or is that verboten?
WC
Hey WriterChick! Good to see you! I still eat some cheese (and some meat too). I’ve cut down on the cheese quite a bit because of the fat but I just can’t give it up. There are no good substitutes from what I’ve found. I think I’ll always just be a vaguetarian and never a true vegan. But at least it is possible to get cheese without killing an animal and some people do raise them humanely. So I try and get mine from those places.
When I first turned vegetarian and then vegan about five years later, I found I had to learn about the food I was eating and foods I could eat that would be good for me. i got many cookbooks and found some that I used more than others. There really are many foods that vegans can eat and I really don’t miss meat at all anymore. I hope y’all are finding good sites for vegetarian and vegan recipes - that helps alot.
One I’ve found that has great recipes and even a mailing list where they send a list once a week is at vegweb .
I wish y’all the best in your quest for good stuff to eat. It’s really not hard if you’re willing to do some cooking.
Peace,
~ RS ~
Hi RubyShooz and thanks for visiting the Vageutarian Tea Room! Thank you for the referral to vegweb. I haven’t been there but will definitely check it out. At first it really was hard for me to transition to mostly vegetarian but it is getting easier and you are right - I think being willing to cook helps. I really don’t mind as I’m home anyway so I feel I SHOULD be spending my time preparing healthy, yummy meals. I am finding things a lot easier now than I did a year ago and I like the wheat gluten for helping me transition by using meals I’m used to and just changing the focus more to the veggies. I’ve been seeing you around a lot at our mutual friends’ blogs and I think you and I have a couple things in common so I’m glad to see you here. Please feel free to come in and join any games/discussions anytime!
oh teeni, your site is so hard to come visit…me on this wretched soup diet (7+ lbs so far) and you with that delicious looking shepherdesque pie. mm.
Aw. I’m sorry Diva! I’m really not trying to tempt you! You are doing great! Congratulations on the 7+ pounds! That is awesome and I may be joining you for a little liquid diet soon myself. I like the idea of giving my body a little break and having only nutritional veggie soups to eat for a little while.
Thanks for giving me ideas.I really have to change my diet now.As part of my recovery process