Happy Friday!

Seitan, pronounced SAY-tan, not SAYT-in, is a high-protein vegetarian food made from cooked wheat gluten. Before you run for the hills at the mention of the word ‘gluten,’ please give me, on behalf of my bff gluten, a chance to explain. First and foremost, seitan is not the devil and neither is gluten.

when to be gluten-full instead of gluten-free

Today, more and more gluten-free products are hitting the shelves. It reminds me of the fat-free craze back in the 90s when pretzels were considered good and nuts were bad. While the numbers of people seeking gluten-free options is on the rise, there is also a rising debate as to whether or not this ‘crisis’ is mostly marketing hype. From Dr. Andrew Weil’s article, Do You Need a Gluten-Free Diet, he writes “I know of no evidence confirming that this [gluten-free] kind of diet leads to all the health benefits being claimed for it these days, everything from relief of other auto-immune disorders to osteoporosis, arthritis, depression, and indigestion.”

There are exceptions – people with Celiac Disease or those who have been tested and confirmed to have an allergy or sensitivity to gluten, need to avoid gluten for their health. There is also some evidence that autistic behavior may result in an allergy or intolerance to gluten and casein (milk protein). However, if you have not been diagnosed with any gluten issues and do not have a reaction when you consume good quality, organic gluten products, then adding foods like seitan into your diet can really enrich your dining experience.

super fabulous seitan

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way and the gluten-free thing is less of a ‘thing,’ let’s talk more about my favorite food of the moment- seitan. Loosely translated, seitan, means ‘made of proteins’ in Japanese. When made into flour, gluten, the protein part of the wheat kernel, is easily pliable and soaks up sauces well which makes it a satisfying meat substitute. The word ‘seitan’ was coined in the 1960’s by George Ohsawa, a Japanese advocate of the macrobiotic diet but the existence of the food made from wheat gluten has been documented as early as the 6th century in China and Japan.

Seitan, when made from scratch, is a dish worthy of your most lavish plant-based dinner party (or any party- don’t tell them and see if they notice!).

why seitan? meet your meat

I have been a vegetarian/pescatarian for almost 30 years. For the past several years I have eating mostly a plant-based diet. Right now I eat about 99% veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, tofu and foods like seitan and on the rare occasion fish or cheese, which equates to once every few months. While PETA may think me horrible for that remaining 1%, I’m being gentle with myself in this journey. I will get to 100% because there is no such thing as cruelty-free fish or cheese. The great news is that more and more fantastic tools, cookbooks, gurus, plant-based restaurants and foods are sprouting up to make my ultimate desire a reality.

What is the real driving force behind my wish to eliminate animals products from my life aka #animalsarefriendsnotfood? I personally visit and follow many animal sanctuaries around the world. I am filled with joy when I learn of rescue stories and see, for example, a dairy cow doing a happy dance shortly after touching grass for the first time in its life. I read the bad stories too – the real stories which everyone should know so they can make their own choices about what to consume. Meet your Meat, narrated by Alec Baldwin, is a good documentary to view if you have questions about where your food comes from.

my favorite farm sanctuaries

Some incredible sanctuaries doing great, positive work include: Leilani Farm Sanctuary Maui, Gentle Barn, Mino Valley Farm Sanctuary, Fields of Freedom, Woodstock Sanctuary and the Riley Farm Rescue. I love checking my Instagram feed to view rescued animals frolicking in their natural habitats. These beings live peacefully together – ducks, pigs, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, dogs, cats, and rabbits – in harmony, which should serve as a lesson for us all.

but what about meat cravings? I have them too

At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, we were taught that many people over-eat or crave foods that remind them of good times as a child. If your grandma made you cookies when you were sad, you may crave or overeat cookies in your adult life. Love yourself! It’s not your fault. I used to visit my grandma Nellie on the weekends. We would play scrabble and eat her homemade beef stew together. I loved spending time with her and oddly enough, the beef stew was part of that experience. She was a real meat and potatoes kind of lady. There is an intrinsic, nostalgic value in eating food that conjures up pleasant memories. Rather than give up that pleasure, consider finding a healthy substitute, like seitan, and you may find that your cravings are satisfied. When I eat seitan with potatoes and carrots I feel like I’m with my grandma again.

considering a more plant-based diet? 

I love and embrace my meat-eating clients, friends and family (who all happen to love animals) but hope that with more information and plant-based knowledge, they will join me on my journey to adopt a more kind, plant-based existence. This lifestyle takes time, patience and an open heart and mind. The first step is to incorporate more vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and fruit (essentially ‘crowding out’ animal products) and choosing meat from pasture-raised cows, pigs and chickens and wild caught fish. Then we work on cravings and figure out how to keep you healthy, happy and satisfied with your diet by adding in foods like homemade seitan or pasta with nutty ‘bolognese’ sauce. If you feel guilty when you eat meat, dairy, etc., then perhaps now is the time to consider another way of eating that is full of flavor, health-benefits and kindness.

If you are ready to take the first step to living a more plant-based lifestyle and you are a foodie like me, contact me here for a free coaching consultation. Your goal may not be to become vegan but rather to have more knowledge, insight, tools and vegan recipes. Perhaps you have a health issue like diabetes, high cholesterol, weight gain, that you want help with. My method includes lots of laughs and plenty of eating delicious, hearty food including superfoods that are essential to optimal health. Forget rabbit food, think of flavor-full food your grandma used to make.

Speaking of grandma, here’s a really easy homemade seitan recipe that reminds me so much of my grandma Nellie and her beef stew. I wish she were here to try it. She was an excellent critic. No filter!

BASIC SEITAN RECIPE

August 4, 2017

by Susie Belanger

Category Recipes

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

Ingredients

• for the dough:
• 1+1/2 cups walnuts
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
• 2 cups cold water
• 2 cups gluten flour
• for the broth:
• 10 cups spring water
• 1/3 cup organic soy sauce, unfermented (or coconut amino acids)
• 1+1/4 teaspoons sea salt or himalayan salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1+3/4 teaspoons thyme
• 1+1/4 teaspoons oregano
• 2+1/2 cups sliced onions
• *as always, organic ingredients are best. Have fun with the broth and add your own seasoning mix- in other words, if you do not have or do not like sage, thyme or oregano, just substitute with dried herbs you do like.

Instructions

1. Blend walnuts and oats on high in a food processor until ground
2. Pour into a bowl and add flours and seasonings
3. Add 2 cups cold water and quickly knead
4. Roll into a long log shape and split lengthwise into 3-4 individual long 'logs'
5. Cut each log into 1/2 inch pieces. Note, 'nuggets' will expand in the broth
6. Combine all sauce ingredients in a large pan and heat to boiling
7. Carefully drop nuggets into the broth and lightly boil for 1-2 hours

Nota bene: the dough step is quick and easy. Do not knead it too long as it needs to go right into the broth for step 2. Thanks to my friend Pelican for helping me mix up this batch. This is her handling the dough like a pro. This recipe makes about 2 quarts gluten pieces, which is a lot. The great thing about seitan is you can use it in a number of different recipes. For the recipe in the photo, I marinated some in store-bought, organic teriyaki sauce and lightly pan-fried them in small amount of coconut oil. I have also baked them and grilled them. They are cooked from the broth step so you essentially just need to choose your sauce and heat them up. Experiment and enjoy!

RECIPE CREDIT

This recipe is from the COUNTRY LIFE Vegetarian Cookbook. I was so happy to find an old copy of the cookbook (from 1990!) on Amazon.com. The same authors used to own a very successful vegetarian restaurant in downtown Boston. My co-worker Barbara and I used to literally run to this place for lunch before the Hawaiian BBQ and mashed potatoes ran out. Barb, if you are reading this, I can’t wait to hear about your first homemade batch!

Not a do-it-yourselfer?

You can also buy prepared seitan at markets like Whole Foods. Be sure to look for a brand that contains only whole, real ingredients and nothing you can’t pronounce. Pacific makes a good seitan product.

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