Where's the Meat?

Cristy

Manly meat is so hard to give up! When I went vegetarian in December 2015, my boys declared “We will never give up meat! We love meat!” I prepared the same meal for all three of us, just adding in a little chicken, beef, or fish for them. When I decided to go vegetarian, it was plain and simple; “I don't like meat, why am I eating it?” So, I stopped. Easy Peasy. I ate eggs everyday, mostly, because we had chickens and we had a lot of eggs to use. I also LOVED cheese. My manly-men needed their meat! Once I started studying holistic nutrition and learned about the plant-based lifestyle and it's ability to reverse disease, I was SOLD! I'm a type A personality. You've heard me say this before, I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. My poor husband, he loves me anyway!

I started sharing all the information with my boys, educating them on the amazing health benefits of a plant-based life...they were not as excited as me, but I'm happy to say they were a little frightened by what they learned about animal products. *cue evil laugh. I told them that if they wanted meat, they had to cook it themselves. Well, that was easy because no one cooks around here but me. I win, again!! So, that was it, no more meat. That's where we started and then, eventually, weened off of the cheese and eggs. Well, eggs were not difficult for us to cut out of our diets after an eye-opening article that described the chicken's egg as part of their menstrual cycle!! REALITY CHECK! GROSS!!

Our transition consisted of some “fake” meats...meats made with soy protein, vegetable protein, and/or vital wheat gluten. These are not health foods and I would never want to advocate for that as they are highly processed foods. However, they made our transition A LOT easier. These “fake” meats have helped us get on track and stay the course.

Vital wheat gluten, when used to make vegan meat, is referred to as Seitan. I have practiced with this numerous times coming up with some pretty delicious and fun recipes like “chicken” and bbq “ribs”. It's actually really easy to work with, but takes a while to cook. Confused as to what vital wheat gluten is?

• The Happy Herbivore describes it best: “Gluten is the protein found in wheat. It's what gives bread its shape and pizza dough its elasticity. Vital wheat gluten is just the protein in a powdered form. It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starches dissolve, leaving just the gluten behind. Although vital wheat gluten looks like a flour, it's not a "flour" like whole-wheat is a flour, rather it's powdered gluten.”

Got it? It's not flour, but it feels just like flour and you work with it just like flour. When making Seitan, you'll have your wet ingredients and your dry ingredients..mix them separately and keep them separated until you are ready to “work” the dough. When wet, wheat gluten pulls together quickly and forms a very thick and elastic dough. Be prepared and make quick work of it.

My son has always loved pepperoni. After eliminating meat from our diets, he would say “I'm craving pepperoni”...he's a weirdo. Well, being that I love him so much, I went in search of a plant-based pepperoni and came upon the Fat Free Vegan Blog. I haven't adapted her recipe at all, other than subbing what ever nut butter I have on hand when she calls for cashew butter (I have never had cashew butter so I have used peanut butter, almond butter, and sunflower butter on separate occasions.) This recipe is spot on for the “taste” of pepperoni!! The texture is a off...I would describe it as soft and maybe a little doughy. My son likes the softness, but I have tried adding more time to the baking time and have had success with a firmer and drier pepperoni; play around with the baking time and see what works best for your taste buds. I shared this with our nutrition workshop participants and everyone seemed to really like the flavor! Even some of their kids gave it a thumbs up. So, if you are already plant-based give this one a try for some new meatiness, but even if you're not plant-based, yet, give this a try and maybe we can convert you!!
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Here are a   few tips: 
-Get your hands in there and work the dough! It will be too tough to use a spoon.
-The recipe calls for a 7 inch log, this will give you about a 1.5 inch in diameter slice of pepperoni. If you want smaller slices (like you'd find in regular pepperoni), you can create (2)-7 inch logs with the logs being narrower in circumference. Just wrap them separately in foil and decrease baking time by 10 minutes.
-You may prefer a drier pepperoni...just add a little   time to the recommended baking time
-I always double the recipe...it lasts for about 2 weeks when sealed in the refrigerator.
-Eastyn's favorite is a pepperoni and mustard sandwich!
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Veggeroni (Seitan Pepperoni)
From the Fat Free Vegan Blog
(printer-friendly version)

Ingredients
Dry ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more for spicier pepperoni)
• 3/4 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Wet ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons cashew butter (may substitute peanut butter or tahini or any unsweetened nut butter)
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 tablespoons ketchup or tomato sauce (I prefer ketchup)
• 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1/4 teaspoon agave nectar (optional, but definitely use if you use tomato sauce) (I never use this)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Put the cashew butter in a smaller bowl, and slowly mix in the water. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the small bowl and blend well.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, stirring well (use your hands if necessary). Remove from the bowl and knead for a few minutes, making sure ingredients are distributed well.
3. Roll into a log shape, about 7 inches long. Place the log on foil and roll it up in the foil, twisting the ends to seal. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning over after 45 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and unwrap to cool. Slice as needed and store leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge.

Notes:  Slice it and use it as-is on pizza, pita pizza, wraps, and sandwiches, but you may want to slice it and pan-fry it to give it more of a real pepperoni feel.

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