Helloooooooo!!! I greet you after 2 weeks on The Continent. After getting sick from malaria tablets and eating more fufu than I ever have in my life. After laughing into the wee hours with a great new group of friends. After getting booked then rebooked then booked again. After lost luggage (of course!) and a whore's bath in an airport bathroom. Buuuuut- more on that later. For now, as my system rights itself from lack of veggies, I thought I'd ask your thoughts on a product that's new to me.
First, let me say this: I don't think meat is bad for you. In fact, I think that it's probably one of the singular most healthy foods out there. Protein and fat = building blocks of life.
First, let me say this: I don't think meat is bad for you. In fact, I think that it's probably one of the singular most healthy foods out there. Protein and fat = building blocks of life.
But Americans' typical way of receiving/preparing meat does bad stuff to the earth, and I get all guilty about that. You know, future of our species and stuff. So way back when, I decided I was going to be more conscious about how my lifestyle impacted our earth. One of the recommended ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to eat 20% less meat.
At first, I was like: shit, another thing?
Then I started playing around with tofu. (It's good! Trust.) And while at Whole Paycheck picking up the extra- firm variety, I noticed this stuff next to it.
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| Yeah, it looks a little like poop. |
Okay, okay, that isn't exactly how it happened. What had really happened was- I was at a party for a friend and scooped some of this into a wrap thinking it was diced seasoned chicken. And while I could tell it wasn't chicken, it wasn't bad either. So I went for it. See above scenario, which can now be counted as true.
As a person who watches sugars and starches, my first thought was that this wheat stuff would also carry a pretty high carbohydrate (read:empty calories) punch. Not so. See:
Seitan (pronounced say- tahn), according to our friends at Wiki:
"is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten."
Sounds nasty to me. But it isn't. I gobbled some down with grilled veggies, olives, cheddar and salsa for a non- taco salad.
So, worldly readers: what dances have you done with seitan? Sorry. couldn't help it. Any yummy recipes that have worked out for your taste buds?
xoxo,
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