Seitan

The Wheat Meat Choice

The benefits of a diet rich in nutrients and much less focused on processed foods can not only help to maintain a healthy weight, but can also ward off any health problems.

Never before has there been a better time to find food substitutions that offer taste and make better nutritious choices.

Substituting Meat in the Diet

Seitan is called “wheat meat” with good reason as it offers a powerful nutritional punch and can be cooked up just like its unhealthy counterpart.

This wheat meat has been around for years and has served as a staple in Chinese and macrobiotic diets. It has recently grown in popularity in the United States as an alternative to tofu, as it tastes much more like a meat when cooked properly.

This wheat meat has little in common with flour or bread. It becomes quite similar to the look and taste of meat, offering even a texture like the real thing.

As it takes on the consistency of meat in many dishes, it is becoming a staple in many vegetarian diets. This wheat gluten product is very high in protein and therefore takes the place of higher fat meats in the quest for a healthier diet.

The Power of Protein

The beauty however is that choosing this option in your diet means less fat and much lower cholesterol.

Though tofu also offers a powerful protein alternative to meat, this wheat meat is more than double in its equivalent. It’s most certainly worth looking at adding this to your diet for the protein it can offer, without having any of the fat or cholesterol, and the vitamin and mineral make up is a nutritional dream.

A Healthy diet should contain plenty of organic fruits and vegetables, whole grain products, and of course protein. Not only is a diet rich in these elements crucial to your very survival, but eating foods that fit the bill can help you to combat conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and an early onset of heart disease.

Protein itself is a necessary component for every cell in your body. Protein is required to build and repair tissues, make enzymes and hormones, and act as a building block in skin, bones, and even blood. Without protein a body can suffer. It is a crucial part to any healthy diet.

For those that choose not to eat meat, getting proper amounts of protein might be a challenge depending upon one's overall diet.

While fruits and vegetables certainly have their distinct benefits, all kinds of nuts and beans have a direct relationship to protein. Seeking and utilizing meat substitutes is essential for everything that protein gives to your body.

The good news is that foods such as tofu and wheat meat can not only offer substitutions, but very healthy ones at that. There are a growing number of markets and restaurants offering meat substitutions as well as recipes on the Internet.

Seitan is not only a good substitution, but a preferred one as it offers all the benefits of protein but with very little fat. It can easily be cooked up and substituted into most recipes that call for meat, such as vegetatian chili recipes, stew meat recipes, and one pot recipes, to name a few.

The similar texture and consistency will make you forget that meat was ever a part of your diet.

Sources:

http://www.mitoku.com/products/seitan/healthbenefits.html http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/Seitan.htm http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/benefits-protein