Upton's Naturals Bacon Seitan

I know it's only July, but I think I've found my favorite product of the year. In fact, I've put off blogging about it for a couple months because I wanted to make sure I liked it as much as I thought I did. That product is Upton's Naturals Bacon Seitan and it has been life changing. So, two months and seven packages of Seitan Bacon later, I'm ready to review it!

I'm not going to lie: I liked bacon when I was a meat eater. But for some reason, pork was the first thing I gave up when I started going Vegetarian. I soon became accustomed to making tempeh bacon so I could still have my B.L.T.'s (or if you will, T.L.T.'s.) But as much as I liked tempeh bacon, it wasn't close texture-wise. I missed the flat, chewy, crunchiness of bacon. As time went on, I just got used to the fact that I would never have bacon again and that tempeh bacon was the best cruelty-free option.

Well, fast-forward a decade later and I'm holding a box of Upton's Natural Seitan Bacon in my hand. Is this the product I've been waiting 13 years for? For the most part, yes! Upton's Bacon is thin-cut, smoky and when cooked properly, crunchy. These are lean and tasty. The only significant fat you are going to get is from the oil you use to cook the Seitan Bacon with. You can overcook it a bit to get that "bacon crunch" you miss or cook it normal to a chewy seitan consistency. When done perfectly, it even gets that crisp at the edges, chewy in the center thing going on. So far I've had the bacon with pancakes, as part of a salad and of course, in B.L.T.'s.

It has a deep hickory taste with a definite bacon flavor going on. I can fry some up and eat it by itself (the true test of how good something is.) And when it really comes down to it, it's satisfying to know I didn't inflict harm on a pig to have a delicious B.L.T.  It comes already sliced up like tradition bacon, which is a nice touch. And I was happy to see Upton Natural's donates 5% of profits from Bacon Seitan to pigs at Farm Sanctuary!

Thank you to Upton's Naturals for this amazing Seitan Bacon, you made this former bacon lover very, very happy.

Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips at Tropical Smoothie Cafe!

Last month, at the Vida Vegan Conference in Portland, Oregon, I was introduced to Kedar, a representative for Beyond Meat. He happened to mention to me that there was a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in the Omaha area and that they carried Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips for sandwiches, wraps or salads! I've heard rumblings of Vegan options at Tropical Smoothie Cafes across the country, but I had no idea Omaha had one (technically it's in Papillion, but whatever.) Kedar provided me with a Vegan cheat sheet that really comes in handy once you're ready to order. It goes like this:

Vegan Breads:
Flour Tortilla
Garlic Tortilla
Ciabatta Flatbread

Vegan Sauces/Toppings:
Jerk Sauce
Thai Peanut Dressing
Buffalo Sauce
Guacamole
Hummus
Salsa
Southwest Rice
Wontons

Suggested Vegan items with Beyond Meat:

Wraps:
Buffalo Chicken Wrap (without cheese)
Thai Chicken
Southwest Chicken (without ranch)
Hummus Veggie (without pepper jack, doesn’t normally have meat, so add Beyond Meat)

Sandwiches:
Turkey Guacamole (With Ciabatta bread instead of 9-Grain)
Build your own? (Chicken, Hummus, Guac with Lettuce & Tomato on Ciabatta)

Flatbreads:
Baja Chicken (without cheese and ranch)
Caribbean Luau (without cheese)

It also turns out that many of the smoothies are Vegan, too. They use Turbinado sugar, which is completely Vegan, plus tons of fruits and veggies. So now you can get some great food and a smoothie. My kind of fast food joint! Everything was pretty easy to order. Just remember that most things come with cheese, so just ask for no cheese and Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips in place of the chicken. Here's what I tried:

Looking at the cheat sheet, I knew I wanted the Buffalo Wrap. I love that buffalo tang and I knew it would taste great with the Chicken-Free Strips. Boy was I right, these are dynamite! Probably my favorite of the three food items I tried. For real, I could eat these everyday.

Next is the Caribbean Luau Flatbread. A very flavorful, sweet, hearty creation that's a little different than your typical sandwich fare. I have to add that the Chicken-Free Strips taste great! I believe they serve the Grilled Chicken-Free Strips. I'm not sure of their cooking method, but they are warm and delicious.

And finally we have the Hummus Veggie Wrap. Now, this wrap is normally Vegan (minus the cheese) but I tried it with and without Chicken-Free Strips (yes, I'm pretty thorough.) I loved it both ways! The strips add a lot of sustenance to the wrap, but it was also excellent without.

Unfortunately, there was only one bag of chips that were Vegan. They were Miss Vickie's Simply Salt Chips. I liked them but I would love to see more Vegan options. Hopefully Tropical Smoothie Cafe can rectify that in the future.

I also want to mention how impressed I was by the smoothies. If you follow me on twitter or know me in real life, you know I'm a sucker for shakes and smoothies. The two I tried were simply amazing: Island Green and Caribbean Carrot. They were refreshing AND came in very handy during this hot Nebraska month of June. Can't wait to try some of the other varieties!

It's always been a dream of mine for fast food restaurants to offer Vegan options. I know it happens on the coasts with Chipotle and Subway, but nothing like that ever happens in Omaha. I'm really excited and I hope people come (I'm talking to the whole city of Omaha) and try all of the different varieties of Vegan eats.

Special thanks to Kedar from Beyond Meat for telling me all about this. I was half drunk when he told me (we were at party, I'm not always drunk) and I didn't believe him. I'm so happy he was right! Find a Tropical Smoothie Cafe location near you here.

Upton's Naturals VeganChicken Salad Sandwich

I made my normal walk to the wall of the refrigerated prepared foods at Whole Foods, because I'm always looking for something new. To my surprise, there was an unfamiliar Upton's Natural sandwich. It's called the VeganChicken Salad Sandwich and it knocked my socks off! Hands down my favorite Upton's sandwich so far. Let's talk a little bit more about this delight stuffed within a pretzel roll.

First off, the bread is completely different. It's labeled as a pretzel roll and I can't think of a better decription. It really tastes like you are biting into a soft pretzel! Absolutely delicious. The "VeganChicken Salad" is Upton's famous seitan mixed with a little mayo, mustard, cranberry and more. Such great flavors; everything from herbiness, sweetness, zestiness and back. The Upton's VeganChicken Salad Sandwich is my new go to sandwich and I hope you get to try one soon!

Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices

Field Roast has been one of my favorite "Vegan Meat" companies for quite awhile now. Whether it's the Smoked Apple Sage Sausages or the Frankfurters, I really dig 'em. Last week I saw their Smoked Tomato Deli Slices at the store and didn't think twice about adding them to my cart as I'm always down for a kick ass sandwich. For my version, I used Grapeseed Vegenaise, mustard, tomato and lettuce on sourdough bread. 

My first impression was, "holy crap, that's good!" The texture and consistency of the slices are heavenly. They're thick but seemed to fall apart in your mouth. The taste is outstanding, with a smoked hearty flavor. I like how it stands on its own and isn't trying to replicate salami or ham. It's creating a new genre of Vegan deli meat! You could totally ditch the bread and eat the slices by themselves. So if you are in the mood for some truly kick ass sandwiches, Field Roast Smoked Tomato Deli Slices get a thumbs up from me!