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.

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!

Upton's Naturals Vegan BBQ Bowl

This is going to be another one of those posts that makes you upset that you don't live in the Midwest, so I'll apologize now. I'm sorry, so sorry! Since I do live in the Midwest, I was able to try Upton's Naturals newest ready-to-go offering, the Vegan BBQ Bowl. This is what you call a complete meal! Barbequed seitan, kale and mac & cheese - 16 ounces worth, in a ready-to-go microwavable bowl. Two minutes in the microwave and zap, dinner is served. 

The barbequed seitan is exactly what you've come to expect from Upton's- plump, juicy and plentiful. The sauce is sweet and tangy. The mac & cheese isn't as cheesy as some people would like, but I liked it just fine. I mixed it with the BBQ sauce and it was heavenly. And to my surprise, there was kale at the bottom of the bowl. Talk about a nice, well-rounded meal. If the Vegan BBQ Bowl isn't your style, there is also an Indian style Vegan Ashram Bowl and the Vegan Macro Bowl. Thank you (again) to Upton's for making some amazing Vegan food!

Upton's Naturals Vegan Chipotle Wrap

Earlier this year, my local Whole Foods in Omaha got a whole lot cooler by carrying Upton's Naturals Wraps and Sandwiches. It's great to have to-go Vegan food for lunches, make-shift picnics or even a snack before you shop (don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry, take my word for it!) My favorite wrap varies, right now it's the Chipotle. Other wrap flavors are Chicken Bacon Ranch and Sesame. The sandwich choices are BBQ Slaw and Focaccia Sandwich.

As you can see, Upton's is generous with their seitan! A Chipotle Wrap is pretty filling, with 22 grams of protein per wrap. That's what I call a power lunch. Flavor wise, the Chipotle sauce has a little kick but it's nothing you can't handle. Now for the bad news... it looks like the wraps are only available in Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. So what this means is that you need to come visit the Midwest and see how we get down!

John's Macho Nachos

If you went to Omaha Public Schools in the 1980's or 1990's you most likely remember Macho Nachos. Every week the lunch schedule was printed in the newspaper and I would count down the days till Macho Nacho day. It was my favorite lunch meal next to the cheese pizza with French fries. While I can't remember exactly what was on the nachos, I feel like I've been able to reproduce the spirit. So here is my version of the Macho Nacho!

As you can see it's pretty loaded. Sometimes I add more ingredients and sometimes I add less. Things I left out this time are black olives, green onions and salsa. And you may be thinking, "John, where is the the Frank's Red Hot?" Well, I did put it on but it was after I took the photo. Now let's check out the other ingredients.

I decided to go with Nacho Teese and I'm glad I did. Out of all of the Vegan cheeses I believe this is the most like old school nacho cheese because it's oozy and melty.

Uptons Chorizo-Style Seitan is the jam! If you've had the Uptons Seitan Tamales then you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's spicy and easy to make, total Laziest Vegans material. If you have this stuff in your area, try it, you'll love it.

And in the same breath, Amy's Traditional Refried Beans are the best refried beans I've ever had (in a can anyway). These aren't your old bland refried beans. I love 'em!

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream is the only Vegan sour cream I've enjoyed. The only downside is that is goes bad fairly quickly. In the future I hope Follow Your Heart can sell it in smaller portions.

Garden of Eatin' Blue Corn Tortilla Chips are my gold standard. So that's my version of the Macho Nacho! How do you fix your nachos?

Upton's Naturals Seitan Tamales

Upton's Naturals is a Chicago based company that specializes in seitan. I've been snacking on these Upton's Naturals Chorizo-Style Seitan Tamale con Mole's for a couple months now and I love them! I'm not an expert on tamales so I can't vouch for their authenticity but I find them very filling and delicious. Since I'm always on the go, I like something that I can heat up and eat quickly.

As you can see, the tamale is full of black beans and seitan which makes it a hearty meal for its small size. Taste-wise the tamale has a bit of spice but it's mild. Upton's suggests steaming as the cooking method, or if not, microwaving is ok. All you do is open one side of the packaging and throw it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I only hope Upton's branches out and makes more of these ready to eat products, keep up the great work!