Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

A few years ago, I had a little recipe exchange with a friend I had met online. She saw a picture from my bridal shower and saw that we had the same recipe basket, so we exchanged a few cards. I know she got my family's Blueberry Buckle recipe, and one of the recipes I got from her was for stromboli. I took note, because it was one of my husband's favorite things to order, but never got around to making it.

Now, of course, we are vegan, and I have recently made it a goal of mine to convert as many of those recipes that were given to me at my bridal shower into vegan recipes. A few weeks ago I thought I would try and veganize the stromboli. Easy and very unhealthy with Pillsbury canned pizza crust (I already said unhealthy, remember?), I bought Yves pepperoni, vegan cheese, veggies, and it never got made.

A few weeks ago I saw this product:

at the new Whole Foods I talked about earlier this week. By the way, I was very happy to hear that I was not the only one who was super excited about agave being on tap!!

Anyway, I was determined to make the picture on the front of the box. The caveat? I never buy bread like that. I just...don't. So that never got made either.

Today with my mind running wild due to the crazy weather that had been keeping us indoors, they came together and made a super delicious lunch that took less time than it would take you to wait in line at Pat's or Gino's for a cholesterol laden mess.

Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

1 can Pillsbury pizza crust

4 slices vegan cheese

1 package Protein Wise seitan, or another thinly sliced seitan or mock beef product

1 onion, sliced

cornmeal, for dusting

salt-free seasoning

This is as simple to make as that list of ingredients is:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sautee an onion in a pan with non-stick spray. When golden and soft, add the seitan.

While the onion is cooking, sprinkle some cornmeal on a clean dry surface, and roll out the pizza dough, then cut into four rectangles.

Break up the cheese into slices and lay on dough, then mound the seitan and onion mixture in the middle of the dough.

Roll up, being sure to seal the ends, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the stromboli with cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt-free seasoning (we used Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning).

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

We suggest dipping in ketchup.

Seriously, this is so good. Warm and familiar, cheesey and satisfying. You could clearly make it healthier by making your own whole wheat pizza dough, but then, if you're like me, you'll probably never get around to doing it.

We have had a TON of snow here, and its still going. I didn't have work today and we're already cancelled for tomorrow. Nick now has off until next week because of the holiday weekend. We're at our wits end a little, but I have had plenty of time to do some cooking and that I do love. What do you do when you're forced to stay home, for snow or for other reasons?

The Wholesomeness of Whole Foods

A brand new Whole Foods store opened near my job last month. There was already a Whole Foods just a few minutes from my apartment, but this one was huge, it was new, it was special. I had to go. And there I was on the opening day...

in. complete. awe.

It is gigantic, it has agave nectar and brown rice syrup on tap. There is a pub inside of it, and a prepared foods bar that rivals no other that I have seen.

That first day was kind of crazy, so I grabbed my favorite craving, the avocado sushi. But when I work full days I spend my lunch hour there, which is only once or twice a week...but I look forward to it all morning.

I have to tell you though, I feel a little guilty. It feels a little wrong, walking around this place which undeniably caters to vegans, and provides plenty of vegan options and products that are hard to find elsewhere; but also shamelessly supports the idea of the organic/humane/natural/grass-fed meat movement.

I know a lot of people who are into this movement. And I am not trying to offend any of them because I know many of them read my blog...and there are probably some who I don't even know read my blog. So my point, will be brief. Eating meat, no matter what kind, still perpetuates the demand for meat. I also know people who completely refuse to shop here altogether, and even protest it.

So what is a vegan to do? Whole Foods is so convenient, makes so easy to find vegan oddities, and frankly, has a delicious selection of prepared foods.

Vegan mac-and-cheese with maple mashed sweet potatoes and steamed veggies

Braised seitan with sage roasted veggies and squash, grilled asparagus, fennel orange salad, and steamed kale

It adequately filled our "junk food" craving this past weekend also:

Whole wheat pizza with LOTS of veggies

Raw macaroons. Yum.

For more information on the "humane meat myth", pop over here.

That being said, I am curious. What do you do? Even if you aren't vegan, I'm curious. I'm not a Whole Foods bunny, mainly because I think everyday things are too expensive, and I don't support their stance on meat. In fact, I am usually the first to suggest a local, non-chain, but there is only one around here, and it is painfully even more than Whole Foods. So I will buy things like umeboshi vinegar and vital wheat gluten; things I know I can't find at my grocery store.

I want to know your opinion. Vote!!

Wholly into Whole Foods?
	I do all my shopping at Whole Foods
	I don't live near a Whole Foods, but I would shop at one
	I buy select items there I can't buy elsewhere
	I refuse to shop at Whole Foods
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Stay tuned for later this week! I'm going to celebrate my 100th follower with a giveaway!!

There's A Lot

There's a lot to talk about today.  I'll try to do it mostly through pictures.  

First though, I wasn't around and didn't do anything too special (food-wise) this weekend because I had an interview today and I was freaking out/preparing for it.  It went well, we'll see if they call back next week.  Anyone have any tips on a follow up?  Send a thank you email, a thank you note, etc?  For teaching positions you usually interview, then give a demo lesson, and the lesson is what comes next, if anything comes next.  

Anyway, food last week was good.  Nothing exciting, but I didn't have peanut butter for dinner even one night :)  

Monday I tried some of Yves' Canadian Bacon.  I have an confession....I have always loved Taylor Ham.  Even when I was in college and too lazy to cook much of anything, I would almost always buy it when I did get to the grocery store.  So, I bought this in hopes of igniting some old memories.

Verdict?  Its good!  No, it doesn't taste like Taylor Ham, but it doesn't taste like Canadian Bacon either...it does taste good though.  If you're wondering, its mainly made of wheat gluten....which means the protein is pretty high:  3 slices = 80 calories and 13g protein.  I approve.  Of course, I had to have it with some tofu scramble!  

Wednesday is the night I made dinner, and I decided to finally break out Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  I've had it for awhile, but the only things I had ever made was the marinated tofu feta (which is awesome, by the way).  I bought some Field Roast Italian Sausages on my way home from work, and we had Roasted Sausage, Peppers, and Onions with Polenta.  This was one of the best recipes I've made from a cookbook in awhile.  The sausage was too spicy for mom, but my brother and I both really liked it. 

 

If you aren't familiar with Field Roast, they primarily make what they call "Grain Meats".  Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has mentioned them on her podcast Vegetarian Food for Thought many times, so I felt comfortable buying them and feeding them to omnivores.  Sausage is just a mess of gross meat by-product anyway, you can barely even tell it isn't meat, except it isn't gross and fatty.  

A few months ago I bought The Yoga Cookbook.  This is a lacto-vegetarian book, although most of it is vegan, and if the recipe does contain dairy, there is usually a vegan substitute suggestion. I bought it kind of on a whim, and it was purely because of one recipe that looked really good.  I don't remember its name, but its essentially sauteed fennel with white beans and curry powder, topped with the sauteed zucchini ribbons with parsley.  

I made it this past weekend, and it was pretty good, although nothing groundbreaking.  My brother and I both had it, and we were both huge fans of the butter beans!  Neither of us had ever had them before, and I was wary of these gigantic beans, but they were so soft and yummy, and my brother says, kind of like potatoes (he loves potatoes).

I have been feeling very very lazy, so I picked up this Spicy Peanut Bake coating by A Taste of Thai this past weekend after yoga.  I planned on using it for tofu.  It did not work.  I'm not sure why.  It kind of melted off.  It still tasted good, and it stuck to the top side, but it wasn't as crispy crunchy as I had hoped.  Baked tofu is good no matter what though, (50 minutes on 400 degrees is perfection) I served it with some roasted asparagus, and some brown rice.

I'm so happy I have some brown rice.  This probably sound gross, but I love having leftover brown rice, because I heat it up and mix it with hummus.  Good?  YES.  Okay, it is a little weird, actually, but I still really like it.  I forced some down before my interview today because I didn't want my belly rumbling.

Wait wait, I'm not done.  Product time.  I have some fun stuff this week.  

First, perfect pasta.  I kid you not, this is a ridiculous product.  Same calories as regular serving of pasta (200 calories), but 23 grams of protein.  23 GRAMS OF PROTEIN?  

It is made from non-GMO soybeans, so its gluten free, and it tastes really good, actually.  It has a bit of a chewy bite to it, and I would recommend a more Asian type noodle dish, rather than an Italian pasta dish, but its really good.  I had a half serving (which is pretty large), with the leftovers of the White beans etc etc.

I also got to try the Chocolate Coconut Raw Organic bar.

If the package looks like its empty...it totally is.  Hi, um, this is awesome.  Actually, it probably ties with the Chocolatey Chip Raw Organic bar, which I've talked about before.  I'd say this one is perfect to have instead of a candy bar really.  I had it at the movies.  I'd mainly consider this a superfluous snack back because the protein in this bar is lower, 230 calories and 5g protein.  It is soo very good though.  

I got some other fun stuff today.  For some reason, even though the interview went well, I was feeling kind of down afterwards.  I think because I have to wait to hear back from them until next week.  That's a long time to wait.  So, I went to Whole Foods.  First off, I'm not a big Whole Foods fan.  I much prefer my less commercial health food stores, mainly because I think they cater much more to vegetarians and vegans.  Whole Foods is just all about happy food.  And they don't want to upset their customers who want their happy food, by providing options that may make them think about their meat.  I just don't really agree with their philosophy.  Granted, I'd rather have people buying organic produce, but this Whole Foods, especially, I believe others are different...they didn't even really have any tofu options at their salad bar (there was one, an ugly tofu "egg" salad).  This is very lame.  I ended up getting some soup, which was good.  

Everything else I ended up getting was kind of...well, not the healthiest.  That was all I wanted.  I *did* talk myself into putting down the vegan donut holes (yes, there was a small section of vegan cookies/donuts/scones, etc), but I don't think I bought anything really good for you.  Okay, so a lot of it was dried fruit, but...you should know me by now, I try to focus more on protein products, sugary fruit doesn't exactly cut it as "healthy food" for me.    

Sweetriot, I don't know if you are familiar with this company, but they rock.  They feature local artists on their packaging, they use recyclable reusable material, and their cacao and cocoa is fair trade from Latin America.  

I bought an unBar (it stands for "unofficial bar of the world, according to their website...weird), but its already been consumed.  It was delicious.  Mine had 70% dark chocolate, with crunchy bits of cacao nibs, and a plump raisin in each bite.  

Really yummy, and only 180 calories for what felt like a pretty big chunk of chocolate.  

I also bought what seems to be their signature product, dark chocolate covered cacao nibs in flavor 65 (meaning 65% dark chocolate, they also have flavor 5o and flavor 70).  These containers are so cool.  The artwork is really awesome, and even if you go crazy, the whole tin is only 140 calories, making each "peace" only 1-2 calories.

  

They're totally yummy.  Perfect when you just need a chocolate fix, not a whole bar.

I also bought some Chili-Lime flavored mango...YUM.  And its raw!  

I don't think there is anything better than dried mango.  It is by far my most favorite dried fruit.  And flavored?  It really just doesn't get better.  

I did get some bulk oat bran, and some pistachios, so that wasn't too bad.  Then I also got some dried cherries because I love them, and I was feeling disappointed.  

Hopefully I have no reason to be disappointed, but I can tell you that if I don't get called back, I'll be opening this bag.  

Ike & Sam's Kickin' Cayenne Kettle Corn.  For some reason, I know some people don't like kettle corn, and if you are one of those people...I think you're crazy.  But then, I (obviously) love sweet things.    

This stuff is totally fantastic.  It is a pretty sweet snack, but its got the perfect spicy kick that lingers on your lips.  

Last, I am so excited about this:  Cinnamon Sugar Soynut Butter.

Whenever I see soynut butter, I'm surprised that it doesn't have more protein.  Well, this was more what I expected:  200 calories and 10g of protein.  Its pretty yummy too.  It doesn't have whatever kind of addictive drug they put in peanut butter.  Plus, its a small jar, so I'll eat it slower (yes, I play mind games with myself).      

So, like I said, I know its a lot, but I don't think any of it was too difficult to digest (haha, food blog pun).  Who knows if I'll have anything else to post this week.  So far the plan is fairly loose, so who knows.  

Have a good one, everybody!  I'll let you know if I get called back or not.