I ended up signing up for 6 weeks on Dr. Fuhrman’s member center so that I could watch the nutrition and cancer webcast today. So that I knew my way around the website I spent a few hours looking around to see what other information was available. I might as well get my money’s worth, right? There are some interesting articles and teleconferences that I will be reading and listening to over the next 6 weeks. I will keep you all posted and let you know if there are any tid bits I think you should know.
After spending far too much time online I decided to make some seitan lunchmeat to use on salad. I wanted to make it without any added salt since I am trying to reduce or sodium intake as much as possible. The texture of the seitan was great but I need to work in the seasonings. Without sodium it definitely needs more flavor. I will be tweaking the recipe over the coming month and will post it when I am completely happy with it. For now it is a good start, but not yet ready for prime time.
My plan was to use the seitan on salad and that is what we had last night for dinner. I made a quick salad dressing and used that with mango, apple romaine and some of the shaved seitan. It was a good dinner. Here is the salad dressing I made last night:
Lightly Sweet Walnut Ginger Miso Salad Dressing
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
½ cup walnuts
½ cup water
1 tablespoon white miso
½ tablespoon fresh ginger
1 medjool date, pitted
Directions:
Toss everything in your blender and process until smooth. Pour into a jar and refrigerate until ready to use. The mixture will be thick, almost like mayo before being chilled thoroughly. It will get thicker when it is cold. It coats salad very well.
Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 121.42
Calories From Fat (68%) - 82.06
Total Fat - 9.81g
Saturated Fat - 0.95g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 161.47mg
Potassium - 118.69mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.77g
Fiber - 1.63g
Sugar - 4.65g
Protein - 2.85g
Comments:
This dressing is lightly sweet, a bit salty, rich from the walnuts and with a little zip from the ginger. I think it is a good flavor combination. It worked well with the fruit. You can expect to see variations of this in the future since Dan and I both enjoyed it.
Unrelated note:
Today I will be listening to the webcast on nutrition and cancer. I will be taking notes. Surprised right? I am hoping he cites some studies so I can read the source information that he talks about. I am just one of those people that need to read things for myself. ;-) I suppose I am a born skeptic.
Beyond that I want to spend a little time trying to get the hang of twitter. That has been on my to-do list for far too long. I feel a little like a technology dinosaur. *shakes head* Finger crossed I take the time to figure it out this time and actually start using it regularly. That is my goal for July so we will see how this goes, LOL. Hopefully since I wrote it down I will feel like I need to actually do it. If anyone has any tips, tricks or advice on twitter please feel free to share. I can use all the help that I can get.
I need to go and knock out my lifting. I want that out of the way before the webcast. Talk to you again soon.
I always buy a package of miso to use with a recipe, then never finish it because I'm unsure of what to do with it. I will try this dressing. That seitan looks really good! What have you read by Dr. Fuhrman or any of these doctors about the whole soaking grains and nuts thing? Do you do that? Just wondering as it all stresses me out. Also, I tried to look and see...not trying to be nosey, just concerned and interested...but did you ever do a post about your cancer/what type you have, etc.? I had thyroid cancer 7 years ago so the subject is close to my heart.
ReplyDeleteJenny,
ReplyDeleteI use miso a lot. Do a search for miso on my blog and I know at leat 30 things will come up. That should help you use up your miso.
Texture of the seitan was spot on but I need to tweak the flavors. It was the first time I made it without salt.
I can't find anything scientific that backs up the idea that soaking nuts makes them more nutritious. At this point I am chaulking that up to internet myth. But if I find anything science based that leads me to believe it adds nutrition I will post it.
I had breast cancer and my husband kidney cancer. If you want to chat about it off line send me an email. My address is veganepicurean@gmail.com. I don't talk about it much online because I think people that haven't been touched by cancer would rather not think about it.
Ali
i wasn't expecting the dressing to look creamy but was pleasantly surprised when i saw the picture!
ReplyDeleteim new on twitter, but i think using # hashtags to "tag" your tweet helps! Like #health, #nutrition, etc.
i try and soak my grains, jenny--just did a video post on it. It's not too stressful.
Kenzie,
ReplyDeleteI use nuts in many dressings and they come out creamy if you keep the water level on the low side. I normally just stream it in until the dressing looks right.
Thanks for the twitter tips. I can use all the help I can get.
Glad you pointed out Jenny's grain question I missed that. ;-)
Ali
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI do think soaking grains adds to the nutrition. We don't eat many grains so I don't always soak them. But when I think about I do. I agree with Kenzie it is easy, just requires planning.
Ali
I'm sure you've posted it somewhere, but I need to figure out how you are shaping your seitan. So far I have managed blobs or strips.
ReplyDeleteThat dressing looks so creamy and amazing! I already have miso at home, and I think there are walnuts in my freezer too.
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteShaping the seitan is easy. I roll it up (like a giant tootsie roll) in a huge piece of aluminium foil. Some of the cooking liquid will seep up but not a lot. When you use that method you need to focus on giving your seitan dough lots of flavor.
talk to you later,
Ali
PB and Jess,
ReplyDeleteI am always surprised by how creamy nut dressings aret too. You adjust the thickness by the amount of water you add. I almost always use nuts in my dressings now.
Ali
I'll have to try this since I love ginger, miso and nuts.
ReplyDeleteOn
Looking forward to your notes from the webcast!! Buon giornato.
ReplyDeleteThat dressing looks great, I like to use miso in dressings, never think to add ginger. yum!
ReplyDeleteLosing Weight,
ReplyDeleteThis dressing worked really well with a green salad with fruit. I hope you enjoy it. :-)
Ali
Aimee,
ReplyDeleteI just posted the notes from the cancer lecture yesterday. Yesterday got away from me.
Ali
Janet,
ReplyDeleteWe have been on a big ginger kick for the last year. I love the little bit of "zip" it adds to things.
Ali
The lunchmeat looks really good. I love the marbled look. Did you use quinoa in it? I don't see any nubbly bits like in your sausages that use quinoa, so I'm guessing maybe you pureed the quinoa or something.
ReplyDeleteFelicity,
ReplyDeleteI used ceci flour this time. I wasn't completely happy with the flavor of the seitan which is why I didn't post the recipe. Good timing with your question as I was planning to tweak the recipe tomorrow and will hopely like the revisions. ;-) Assuming it passes the Dan taste test I will get it posted soon.
Ali
Thanks, looking forward to it :) Thank god for hubby guinea pigs, lol.
ReplyDelete