Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Sandwhich

I made this tasty buffalo chicken sandwhich for lunch twice in the past month and wanted to share the recipe. It’s quick and easy and a big hit with the family. Note that it is vegetarian, not vegan and does include dairy. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

1 bun or 2 slices of bread

1 or 2 MorningStar Farms® Chik Patties® Original (they come in little packs of 2 and I found 2 is just the right amount to fill me up)

1/4 cup of buffalo wing marinade or sauce (I used the Safeway brand marinade that I found in the salad dressing aisle)

1/8 cup of low-fat blue cheese dressing

How to slap it together:

I recommend using the toaster oven to heat your patties if you have one available. If not the microwave works just fine in a pinch, just don’t overcook them. (I cooked both patties, wrapped in paper towels in my microwave at work for 2 minutes and they turned out perfect.) Smear a little buffalo wing sauce on the bottom and top buns. Stack 1 patty and slather a layer of the blue cheese dressing. Stack the second patty and top with the bun. I kept the reaminder of the sauce and put it in a dipping bowl and dipped as I ate. This combination kept the patties moist and flavorful with a little kick. It took less than 5 minutes to make my lunch and it tasted as good as any buffalo chicken sandwhich I’ve ever had in pub, but it was delicious and relatively healthy. Enjoy!

New MorningStar Farms Sweet & Sour Chik’n

Most of the time I bring leftovers to work for lunch (ok, well I try anyway). If I don’t bring my lunch I have a variety of tempting and not so healthy options to choose from. In order to combat these days when I just don’t have any leftovers to bring, or when I simply don’t feel like eating them, I’ve picked up a few frozen, vegetarian meals. I noticed that Morningstar Farms had two new frozen entrees available: Sweet & Sour Chik’n and Lasagna with Sausage-Style Crumbles. (Apparently the lasagna was good, because my daughter has already devoured both of the boxes that I purchased).

Today I’m trying out the Sweet & Sour Chik’n. While I sit waiting for the microwave I noted that on the back of the box it says, “Made with Gardein, The All-Vegetable Protein”. Intrigued, I decided to head over to the Gardein website.  Here I learn that Gardein is actually used in a lot of entrees, not just my fake chicken lunch. In fact, it appears that they have their own line of foods, so I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for those, but I’m fairly certain that they aren’t yet offered at my local Safeway. Their website is filled with the usual materials about how eating a plant-based diet is good for you and the environment, and of course, I couldn’t agree more. Interstingly though, they also have information on community gardens and how to start one up yourself.  The press kit also has a Q&A section with answers to some of the things that I wanted to know such as:

1. What is gardein™? gardein™ is a  line of tasty, plant-based foods with a meaty texture. Our products are made from a blend of soy, wheat and pea proteins, vegetables and grains. gardein™ is good for you; it is high in protein and easy to digest; the majority of our products provide you with a good source of fiber too. gardein™ is free of cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fat; the majority of gardein™ products are low fat too. gardein™ products are also vegan-friendly, meaning they are free of animal and dairy ingredients.
2. How do you make gardein™? Think of how bread or pasta is made. gardein™ is made using a similar approach. We mix water, veggies, grains, flavors and spices together to create the ‘dough,’ form it and bake it in special ovens to give gardein™ a fibrous look and its meaty mouth-feel.
3. Where do the ingredients come from that are used in gardein™?
   The majority of gardein™ ingredients come from North America.  We use all non-GMO ingredients and some organic ingredients. We like to diversify our proteins by using wheat, soy and pea proteins. We are also the first company of our kind to add ancient grains—quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut—to our foods. Some of our spices come from India and some of our grains from South America.

The nutritional value of this meal is ok, but not great. It has 340 calories, but no cholesterol and only 6g of fat (of which .5g is saturated and there are no trans fats). The sodium is high at 550mg and the carbs are high due to 12g of sugar (and it’s tastes like it!). It does have 14 grams of protein and 4g of dietary fiber as it’s redeeming qualities however.

Finally, the taste test. Yes, it’s pretty good. The faux meat is actually really delicious, although the tempura batter coating doesn’t hold up well to microwaving, making the outside a bit mushy. The flavor of the meat is dead on for chicken and the texture is not as chewy as seitan, but more substantially meaty than tofu or tempura. It reminds me a bit of Quorn, actually. Personally, I find the dish to be overly sweet and I wish that they’d cut down on a bit of that unnecessary sugar, but it’s a good meal in a pinch and I feel full and happy.