Crispy Tender Wrap

Welcome to another addition of faux meat.  As I have said before, I don't cook a lot of processed "meat."  I focus mostly on whole foods. But, for convenience sake, I will eat it about twice a month.  A girl's gotta have her fast food.  Luckily, Gardein makes some pretty decent faux chicken.  Morning Star makes "chicken" nuggets, but I prefer the Gardein Crispy Tenders.  For a quick lunch, I cooked 4 tenders and made 2 wraps for myself.  I cannot take credit for the bomb Thousand Island Dressing in my wrap.  See below for recipe. 

Love chicken tenders in a wrap!

In my wrap:
2 whole wheat flour tortillas, small size
4 Gardein Crispy Tenders
steamed asparagus
avocado slices
grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 T Thousand Island Dressing

Warm tortillas on the stove or in the microwave.  Stuff with cooked chicken and other goodies.  Spoon on some dressing, fold and chow!

Skinny BitchThousand Island Dressing:

Yes, you can eat it with a spoon, it's that good!

1 cup vegan mayo, I like Follow Your Heart (you can find it at Sprouts)
1/4  cup organic ketchup
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 T tomato paste
3 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt (I used 1/4)
dash of Cayenne

Whisk all ingredients together and store in fridge.

"Chicken" Salad

Okay, so, Morning Star makes these packages of Meal Starters "meat."  They have steak and chicken strips (made from soy protein), and are located in the frozen aisle of most supermarkets.  Check near the veggie burgers and frozen pizzas.  Not all Morning Star frozen products are vegan, though.  Some items may contain dairy.  If you use bread, this recipe makes 3 or 4 sandwiches; or try it on a bed of salad.  *You don't have to eat meat ALL the time.  Take a break from it and try out some new foods.  Your body will love you.

Simple and Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 cups of Morning Star Chik'n Strips, thawed and chopped
1/2 cup vegan mayo (Vegenaise)
1/4 cup red or white onion, diced fine
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries (Oh boy, does this make the dish!)
2 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 T Agave nectar
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve on whole grain bread or on a bed of lettuce.  Yum yum.

This recipe shared on Amee's Savory Dish:

Katy's Chicken and Cheese Pitas

I have to give credit to my daughter, Katy, for coming up with this recipe all by herself.  She likes to try new foods and quite often helps me cook vegetarian meals for the family.  Before I get to this delightful chicken recipe, I'd like to let you in on something I've learned about chicken.  Americans think they are being 'good' because they eat more chicken and less red meat.  I used to eat loads of chicken too, but I can tell you I will never eat it again, and I'm not to keen on serving it to my family.  Why so radical you ask?  Before you put me on your list of friends who are 'total freaks' consider these facts:

*Chicken (while lower in saturated fat) has almost the same amount of cholesterol per serving as red meat.  

*Chicken has more animal proteins than red meat, therefore, more carcinogenic

*Grilled chicken is the largest source of PhIP, a potent carcinogen, (the highest risk is for cancers of the prostate, colon/rectum, and breast).  Fast food places like KFC and others offering 'grilled' chicken, all found to be laced with PhIP!

*Even though high temperatures kill E.coli, people constantly get food poisoning from cross-contamination

*Raw chicken you bring home is covered in bacteria

*Researches from the UofA found more fecal bacteria in the kitchen (from sponges, dish towels, sink drains) than they found swabbing the toilet 

*Chicken 'juice' is pretty much E.coli-fecal soup, ewww, gross!

*Why are there such large chicken breasts at the grocery store?  Hormones and unnatural feed, Ugh.

There are chicken alternatives.  Morning Star makes "chicken" strips and "chicken" nuggets; and Gardein  makes "chicken breasts" made from soy and vital wheat gluten. Gardein "chicken" has 20 grams of protein per serving.  Because it's not animal protein, it has virtually no saturated fat and zero cholesterol. Gardein products are vegan and use non-GMO soy beans.  You season up this "chicken" the exact same way you would season animal chicken: rubs, spices, salt, sauces, bbq... it's all the same, yet very different.

Recipe below: