I get this VWG from Amazon, it’s cheap and seems of high quality. https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0 I follow a recipe in one of my instant pot books cause it’s my preferred method to make it. I’ll link a few other recipes below in a few.
Last year I moved from a vegan-friendly city to the sticks, so I've been experimenting with alternatives to vegan prepackaged protein. I've been playing around with lots of seitan recipes and ended up combining the best ingredients from several. A friend, who is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy minus the potatoes, said it was "all right", which is huge. Also, the cost is less than half compared to frozen chicken.
If you're having problems finding vital wheat gluten, it can be found here on Amazon for really cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1526228474&sr=1-4&keywords=vital+wheat+gluten&dpID=41mzSF8WRxL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Okay, so here is the recipe:
Preheat Oven to 400 F
In a large mixing bowl. (If you have a stand mixer with a dough attachment, use it, it'll save you lots of work!)
Ingredients
1 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
2/3 Cup Vegan Veggie Broth (Better than Bouillon works great)
1/8 Cup Tahini
1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (I used Wegman's brand)
1 Tbsp Vegan Kansis Style BBQ Sauce (Wegman's brand)
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 Cloves Pressed Garlic
Knead for three minutes, rest for 5, then knead for 10. Form into 1 inch thick logs, cover the logs in more BBQ Sauce. Wrap the logs tightly in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet into the heated oven for one hour. Flip logs occasionally to make a nice crispy crust.
You can buy 4lb of vital wheat gluten from Amazon for very cheap. It changed my life in the kitchen.
Honestly you can get wheat gluten pretty cheap. It's kind of like the idea of making your own bread. It's technically cheaper to make your own bread, but the amount of time and work that it requires, and the quality of the result, usually means it's just not worth it to make your own. I think wheat gluten is the same way. Amazon has this bag, 4 lbs for $18. This gives you 1370 grams of protein for $18, or 76 grams per dollar. I think you will be hard-pressed to find a better deal than that, even if you are making it on your own at home.
I can find it at Meijer locally (it's a chain here in the US Midwest, if you're not familiar). Otherwise, options exist on Amazon as well. Bob's Red Mill works fine (it's the kind I find locally); I just purchased a big 4 lb. bag of Anthony's since I know at this point I'll use it!
I feel ya on being broke. It's really not too bad - vital wheat gluten in bulk especially (50 lb is ~$130 and lasts me and my husband about 4 months, with near daily consumption) buuut you have to be able to afford buying things in bulk. :\
You can also get smaller portions on Amazon for much less. I'd particularly suggest something like that for just starting out so you don't have to commit if you don't like it.
Another option to use up vital wheat gluten is if you bake any muffins, use 1/2 regular flour and 1/2 VWG to boost the protein content.
You can also buy VWG pretty cheap, I mix it with a block of tofu and some spices and water and then steam it for an hour. It's really good and protein dense.
No, made from vital wheat gluten.
Anthony's Vital Wheat Gluten, 4... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I also mix in chickpea flour and nutritional yeast. Makes it a complete protein and get all my b-vitamins from the fortified yeast.
No problem! I enjoy geeking out over stuff like this
So, as u/bec_TheVeganBTW said, I'm using the ingredient for seitan - Vital Wheat Gluten Flour - amazon link - and not seitan itself.
According to its nutrition label, 0.25 cup / 30g of flour ==> 23g of protein.
so for 3/4th cup, I rounded it a up a bit from 69g to ~75g (because cups are inaccurate and I'm assuming I'm overmeasuring most of the time by a bit)
Now some seitan is just vital wheat gluten + some liquid like water/soy/broth etc.
However its also more voluminous due to the water content it absorbs after cooked, so net protein per 100g would reduce dramatically (like 20g for 100g of cooked/simmered seitan)
Not sure if that was mentioned/accounted for in Cronometer?
I’ve always just used vital wheat gluten. If you can’t find it at a grocery store near you, you can order a bag online like this one. From there, following a recipe online is easy enough and you can try different ones to see what you like.
I have a bag of pure gluten I use to adjust the protein contents of alternative flours. (It's fun to make traditional crusty, spongy, rich, bread with silly alternative flours that usually only allow for flat tortillas or thick blocky breads).
It has a bland taste (it's pure protein, and taste resides mostly in fats), but even minimal additions to large bowls of flour completely change the final result.
I do it at the tail end of my cuts, like right now, to get the last 2-3% fat off. Water, diet soda, protein powder, 93% lean ground meat, frozen veggies, ECA stack. Average 700-1000 cals per day.
It wasn't until I discovered vital wheat gluten recently which is a total game changer. This shit is all protein, chewy af so it takes a while to eat, and miraculously keeps you full. I just mix it with the protein powder and make pancakes with it.
This is the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_2641RAWGKCBA645GAXVS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Vital Wheat Gluten (the stuff Seitan is made of) is very helpful. I'm not veg/vegan myself, but it's just so cost-effective that I actually want it in my diet. I personally really like Anthony's Vital Wheat Gluten, mostly because it's the most cost-effective and you can literally just buy it on Amazon.
Here are a few recipes I've figured out so far:
Nutella protein pudding -- mix 2 scoops (60g) of gluten and 1 heaping tablespoon of Nutella with about 1/2 cup of hot water until it has the consistency of brownie batter. Macros: 25C, 47P, 11F
Gluten egg scramble -- pretty simple, really. Just mix in some gluten with eggs. I like a ratio of 1 scoop (30g) to 4 eggs. Macros: 2C, 22.5P per scoop + whatever's in the eggs
here it is! if you’re price compare this size bag to bob’s you’ll be shocked!
Looks great!
Just an fyi: if you cant find bread flour you can make your own by adding a little bit of vital wheat gluten to all purpose. you can get a 4lb bag of the stuff (best value i could find) for 15 USD on amazon.
Where I have only made it one time, I feel like I got lucky. I will definitely be posting again with my different experiments and recipes.
I think the quality of the VWG might matter too. I was really picky with reviews and ended up choosing this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I don't think it would hurt to give it a few more tries! I can imagine it certainly isn't for everyone, though. Like for me; the only way I like tofu is chopped up small and thrown in a stir fry with lots of soy sauce. lol. Doesn't stop me from trying to use it in new ways though!
Not sure what it is but I bet it can't beat Anthony's wheat gluten on Amazon. 76 grams of protein per dollar.
Recipe- vital wheat gluten, flour, water. https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/how-to-make-seitan/
I get this one wheat gluten amazon: Vital Wheat Gluten by Anthony's (4 Pounds), High in Protein (4lb) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_r4oiDbH8YJS7C
I eat a lot of seitan (I make my own using vital wheat gluten, and a recipe similar to this seitan log or seitan wings recipe) and use Orgain pea protein powder for the bulk of my protein. I also drink a decent amount of either Silk Ultra Protein Drink or Silk Unsweet Protein Drink (I personally think the latter is easier to drink and more versatile).
I also eat a variety of lentils, black beans, split peas, chick peas, and lima beans that I buy dry and cook in a pressure cooker. They serve as easy and cheap ways to get all of the essential amino acids and micronutrients I might miss.
I make 7 cups of gluten worth of seitan for every week. 1/7th of that every day, along with a protein shake of 4 scoops of the Orgain, and I'm already at about 160g of protein for the day. Add some peanut butter toast, "milk", and the legumes/beans, and I hit ~220-250g every day.
Edit: Making the seitan myself is a massive cost-saving move.
Your best friends ↓ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_K1V4QNC0N72MJ8KW7Y2R https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC36S52/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_W39ZCHC3GVHT61JPPY7J I eat so much of these and share these links so much they should sponser me lmao
See if you can order this from amazon, it’s the one I get and make some great Seitan with it.
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0
If you can buy from amazon this 4 lb bag is pretty cheap and makes decent seitan
Here are some resources I have saved that might help:
GENERAL TIPS
COOKING/SHOPPING
NUTRITION (note these are general guidelines, don't obsess too much over perfectly planning your diet)
For cheap protein sources specifically, look for cheap whole foods like beans, lentils, and certain nuts/seeds you can find cheaply like chia seeds and sunflower seeds. There are also certain meat substitutes you can find very cheap. Textured vegetable protein for example is hella cheap and very high in protein. I buy mine from bulkfoods.com, it's $17.29 for a 5 pound bag, which re-hydrated is equivalent to about 20 pounds of meat. In total it's about 1,100g of protein in a 5 pound bag, plus it's high in iron, calcium, potassium, and fiber. You can also look into making your own seitan from vital wheat gluten. The one I linked here is $19 for 4 pounds and has about 1,400g of protein in total.
Making seitan does require some effort though. I like TVP because it's super easy to use, you just rehydrate it and add some seasonings. I like to use it in recipes like chili where I can just dump it straight into the pot and it soaks up all the flavors. I also use it for things like taco meat, spaghetti sauce, shepherd's pie, etc.
This is what I have:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/
I had to get it off of Amazon. It’s pretty expensive for making almond flour bread.
To add to what others have said, you can buy pure wheat gluten. Wheat flours have wheat gluten, but they all vary. Cake flour has little gluten, all-purpose has moderate, and bread flour has extra.
As gluten is a protein that adds density by absorbing water and creating structure, you would want less in cakes and more in bread (think angel food cake vs bagel). Typically, kneading is used to help gluten developed into strands for structure which is why cookie and cake recipes say to "mix until just combined"; stopping mixing will help prevent gluten forming structures. You can see the gluten strands in this photo of bread dough after kneading which is usually a good 15 minutes.
Seitan's chewiness comes from extra gluten, so many recipes call for just gluten or mixing for ages to help develop the gluten structure.
Wheat protein (gluten) is really good in pancakes and has 23 grams of protein per 110 cal (1/4 cup)
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0
Seitan and tvp are your friends. I doubt you need that much protein especially if you're not cutting, but if you want that much you can definitely get there with seitan and tvp.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_HNS7WG0WNRGH9S887JFV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Idk why no one talks about this stuff it's about 92g of protein per dollar and is almost pure protein. It's high in leucine too so it's great for muscle protein synthesis.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC36S52/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_WEM10XPMD94YEPYKD131 This tvp is also top tier. It's defatted soy protein so it's also great for increasing protein intake, just rehydrate and either cook with spices or shovel it down with a spoon if you're just looking for some extra protein and don't care about taste. It might look expensive but for $37 you get 2700g of protein. It will last you months.
Not sure what you do for carbs, but if you do rice I'd recommend buying a storage container and dumping in a few bags of red lentils, brown or white rice, barley, and whatever kind of grains you can get your hands on, those are just my favorite. If you're eating rice it can bump the protein from about 3g per serving to about 6-8 depending on the ratio you have.
Rn I'm at 180 bw with about 3500 as my maintenance so rn I'm eating 2800 calories a day hitting about 180g protein a day. Lmk if you got any questions I love talking about this stuff.
This is what we use: https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0
Also this is my fave recipe: http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/2007/04/infamous-seitan-recipe-o-greatness.html?m=1
I'd highly recommend seitan. Here's a basic recipe:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238521/basic-seitan-wheat-meat-vegan-meat-substitute/
Here's my favorite: http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/2007/04/infamous-seitan-recipe-o-greatness.html?m=1
You can find a big bag of vital wheat gluten on Amazon for $15: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iWpyFbSASZNFM
You get a ton of servings per bag so imo it's very affordable and worth it.
We got 4 pounds for less than $15 from Amazon, I think that's the best price I've found anywhere. https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=vital+gluten&qid=1598960373&s=grocery&sr=1-4
If you don't care about a huge corporation losing an insignificant amount of money you can always get it at the Whole Foods bulk bins and ring it up as regular flour.
Amazon has it a lot cheaper than tbe supermarkets near me:
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Gluten-Anthonys-Pounds-Protein/dp/B00PB8U7Y0
If you can't find it locally, I used to get this off Amazon. It's a pretty good price and bag's resealable
edit: It looks like you can buy it directly from Anthony's as well if you're not a fan of Amazon
Late comment but, is this the one you're talking about?
This is the one we get. Its WAY cheaper than getting it at the stores near us.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Are you able to order VWG? I couldn't find any in my area at all and had to buy some on amazon! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PB8U7Y0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My standard is to pressure cook it, like in this recipe (just the seitan part, not the finishing portion to make them into wings).
A lot of people like baking their seitan. I like this recipe for baked seitan (I only make the stuffing for fancy holiday roasts, but I've made it without the stuffing for a quick seitan fix).
Another common method is simmering the seitan, but I suck at making seitan this way, so no good suggestions here.
I like to buy my vital wheat gluten from Amazon, since it's cheaper than what I can find in the store. This one is my go-to brand.
I'm really happy to hear you're enjoying the recipes! And I'm impressed you braved the lasagna recipe so quickly.
Here's a link to the vital wheat gluten I usually get and in case you're in need of a recipe, this is the one I like to use (though I follow the advice of one of the commenters and bake it in a covered dish. There are tons of ways to prepare seitan though, so you might like another method better.
I try to test out at least one new recipe a week so if you're ever in need of more feel free to shoot me a PM!