Seitan. Is it a good option for protein?

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BrownieKitty12345
BrownieKitty12345 Posts: 149 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I used to love eating this! It is low calorie but is it good on protein?
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  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Yes, it's high pretty high in protein, but if your goal happens to be building or retaining muscle as efficiently as possible, you primarily want a protein with a high leucine content which is found in large amounts in dairy, meat and eggs, peas and rice. but it doesn't matter for the average person.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    It is a good source of protein.
  • totaldetermination
    totaldetermination Posts: 1,184 Member
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    seitan is another name for wheat gluten. If you are avoiding gluten then its probably not for you.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited February 2016
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    It's wheat gluten? What are the health benefits of that? Any besides protein?
    Why not eat chicken breast instead? Less calories and more protein ounce/ounce.
    I just noticed, chicken has 0 carbs
    Is setian super cheap or something?
  • BrownieKitty12345
    BrownieKitty12345 Posts: 149 Member
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    Setian isn't cheap but I am trying to avoid meat
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    Seitan is cheap if you make your own. Just buy vital wheat gluten and follow any number of online recipes.
    You cannot rely on wheat gluten as a sole protein source. It is not a complete protein, though I've read conflicting claims as to which amino acid it lacks - nutritional studies in rats have claimed it is low in lysine, but molecular analysis says it is instead low in tryptophan.
    I used to eat a lot of it, but since buying textured vegetable protein (basically defatted soy) in bulk is around the same price and has a more complete profile, I've switched to that.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Interesting. I use TVP - Texturized Vegetable Protein. Add it to chili sometimes.
    Sounds better than pure gluten to me.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Yes it is good on protein, and it is a non-meat source. You may also want to try various versions of soy protein (tofu).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    JanetYellen wrote: »
    It's wheat gluten? What are the health benefits of that? Any besides protein?
    Why not eat chicken breast instead? Less calories and more protein ounce/ounce.
    I just noticed, chicken has 0 carbs
    Is setian super cheap or something?

    What are the health benefits of chicken besides protein? What a bizarre way to respond to the question.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    JanetYellen wrote: »
    Interesting. I use TVP - Texturized Vegetable Protein. Add it to chili sometimes.
    Sounds better than pure gluten to me.

    Many people find seitan to be much tastier than TVP and they find the texture to be much better. Obviously, people should eat what they enjoy but that TVP "sounds better" to you than seitan isn't a basis for OP to avoid seitan.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Heck, all food is good in context.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
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    I love it! It's super inexpensive if you make it yourself. You can get a big bag of vital wheat gluten at any grocery store, add liquid and it's basically done! Quick and easy way to get your protein added to a meal without a large influx of calories if you are trying to stay within a calorie goal.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    Interesting. I use TVP - Texturized Vegetable Protein. Add it to chili sometimes.
    Sounds better than pure gluten to me.

    Many people find seitan to be much tastier than TVP and they find the texture to be much better. Obviously, people should eat what they enjoy but that TVP "sounds better" to you than seitan isn't a basis for OP to avoid seitan.

    I'll also add seitan seems easier to digest than TVP. For equal amounts of protein, I end up with a lot of fiber when making TVP and it can take some acclimating.
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I've never liked seitan, but we eat tvp all the time here. It's a personal choice.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited February 2016
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    senecarr wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    Interesting. I use TVP - Texturized Vegetable Protein. Add it to chili sometimes.
    Sounds better than pure gluten to me.

    Many people find seitan to be much tastier than TVP and they find the texture to be much better. Obviously, people should eat what they enjoy but that TVP "sounds better" to you than seitan isn't a basis for OP to avoid seitan.

    I'll also add seitan seems easier to digest than TVP. For equal amounts of protein, I end up with a lot of fiber when making TVP and it can take some acclimating.

    I get "digestive issues" when I eat more than a 1/2 cup or so of TVP at once. Never happens with seitan. That's interesting about the fiber -- I never considered that as a potential cause.
  • redd_87
    redd_87 Posts: 53 Member
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    I looove seitan. I had stopped buying the prepackaged stuff for a while because it didn't seem cost effective (cuz it's not), but then I realized it's considerably cheaper to make your own. I made my first batch last week and I loved it! I get my daily protein from tofu, seitan, or TVP depending on the dish I'm making and what I'm wanting to eat. I'm glad I learned about it because it helps add variety to my protein sources.
  • zenjen13
    zenjen13 Posts: 174 Member
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    I make my own seitan too and freeze it. I like TVP but the gas.....oh my! I use nutritional yeast in my seitan which gives extra vitamins and umami. We used to be vegetarian and discovered it's WAY cheaper to make your own and much healthier.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Seitan is a great source of protein and very VERY cheap if you make it yourself.

    I've been using seitan as the staple protein source in my diet for years and while I don't only eat seitan as protein, it is, by volume, most of my protein intake.

    I mix in other plant based protein sources, but the idea of a "complete" amino acid profile is also highly overstated. There are only 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot synthesize and all are easy to get from other plant based sources including seitan which is high in lysine, the most difficult amino acid to get on a plant based diet.

    I have blood tests regularly to ensure that I am not deficient as my goals would be incredibly hamstrung by not doing so... for me, it's always vitamin D that proves tough, but that's mostly because I'm an indoor kinda guy.

    You might give this a read: http://veganhealth.org/articles/protein
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    i LOVE Seitan, its so easy to make, give it a go!!!
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Yes but I only use organic!

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