I’m such a sucker for trying new vegan items I see at the store. I can’t help it, especially if said item is on sale. The latest such thing is the Yves Grain Meat Strips ($2.99 at Whole Foods). It’s basically seitan (wheat gluten) – a vacuum-sealed pouch of seitan and there’s one for the sauce.
It’s interesting Yves felt the need to call them Grain Meat Strips on the front of the package. In the ingredients, it’s listed as seitan. And they’re more like chunks, with just a couple of long strips.
Super easy to heat and serve for a quick meal, especially with Trader Joe’s mini hamburger buns. $1.19 for a pack of 8 baby buns, two and a half inch in diameter and vegan.
They’re the perfect size, one serving of the Grain Meat fits nicely on two buns (before heating up, I tore the bigger chunks into smaller bite-size pieces). For these mini sliders, I went with the BBQ flavor. They’re great topped with a little coleslaw on a toasted bun.
For the one in Buffalo Style Sauce, I went with a wrap. It’s kinda spicy, but it has a little too much of a vinegar taste. For me, the BBQ one is definitely the better of the two.
Overall, the Grain Meat Strips are good if you don’t have time or if you’re too lazy to make your own seitan, it’s totally a convenience food. Or if someone never had seitan before, it’s an easy way to give it a try.
Or if you’re hosting a Labor Day get-together, I would be very happy if I was served a couple of Grain Meat Strips in a BBQ Sauce mini sliders.
Related Post
BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich
I love those little buns!! I haven’t seen them at my TJ’s but I’ll have to look. They are super cute. Also, cool to see vegan burger buns. That doesn’t happen too often.
I’m not a huge fan of BBQ sauce, but the sliders look really good. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for those grain meat strips.
I love the fact that more and more vegan products are coming out. I’m absolutely in love with a lot of the Gardein products but will definitely give these BBQ ones a look.
What bothers me about this and all other meat analogues is the mind set of eating meat at every meal is perpetuated.
I have met far too many vegans living on this stuff who have no idea how to make a vegan meal without it.
Too bad.
When I saw the first picture, I immediately thought of Superbowl, barbecues, potlucks, etc. I agree with Jenna, though, the processed “meats” shouldn’t be a diet staple. I think of them as an occasional treat or something to bring to the above-mentioned kind of functions. I didn’t know Trader Joe’s carried the mini buns – how cute! TJ’s also has seitan chunks in BBQ sauce that are pretty good, too.
These look great! A great substitute, but a little redundant on the title explanation. Probably covering all bases, ya know?
FoodFeud – Me too! So glad TJ’s made them vegan.
Tiffany – I only like certain BBQ sauces, I’m thinking it might be fun to try to make my own sauce.
Will Parkinson – I like a lot of the Gardein products too, there’s so many of them now.
Jenna – Mock meats doesn’t really bother me, it’s just another option for some people to be vegan and still enjoy food that’s similar to what they’re used to.
Christina – Exactly, the idea of mock meat doesn’t bother me as much as how processed some of these types of food can be. Although you could just make a batch of seitan at home and pour bbq sauce on it – it’s basically what this is.
Noelle – Probably! :-)
I haven’t seen these little mini burger buns at Trader Joe’s yet. I’m going to look for them at my next visit. There’s something about mini food that just says “party.” This has my wheels turning…
Fascinating- I hadn’t seen nor heard of these before! Yay for more alternatives, even though the flavors really aren’t my style.
I’ve recently started a vegan diet (the engine2diet) to be exact and I’ve found it to be a wonderful experience. I’ve got more energy and have already started to feel lighter (some weight loss). As you probably know, the engine2diet doesn’t allow any kind of oils. I haven’t done too much research on seitan, but I’ve heard that it has a very hearty texture/flavor which makes a great meat substitute. I have to find out if the Engine 2 Diet allows Seitan.
“I’m such a sucker for trying new vegan items I see at the store.”
I’m the same! On my recent visit to London there were all these things I hadn’t tried before… It took me almost half an hour to decide what to take.