Things That I'm into: Upton's Naturals

We randomly came across this brand at whole foods the other day, and since I am quite the fake meat expert, I decided to try it out. I felt affirmed in this choice when the check out dude at whole foods was raving about it and told us that once we tried it we'd never go back to other types of soy products..

First of all, it's not soy, which is kind of great because I've been reading some scary things about soy lately. Not any scarier than scary stuff about other things I still indulge in (alcohol, dairy, etc.), but scary enough to want to limit my consumption. So yeah- it's seitan- which is a wheat gluten.  High in protein, low in fat, and less processed than most soy.

Second of all, it's local, which is great. Made in Skokie.

Third of all, it's really really delicious. We used the chorizo in a pretty basic "burrito bowl" (seitan + black beans + lettuce + cheddar + salsa + jalapenos) and it was seriously one of the best I've ever had.

Fourth of all, it's cheap. Two packages for five dollars at whole foods right now! I bought both the chorizo AND the italian sausage when I went back the other day.

Fifth of all, look at their mustaches! Love their mustaches.