Meatless Monday: Baked Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry

6 May, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

I, like many humans, am victim to cravings. Most of the time these come in the form of cheeseburgers or chocolate, but after a weekend like this last one (three days of beer, Mexican food, tequila, and family style pasta platters), I want an IV of vegetables straight to the vein.

Senior weekend, we’re done. It’s not you, it’s me.

Yep, we’re moving on. It’s a new week and Meatless Monday is never a bad way to get back on the slender track. Today’s recipe is ideal for tofu novices, as its marinade and cooking process are about as easy as can be. Better yet, it’s the perfect opportunity to use up the scraps of vegetables left in your fridge. Waste not, want not.

Baked Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry
Calories: 277 | Fat: 6.7 g (Sat Fat: 0.8 g) | Carbohydrate: 30.5 g | Protein: 22.3 g

ingredients:
1/4 package extra firm tofu, pressed
1/2 T chopped garlic
2 T teriyaki sauce
1 T stir fry sauce
chopped vegetables of choice– I used 1/4 C each of mushrooms, onions, asparagus (from frozen), broccoli (from frozen), bell pepper, and baby carrots
1/4 C liquid egg whites
1 package Tofu Shirataki noodles, drained according to package instructions
sriracha, to taste

directions:
1. Slice your tofu into 1″ squares. In a small container, combine your teriyaki sauce and garlic. Add tofu and toss to coat. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least an hour.
2. Preheat your oven to 400°. Place your tofu squares on a small baking sheet coated with PAM and bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3. While your tofu is baking, coat a large nonstick skillet with PAM and stir fry your vegetables over medium heat until softened.
4. Push the veggies over to one side of the pan and pour the liquid egg whites in the empty section. Scramble and then stir cooked eggs into the veggie mix.
5. Add the remaining teriyaki sauce, stir fry sauce, and noodles; toss to coat. Lower the heat, and cover until tofu is ready.
6. Top your noodles with the baked tofu squares, a drizzle of sriracha and enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Amy’s Kitchen Light & Lean Spaghetti Italiano Bowl

29 April, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

You’ve probably already noticed, but I’m not real big on frozen dinners. Most days, I’m pretty willing to put forth the bit of foresight and planning in order to prepare fresh, homemade meals for myself… And then there are the times when I’m being a human and things don’t go as planned, or I have to make time for things that are more important than my budding domesticity.

Enter: the frozen meal.

I picked out this little guy at Central Market in the beginning of my Meatless Monday adventure. I had a feeling that there would come a moment when Monday evening just wasn’t the most opportune time to be experimenting with foreign proteins like tofu and tempeh.

Of course I didn’t blindly choose this box. Word to the wise, never purchase any processed or pre-prepared food without checking out the nutrition label. I flipped this frozen find over and noted that it had 240 calories, 5 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbohydrate (5 of which are from fiber), and 11 grams of (vegan) protein. Into my cart it went with the Slender Student seal of approval.

The best part about finally ripping into this bad boy was realizing that our microwave was broken just as I was ready to heat it up. Fortunately, there were oven directions and I wasn’t quite starving (yet). I popped it in the oven at 375º for 35 minutes. While that was baking, I quickly sautéed some frozen broccoli and asparagus with baby kale to have on the side. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, I sprinkled a tablespoon of fresh Parmesan cheese over top and let it brown a bit.

Overall, this was a pretty satisfactory frozen dinner. The tomato sauce tasted fresh, not fakey. The meatballs had a hearty texture and their flavor was slightly reminiscent of falafel. I was disappointed by their number and size, but for less than 250 calories, I’ll take it. The noodles were mushy, but that might’ve been because of the whole oven situation. Now, I’d be lying to you if I told you this low calorie meal held me over until bed, but its moderate protein content made it the perfect pre-game for my chocolate Greek froyo so I’m really not complaining.

I’ll definitely be trying more of Amy’s Kitchen Light & Lean meals and with finals coming up, you can bet my freezer is stocked.

Mediterranean Quinoa

25 April, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

If you live in Texas and want to limber up before summer, you have until 3 pm CST today to enter to win a FREE WEEK for you and a friend to Sunstone Hot Yoga & Hot Pilates.

Mediterranean Quinoa | The Slender Student Mediterranean Quinoa
Calories: 177 | Fat: 4.2 g (Sat Fat: 0.5 g) | Carbohydrate: 28.6 g | Protein: 6.6 g

ingredients:
1/2 C cooked quinoa (I prefer to purchase mine frozen for convenience; if you’re using dry quinoa, keep in mind that it triples in volume after it’s been cooked)
1/4 C sliced onions
1/4 C sliced mushrooms
1/4 C roasted red bell pepper (available jarred in most groceries where the canned vegetables are)
1 T sliced olives
1 T reduced fat feta cheese
PAM Original nonstick spray

directions:
1. If you’re cooking your quinoa from dry, do that first according to the directions on the package
2. Heat a small skillet coated with PAM over medium-low heat.
3. To the pan, add your sliced onions and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are softened and translucent.
4. Add in the roasted pepper, sliced olives, and (cooked or frozen) quinoa. Cook until everything is heated through.

Pan-Seared Tilapia + Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes

23 April, 2013 by Claire | 2 Comments

Texas kids, did you miss last week’s hot pilates/hot yoga giveaway?
It’s not too late to enter!

I’m all about the lean protein, but eating (and creating recipes with) chicken breast and ground turkey gets pretty boring. The problem is, though, that I’m kind of scared to cook fish. I mean, I dabble in salmon, but anything outside of that strikes me as too exotic.

This tilapia recipe, however, was, like, almost too easy to turn out as well as it did. Aside from the fish, all of the ingredients are things you probably already have or buy regularly. Put them together in this way, though, and you end up with a tender and flaky white fish, topped with a fresh and flavorful sauce that’s versatile enough to keep in your arsenal for future (boring grilled chicken) meals.

Oh, see that mix of quinoa spilling over my plate? Well that recipe is to come. Click “Continue reading…” below for the tilapia recipe and let me know what you think of the new recipe formatting.

Meatless Monday: Tex Mex Tempeh Tacos

15 April, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

There’s no reason why your weekday meals should be boring. Whoever came up with that notion clearly had no idea of the magic that could be created with just one pan and a couple of tortillas.

Tex Mex Tempeh Tacos
Calories: 326 | Fat: 9.5 g (Sat Fat: 0.5 g) | Carbohydrate: 44.5 g | Protein: 14.8 g

ingredients:
1 T minced garlic
1/4 C sliced onions
1/4 C sliced mushrooms
1/2 package of tempeh
1/4 t taco seasoning
2 small corn tortillas
1/4 small avocado, sliced
2 T salsa
PAM Original nonstick spray

directions:
1. In a medium skillet coated with PAM, brown your garlic over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and mushrooms and sauté until softened slightly.
2. Add in your tempeh and continue cooking until your onions are translucent and the tempeh has warmed throughout. Season with taco seasoning.
3. Split the mixture between the two corn tortillas and top with sliced avocado and salsa.