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!

Shredded Chicken 3 Ways: Baked Chicken Eggrolls + Peanut Dipping Sauce

30 January, 2013 by Claire | 1 Comment

Here is your third and final variation of this week’s shredded chicken! If you missed out, check out Monday’s grocery list, prep directions, and BBQ chicken, as well as Tuesday’s no mayo chicken salad.

Baked Chicken Eggrolls + Peanut Dipping Sauce

ingredients per 3.5 oz serving of plain chicken:
2 T Soy Vay teriyaki marinade
2 green onions, chopped
2 t fresh ginger, shredded
1 t garlic, minced
1/2 t chili pepper flakes
2 eggroll wrappers
2 T PB2
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 packet of Splenda
PAM Original nonstick spray

directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400° and coat a baking sheet with PAM
2. Add the Soy Vay to your shredded chicken. If you don’t want to go all the way through with making the eggrolls and prefer to use your Asian chicken on a salad or sandwich, stop here!
3. To the chicken, add your green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili pepper flakes

4. Lay your eggroll wrappers on the baking sheet, rotating them so they are diamond rather than square or rectangular shape. Place your chicken near the bottom corner closest to you and wrap the corner up. Then fold in the sides and continue to roll. Dip your finger in a little water to seal the open flap.

5. After sealing your eggrolls, bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes, rotating halfway through. The wrappers should be slightly browned and crisp when they’re done.
6. While they’re in the oven, prepare the dipping sauce by combining the PB2, sesame oil, soy sauce and Splenda in a small bowl. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Recipe inspired by Just A Taste

Shredded Chicken 3 Ways: No Mayo Chicken Salad

29 January, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

Remember yesterday’s shredded chicken prep? Well here’s how to turn a serving or two of the plain stuff into my super simple no mayo chicken salad. Want a bonus round? Use the same recipe for tuna salad or egg salad.

No Mayo Chicken Salad

ingredients per desired 3.5 ounce serving of plain chicken:
2 T fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 t mustard
1 T Craisins
2 T chopped celery
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
1. Combine everything in a plastic bowl or bag and refrigerate. Aaaaand…yeah, that’s it.

Be sure and come back tomorrow for my Asian take on the shredded chicken! You can use it for salads, stir fries, or as I’ll show you, in a delicious baked eggroll.

If you appreciate the ease of simply heating up a nutritious meal that you actually prepared, try some of my other make-ahead meals: Recipe Week 1, Recipe Week 2, My Fit Dupes, and, of course, Overnight Oats.

Shredded Chicken 3 Ways: Prep + BBQ Chicken

28 January, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

This year I’m committing myself to a better balance of my time. Last semester, if I wasn’t in class or in the library, I was in the kitchen prepping meals for the blog, squeezing in a workout that I was truly too exhausted to do, or taking the hurried pre-downtown shower to try and maintain some semblance of a social life. I found myself spread way too thin and felt constantly stressed by things that shouldn’t stress me out. Now I’m striving to take control of the things I can, let go of the things I can’t, and, most of all, enjoy these last few months I have here surrounded by all of my friends.

It might sound trivial to free up time by preparing make-ahead meals, but you’d be surprised by how how effective this practice can actually be. This week I’m going to be sharing the preparation for shredded chicken and three different recipe variations you can do with it.

Today, we’ll start with how to cook and shred the chicken. I’ll also share how to make some insanely versatile BBQ chicken. Tomorrow we’ll do my no mayo chicken salad and on Wednesday, I’ll give ya the recipe for Asian shredded chicken that you can stuff into baked eggrolls.

directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350° and coat a baking sheet with PAM nonstick spray or a little oil.
2. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and bake on the baking sheet for 20-25 minutes (depending on size), flipping halfway through.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, it will be white throughout and the juices will run clear. Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle it.
4. Shred the chicken either using your hands or by using a mixer.
5. Divide the chicken into ~3.5 ounce portions and separate them into plastic baggies. You decide how many servings of each type of shredded chicken you’d like. For example, I opted for two servings of BBQ chicken, two servings of chicken salad, and one serving of Asian chicken. Your total number of servings will depend on how large your package of chicken was.
6. Add 2T BBQ sauce per desired serving of BBQ chicken and let it marinade in the fridge for at least an hour.

You can use the BBQ chicken on salads, pizzas, sandwiches, quesadillas, or my favorite, a BBQ bowl!

Q+A, Part 1

23 January, 2013 by Claire | Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their nutrition and fitness questions over the last week or so. If there’s something still burning in your mind, ask away!

What’s your go to healthy meal?
My go to healthy breakfast is definitely overnight oats of any/every variation. Being able to prep a breakfast the night before makes all the difference on those early mornings when the thought waking up even a minute earlier makes you want to claw your eyes out. A little tip: the twist top Ziploc reusable containers are the greatest for toting the oats around in your bag without making a mess.

As far as healthy dinners or lunches go, you’ll find me making “scrap salads” or “scrap pastas” much of the time, especially at the end of the week. These consist of any leftover vegetables in my fridge, my last serving of individually frozen chicken breast, and shirataki noodles if I’m taking the pasta route. I like cooking up all of the veggies and chicken in a skillet with PAM, garlic, salt and pepper, layering them on top of lettuce or the noodles and chowing down. This type of meal is a great way to use up veggies without being wasteful and also to bulk up your meal without adding a ton of calories.

I’ve been counting my protein intake and am wondering how much I should be getting? I weigh 115 and am trying to lose fat and gain muscle in preparation for a marathon I’m training for. I’ve been getting between 50-70 grams a day but have noticed that is over the recommended amount for a female of my weight. Any thoughts?
The recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. This standard puts you at 52 grams per day, which is just within what you’ve been consuming. If you’re also regularly exercising with moderate to high intensity, which I assume is part of your training, then you’ll likely need more protein to regenerate the muscles that you’re working. Sounds to me like you’re in the clear, but if you’re still concerned, I’d look for a registered dietitian in your area! If you’re in Austin or Houston, feel free to send me an e-mail and I can give you some more specific recommendations.

Is it worse to eat late at night? Or is that just a myth? I find myself always craving a midnight snack.
Saying that it’s “worse” to eat late at night is likely too grave of a generalization for me to make. Weight gain is the result of inputting more calories than you output. The timing of when you input these calories is less important than how many. That being said, the truth is that your body simply doesn’t need fuel (food) right before bed. If you find yourself consistently getting hungry late at night, try eating a bit more (perhaps in the form of multiple smaller meals) throughout the day. Also, having a dinner higher in protein, whole grains, and healthy fats will help keep you satisfied until bedtime.