Thursday, December 16, 2010

Vegan baby


So it's been a while! How's it going? For me, it's been ups and downs. A lot of pizza downs and tofu scramble ups. But I've got a new revived energy and focus. To lose this baby weight! Actually I'm almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy and have 4.4 pounds to go to lose it all. But I could stand to lose a few (or 50) more from there. That's my goal.
So this is being vegan on a diet. I'm going to the gym and have a low calorie goal every day. I hate counting calories and don't want to do it forever but it works so that's what I'm doing. And zumba. I highly recommend this class if you haven't done it. It's so fun and you basically just dance for an hour and burn like 600 calories.
Anyhoo, today I made a delish tofu scramble seen above and slightly modified version given to my 8 month old. She loved it!

Here's the recipe:
4 oz extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled
3-4 slices portobello mushroom, chopped
1 slice white onion chopped
1 garlic clove pressed
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 slices avocado
3 cherry tomatoes
Salt to taste
Turmeric for color

Heat oil in small sauté pan on medium. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until soft. Add tofu and turmeric and continue to cook until hot. This is what I served to my baby (about 1 oz from the recipe) with some small chunks of avocado mixed in. Serve on plate with tomato and avocado and salt to taste.
Really good and about 260 calories (probably 300 if you don't have a baby to share with)! I'm going to keep on trying different veggies to see which ones are yummy. I think tomorrow I'll do spinach and mushroom.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's not what you think

Morningstar farms breakfast sausage is really good but I've been wanting to pair it with some kind of eggs. I'm not a big egg eater but there are certain times you need em. Like in a breakfast burrito.
On the other side, I've been experimenting with tofu recipes and have found that I don't like it very much because the consistency is like a hard boiled egg.
I'm slow I guess.
So yesterday I realized.... Duh... I can use tofu as an egg substitute for cooked eggs! Hello!
I found a recipe (if it's even considered that) of extra firm tofu, crumbled and sauteed in oil with turmeric (for color) and salt and pepper. It turned out exactly like scrambled eggs! I also cooked up a sausage patty and crumbled that and wrapped it up in a flour tortilla. Voilà! Breakfast burrito!
Today I added avocado and salsa. Way better! So I'm so excited because now I have a hearty breakfast option that doesn't consist only of bread or fruit. Try it out sometime! See if you even notice a difference!! I'm also thinking of all the recipes I thought were dead to me forever that I can now enjoy! Like my mom's popeye special (or spinach and egg yum-yum would describe it well)! I'll share the modified recipe later.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Hummbocca pocket


Say that three times fast! It's getting down to the wire here on groceries so this is what I came up with for lunch today. A bocca burger, cooked and halved, put into a toasted pita pocket with hummus. More veggies would've probably made it better but alas low on groceries. However, using hummus for a sandwich spread was ingenius and I highly recommend it especially if you don't like mayo. It adds more flavor and nutrients. Tonight I'm making crock pot chili but I'm going to experiment by adding tvp for my meat eating guests! I'll let ya know how it turns out!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

It's good for me and that's the only reason I continue to eat


I was really excited about this recipe.
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/asparagus-stirfry-recipe.html
1. I had all the ingredients in house already
2. I've been wanting to use up some of these ingredients including especially the asparagus and tofu
3. Asian food sounded yummy

Not so much. It wasn't horrible by any means but it's one of those things that you eat just to clear the plate. Husband liked it and said "I'm easy". I added some teriyaki sauce to try to spice it up but ehh, it pretty much tasted the same. Oh well. At least I know I'm getting awesome nutrients from the asparagus and spinach especially.
Happy vegging

Yummy hummy


This is the hummus recipe I made up for lunch today! It makes a lot so I'm not eating it all today!
2 cans garbanzo beans, mostly drained
Jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
About 4 kalamata olives, pitted
About 4-8 cloves garlic depending on how much you like
About 2 tbsp tahini
About 2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon juiced
About 1 tsp Italian seasoning to taste
About 1 tsp sundried tomato dipping seasoning

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Serve with pita chips!

Enjoy!

I'll be experimenting with new hummus recipes. Do you have any interesting hummus ideas? I'll try em if you post em!