Edamame Lo Mein

This recipe is one of my go-to dinners when I'm in the mood for Asian fare.  I borrowed it years ago from Eating Well, but changed a few of the ingredients to suit my taste.  It seems quite simple and plain, but it's full of delicious flavors, and packs some heat if you like cayenne; add a little or a lot.   Protein and veggies included.  There is usually plenty left-over for lunch the next day, woo hoo!

Dinner, lunch, cold or hot!

Ingredients:

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti or udon noodles
1 cup frozen edamame (shelled soybeans)
4 scallions, diced
1/4  cup oyster sauce, or vegetarian oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. pure maple syrup, or Agave
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper (or more if you're crazzzy!)
2 T canola oil
2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 small red bell peppers, cut into matchsticks

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, whisk scallions, oyster sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil and crushed pepper in a small bowl.

3.  Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat.  Add carrots and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, 2-3 min.  Add the pasta and edamame.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is crispy in spots, a few minutes.  Add the sauce and stir to combine.  Makes 4-6 servings.  Enjoy!

Crispy Tender Wrap

Welcome to another addition of faux meat.  As I have said before, I don't cook a lot of processed "meat."  I focus mostly on whole foods. But, for convenience sake, I will eat it about twice a month.  A girl's gotta have her fast food.  Luckily, Gardein makes some pretty decent faux chicken.  Morning Star makes "chicken" nuggets, but I prefer the Gardein Crispy Tenders.  For a quick lunch, I cooked 4 tenders and made 2 wraps for myself.  I cannot take credit for the bomb Thousand Island Dressing in my wrap.  See below for recipe. 

Love chicken tenders in a wrap!

In my wrap:
2 whole wheat flour tortillas, small size
4 Gardein Crispy Tenders
steamed asparagus
avocado slices
grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 T Thousand Island Dressing

Warm tortillas on the stove or in the microwave.  Stuff with cooked chicken and other goodies.  Spoon on some dressing, fold and chow!

Skinny BitchThousand Island Dressing:

Yes, you can eat it with a spoon, it's that good!

1 cup vegan mayo, I like Follow Your Heart (you can find it at Sprouts)
1/4  cup organic ketchup
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 T tomato paste
3 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt (I used 1/4)
dash of Cayenne

Whisk all ingredients together and store in fridge.

Vegan Ranch Dressing

We love our Ranch, don't we?  We put it on salads, veggies, fried foods, even our pizza crust.  I've tried several Ranch dressing recipes, never to be satisfied.  I wanted it to taste like "I-can't-stop-dipping-so-I-might-as-well-drink-it" good.   Here is the recipe I came up with.  It has no buttermilk, egg yolks or MSG (thank goodness)!

Makes a little over 1/2 cup of dressing:

1/2 cup vegan mayo;  Follow Your Heart has the best tasting one, like mayonnaise
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk; or you could use sweetened, whatever your preference
handful of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, rinsed
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, except soy milk.  Slowly add the soy milk last to get desired consistency.  Enjoy!

Seared Tofu with Asian Sweet Sauce

I have to confess a small secret.  I'm not a huge fan of tofu.  Nevertheless, I know the health benefits, and I do need this healthy protein as part of my diet.  So, when I eat tofu, it better be delicious!  That said, here is what I came up with for my tofu.  You want to make this! 

I used a rub on the tofu and then pan-seared it until crisp.  No joke, it tastes like chicken!   The sweet and sour sauce is so delectable, I drizzled it over my bok choy as well.   Speaking of bok choy, this is one vegetable you must try:

** Bok Choy, also referred to as white cabbage, is very popular in Asian cooking.  You've probably eaten it many times and didn't even know it.  It is low-fat, low-cal, and low-carb.  It is high in vitamin-A, vitamin-C, beta-carotene, calcium and dietary fiber.  Some of the vitamins found in this super vegetable are also powerful antioxidants, including folic acid and beta-carotene, which helps reduce the risk of certain cancers and cataracts.  I prefer baby bok choy.

What you need:
4 oz. of organic, extra firm tofu
1 T. safflower oil
1 T. sesame oil

Rub:
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
pepper

Asian Sweet Sauce:
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T pure maple syrup
1 T olive oil
2 tsp. rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk up ingredients for the Asian sweet sauce (taste as you go) and set aside.  Next, in a ramekin, mix up spices for rub.  With a paper towel, gently squeeze out some liquid from tofu, and make 4, 1/4 inch slices.  Rub spices on both sides of tofu slices.  Heat both oils in a frying pan on medium high heat.  Sear tofu about 5 minutes on each side until crisp.  Steam bok choy for 3-4 minutes.  Drizzle sauce over veggies and use as a dip for tofu.  Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.  SO Good!  Enjoy!

This recipe shared on Amee's Savory Dish. Check it out!
Fit and Fabulous Fridays

Breakfast Scramble

On the weekends when I have more time, I like to make a tofu scramble for breakfast.  There is something very satisfying about eating vegetables for breakfast.  They say if you eat a healthy breakfast, it will set you up for healthy eating all day.  This is a perfect time of year to use veggies from your garden to add to your breakfast scramble.  Tofu is low-fat and a good source of calcium, protein, and iron.  It is also known to lower LDL cholesterol.   Tofu may impact you if you have a soy allergy or a thyroid dysfunction (so avoid) otherwise, I believe the health benefits from tofu out weigh any negative connotations.  I eat soy (tofu, miso, tempeh, soy milk) as part of a well-rounded diet of whole foods.   As you can see from this blog, I also eat beans, quinoa, nuts, legumes etc. for additional protein (not just soy).

I can make extra firm tofu taste like scrambled eggs or chicken nuggets.  I am THAT good.

4 oz. of organic, extra firm tofu
1 T reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 T green taco sauce
1/4 cup diced red bell peppers
1/4 cup diced summer squash, what ever veggies you love
Generous handful organic spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Take a paper towel and gently squeeze out the liquid from the tofu.  Then crumble it up in a bowl and set aside.  Spray a saute pan with oil and cook spinach and veggies for 5 -7 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add in tofu , soy sauce, taco sauce and warm through.  Done.  Serve with additional hot sauce or salsa and sweet cornbread for a very satisfying, filling breakfast.

Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta

I'm not lying when I tell you my family ate this meal and had no clue they were eating tofu and soy cheese.  It tasted so yummy and saved us some bad-for-you calories and cholesterol.   I used regular shells because I could not find whole wheat pasta shells for this dish.   The recipe below is for the tofu ricotta, but then you stuff and bake the shells as you normally would.  Use your favorite pasta sauce.  Promise it's delicious!  Give it a try.

BBQ "Chicken" Sandwich

Calling all meat-eaters out there!  All my family members are meat and dairy eaters, but they are always willing to try new things.  I've done a lot of research in the last few years, and I'm always amazed and shocked at the things I discover about health and nutrition, particularly how your body reacts when certain foods are consumed (such as meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine).  I feel as though we are our own advocates for having a healthy body and a healthy life.  I am not a big fan of "faux" meat because it is so processed, but I do eat it once or twice a month.  Here is what I would call a "fast food" sandwich.  You don't have to be a vegetarian to eat soy.  Give soy burgers and soy chicken a try sometime.  What is the worst that can happen?  It tastes delicious and virtually no saturated fat. Your heart will love you.  Details below:

Morning Star makes vegan soy protein called "Meal Starters."  They have ground beef and chicken strips. You can find it in the frozen food aisle of most supermarkets.  The "meat" has no flavor so you have to make something of it.  I found a BBQ sauce that does not contain HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), but it does contain sugar.  Like I said, this is fast food, junk food.  I heated up some "chicken" and BBQ sauce and piled it on whole wheat buns.  Served it up with some corn-on-the-cob and it made a great dinner the family loved!  Give it a try; you'll feel satisfied, satiated, but not heavy and gassy.  No heartburn here!