What I Ate Wednesday #11

 

Wow, here we are and another week passed. It was a pretty crazy day, not much time for cooking, but I made it work.

Breakfast: “Tofu Florentine” with Field Roast Apple Sage Sausage and spicy garlic jalapeno Dayia cheese on a toasted English muffin.

Stats: 325 calories, 12g fat, 23g protein, 6g fiber, 9%dv calcium, 22%dv iron.

Mya’s day off started with playing Lala Loospy’s in a box!  I wish I was nine again. 

While I cleaned up from breakfast, I thought I should whip up some of my new favorite dessert/protein bites “black bean brownies”.

Check out these ingredients…1/4c Raw cacao, can of black beans, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tbs. instant coffee, 1/4 c. walnuts, 1/3 c. coconut oil, pinch baking powder, tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/4 banana and 1oz tofu as an egg replacer.

Did I mention these are flour free! They make a healthy alternative to regular brownies.  They are totally addictive.

I placed all my ingredients, except chips and walnuts, into the food processor and blended until smooth.

I poured that mixture into a lined 8”x8” glass pan and baked at 350 for 40 minutes. They come out soft.  Lift the parchment out of the dish and onto a cooling rack.  Let cool and then refrigerate.  The coconut oil will firm them up in the fridge, but they will still be perfectly gooey and chewy.

Once cool, cut into 16 squares. These are perfect as a snack or dessert.

Stats per brownie. 117 calories, 6g fat, 2 g protein, 2g fiber, 8g sugar.

We were out so long today, I did not eat anything from breakfast at 7:30am until 2:30pm. Starving!!!! I never miss meals.

I came home and we all wanted to eat quickly.  So I got some water boiling, heated up some sauce with a bag of Trader Joe’s vegan meatballs. I added TJ’s corn pasta and 11 minutes later, dinner. I love that the corn pasta is gluten free, it has such a great texture.

My bowl was one serving pasta, 4 meatless meatballs and 4oz. sauce.  The stats for my bowl: 365 calories, 7g. fat, 16g protein, 6g fiber.

Lastly, a 1/2 bowl of cereal around 6:30 was needed to keep me going.  It was a perfect mix of  a few cereals and some almond milk.

The busy day came to an end with several cups of decaf herbal tea. Sadly, my day of normally colorful veggies was severely lacking in that area.  I can feel the difference.  I am making a huge salad today.

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

 

What I Ate Wednesday #10

 

What a gorgeous day!  Here is my What I Ate Wednesday (Tuesday). 

Upon waking this morning, it was already sixty degrees. I love that.  The sun rises early now and I have enough time for a round of cardio and a workout before making my fabulous breakfast.

Today was a tofu scramble with a ton of veggies. For me and Andy to share, I cooked up, one small sweet potato, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 cup hot peppers, 1/2 cup sweet peppers, 2 cups of chopped kale, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup of corn, 1/2 cup low sodium diced tomatoes and 1/2 block tofu.  I poached my tofu, then seasoned it with turmeric, nutritional yeast, and Mrs. Dash. I mixed it in the pan with the veggies for a few minutes, then  I served it and topped our plates with a tablespoon of salsa and some chopped avocado.

I have a large appetite by breakfast.  I am usually up for three hours before I eat. This was one filling breakfast. It was loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber.  Perfect to start a busy day. 

Stats for this whole plate: 260 calories, 9g fat. 16g protein, 222 mg sodium, 7g fiber, 22% daily iron, 20% daily calcium.

Mya wanted a whole grain waffle and protein shake.  She had a mile run today for her third grade class and she wanted to be fueled.  I guess she was smart in her choice because she placed first with an under 8 minute mile! Not bad for a nine year old.

After some office work and a shower I was ready to make lunch.  I usually do not eat tofu twice in a day, but I had some tofu steak marinating since Monday in the fridge, so I thought a salad with pan grilled tofu steak would be a perfect veggie and protein lunch.

I chopped in thin slices, julienne style, cucumber, radishes, and carrots. Then, I added thin slices of mixed bell peppers, onion, baby spinach, basil, tomato, red cabbage, romaine, and kale.  It was very colorful. 

I made a dressing that I found on Chef AJ’s site, called Take Five dressing. It was lemon juice, water, miso, date syrup (I used agave), and Dijon.  I thoroughly coated the salad with it before serving. It was so good, and completely fat free!   I allowed the dressing to sit and thicken while my tofu got golden on each side in my cast iron pan.  When the tofu was done, I topped my salad with it and added some sesame seeds on top.

The stats for this hearty plateful: 263 calories, 8 fat, 15g protein, 5g fiber, 18% daily calcium, 26% daily iron

After running around this afternoon, I was hungry when I returned home.  I served us up some fruit with soy yogurt blended with vanilla protein and Uncle Sam cereal on top for extra protein and fiber. For the fruit, I chopped up a very small granny smith, a few tablespoons of defrosted mango and 1 small banana. I served Andy 2/3 of this combo with the yogurt and cereal topping.

Stats for this bowl: 231 calories, 4g fat, 9g protein, 6g fiber,  27% daily calcium, 18% daily iron

More running around.  I got home later than expected and we were all hungry and Andy had to go out right away, so instead of the dinner I had planned, we improvised. 

Tofurky and veggie stuffed whole grain pita, and some sweet potato chips on the side. The pita was something new I tried. It was an Arnold’s Pocket Thins.  I lined the inside with just a tiny bit of Vegenaise, romaine, tomato, onion, and two slices Tofurky.  It was quite good, jut not the healthy dinner I intended.

Stats for this plate: 342 calories, 15g fat, 14g protein, 10g fiber, 7% daily calcium, 8% daily iron.

After homework and office work, it was 6:45 and I needed something sweet and cold.  I had 3 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s Cherry Chocolate Soy Creamery in a small cone.  That stuff is too good.  I prefer it to dairy anytime.  I forgot to take a pic before I took two bites!

Stats for my small cone: 120 calories, 4g fat, 1g protein, 1g fiber. 

I had a few cups of coffee with coconut creamer that were not pictured.  My total day came in at just under 1400 calories, and my nutritional requirements were met. For exercise today, I did 45 minutes of cardio and a 1/2 hour extreme circuit of upper body and abs..

I hope you all have an awesome Wednesday!

Sunday Tofu Steak & Veggie Grill Packs

 

It is Sunday, 80 degrees, sunny, and beautiful outside.  Dinner must be on the grill.  After inventorying the veggies and protein options, I settled on making grilled tofu steaks, veggie packs, and salad.

I had Wildwood super firm tofu.  It has a thick texture that can withstand marinating and grilling.  I created a “steak” marinate by combining a mixture of 2 tbsp. olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a few shakes of liquid smoke, some Braggs liquid aminos, a tsp. of Dijon, 1/2 tsp. grain mustard, and 2 tbsp. water and a dash of toasted sesame oil.  I whisked it until it was emulsified.  Then I blended in sea salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash Steak seasoning.  The marinade actually tasted like grilled steak.  It is amazing. I sliced the tofu into 1/4 inch pieces and marinated them for one hour, turning once. 

While the tofu was marinating, I prepared my grill packs.  I used baby potatoes, which I microwaved for 3 minutes to par cook, chopped mixed bell peppers, red onions, corn kernels and I thinly sliced one field roast Italian sausage into the mix.  I tossed it all with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper. I placed it in a Reynolds hot bag, (I had a sample from last year), I usually just use foil.

After I removed the tofu from the marinade, I sliced 1 zucchini length wise into four pieces and placed it in the remaining marinade for a few minutes while the grill was heating.

The grill pack was place directly on the grill.  I put the tofu and zucchini on a grilling tray.

While everything cooked on the grill I made a small salad for the side dish.  It was baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, onion, pepper, cucumber and some blush vinaigrette.

The veggies cooked for 10 minutes on each side, so dinner was ready in 20! The foil bag was outstanding, no leaks!

Everyone approved, even Molly the Elf!

Have a great Sunday!

What I Ate Wednesday #9

 

For me, today was all about veggies and whole grains.  I figured I would take a day break for my normal fabulous breakfast of a tofu scramble, for something a little more classic. Cold cereal. Jazzed up cold cereal, that is.  Full of protein, fiber, antioxidants and superfoods.

Here is my ultimate cereal bowl: A blend of a few cold cereals, Uncle Sam’s for protein and fiber, Unsweetened Shredded Wheat-fuls for fiber and because I love them, organic Cornflakes for crunch, Puffed Wheat for low calorie volume and a tiny bit of Flax Plus Granola for a touch of sweetness and crunch.

One top are my super stars, hemp seeds for protein, chia seeds for essential fatty acids, dried goji berries for antioxidants, raisins for sweetness, banana for volume, flavor and potassium, dried tart cherries and cranberries for more flavor and antioxidants, and some crushed pecans for crunch and additional efa’s.

The milk is my absolute favorite, Almond Breeze  “Almond Coconut Milk”.  It is to die for good. It does have some sugar, I limit myself to using it just for cereal.  I use unsweetened almond milk in my smoothies.  On my cereal, I will walk the extra five minutes for the 30 additional calories of the almond coconut milk.  The  almond coconut is 60 calories per cup, the unsweetened almond milk is only 35 calories per cup.  But it pales in comparison to taste when drinking it straight.

This is a much more calorie dense breakfast than I usually eat.  I needed the energy for an intense workout ahead. Here are the stats for this big bowl that kept me full till lunch. Nuts and seeds have a lot of fat, but it is quality fat that is necessary for our brains, so don’t let that number scare you. The sugar came from the banana (8g) and the raisins and cranberries.

Stats: 490 calories, 20g fat, 16g protein, 18g sugar, 17g fiber, 50% daily calcium, 37% daily iron

Onto lunch. Ever since I made polenta on Easter, Mya has been asking for it again and again.  So, I figured I would make it for our lunch and Mya’s after school snack. 

I started by making corn grits in a large pot using water with low sodium vegetable cubes instead of plain water and salt.  When it was thick and just about done, I added a small handful of Daiya cheese, and some herbs and spices.  I poured the polenta into a greased casserole dish to cool. 

While my polenta cooled, I cooked up some veggies for on top.  Onions, portabella, kale, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and white kidney beans.  The polenta was cut into 10 squares and was topped with the veggies and some Daiya cheese. Then placed in a pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes to warm through and melt cheese.

One slice prepared below was one serving.

Stats per serving: 278 calories, 5g fat, 11g protein, 6g sugar, 8g fiber, 14% daily calcium and 23% daily iron.

After lunch Andy and I shared a leftover slice of Raw Coconut Cream Pie from Easter.  It was a slice of heaven! Calories don’t count if sharing this small slice, right?

After forcing myself through my second round of cardio while still being sore from yesterday’s boot camp, I was ready to make dinner. Not pictured,  I shared a small mixed berry protein shake with Andy and Mya while while I prepared dinner to go in the oven.

I was really looking forward to this meal.  Tempeh “Meat”Loaf with baby new potatoes, corn and a hot carrot and apple muffin. Heavenly…I am so glad I pushed through the cardio to enjoy this meal!

Stats for 1 plate serving, which includes 1 slice tempeh loaf, 1 muffin, 1 medium potato, 1/3 cup corn, and 2 tsp. earth balance buttery spread.

Stats for plate: 521 calories, 12g fat, 19g protein, 12g fiber, 6g sugar, 8% daily calcium, 25% daily iron.

 

I hope you also had a wonderful day of meals.  I know we enjoyed them all.  Maybe too much!  Have a great Wednesday.