What I Ate Wednesday #13

 

Hi Everyone! I can’t believe it’s my 13th WIAW! This WIAW features my Tuesday meals and snacks with exception of a few cups of my favorite organic coffee.

Today, breakfast was inspired by lemon, again.  It seems I am a bit obsessed by lemon lately.  Luckily, Andy and Mya love lemon as well. So, I thought lemony protein pancakes with a blueberry and lemon infused agave would be perfect.  I was right.  I used a mixture of sprouted whole wheat pancake flour, vanilla protein powder, egg replacer, baking soda and powder with water, lemon juice, lemon zest, and a drop of lemon extract for a light lemony batter.  These cooked up so crisp, light and fluffy.  Perfect.  My syrup was agave, frozen wild blueberries, lemon juice and zest.  I warmed it for a few seconds in the microwave and topped the pancakes with just enough for a sweet lemon blueberry burst.  This was a fabulous cloudy morning breakfast that was filling until lunch.

Midmorning, I prepared lunch so it would have time to absorb all it’s flavor and cool down to serve. 

I have made several versions of tofu “egg” salad, they have all came out well.  This however was different.  For the first time I poached my tofu, the way I do for morning tofu “eggs”.  I cooked it for 10 minutes and then drained it and cooled it in a strainer.  I saved a portion of the tofu to be my “yolk”.  I cooked the “yolk” in a pan with nutritional yeast, turmeric, sea salt and pepper.  Once cool, I added in some vegan mayo, relish, and pepper.

I blended it all together and refrigerated it until we were ready to eat.

To serve, I placed some tofu “egg” salad on top of 20 calorie crispy whole grain crackers, then topped them with baby spinach, onion and tomato.

Leftover Chicken-less Noodle Soup on the side.

Afternoon snack served with coffee…Strawberry Cheesecake Bars.  This is another recipe in progress.  I may save this one for publishing!  These bars taste like a danish with fresh strawberries inside.  The many versions of these test bars have only lasted a day in my house.  They are gluten free, high protein and low calorie.  Ten minutes of prep and 45 minute in the oven and these bars are a decadent delight.

And then there was dinner.  An early dinner.  I whipped up a quick couple of veggie burgers, sweet potatoes and baked beans because Andy was supposed to have an early game.  Just as we quickly polished off the meal…rain out., all games cancelled.  I was still glad to have been able to have an early dinner. I prefer early to late any day.  The burgers were really good, piled high with toppings, and the potatoes were soft and so sweet. Andy’s was on a bun, Mya had hers on bread and I had mine breadless, as usual.

Have another great Wednesday…I hope the rain stays away.  I don’t want to miss another soccer game.

Sunday Stuffed Shells

 

Hi everyone!  Here is a quick look at a fun, quick and easy Sunday dinner, stuffed shells.

I do not make these very often, in fact I think it might be a year since I made them last.  This time I tried a new brown rice pasta instead of wheat.  They offered a cooking method of boiling them for two minutes and then covering and turning off for twenty minutes.  I tried it, and it worked really well.

While I cooked the pasta, I made my tofu-cashew ricotta and set it aside.  It was a perfect consistency for a light, fluffy, cheesy filling.  I season my soaked cashews and tofu with sea salt, pepper, miso, Italian seasoning, garlic, a touch of olive oil and red pepper flakes.  I also added a tbsp. of arrow root to really get the right consistency when cooked.  It is amazing!

Once my shells were cooked, I pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees.  I lined a casserole dish with half a jar of my favorite organic sauce.  Then one by one, I filled my shells with about 2 tbsp. of my ricotta mixture.  When they were all filled, I poured the remaining sauce over the shells and then I shredded some vegan mozzarella over the whole dish and then popped it in oven for 45 minutes. 

I made a small salad to have on the side of my amazing stuffed shells.  I was really impressed with the rice pasta shells and will definitely be using them again.

This was a totally decadent tasting meal and there was very little left over, the whole family enjoyed it.

Mya was super exhausted today after Saturday was spent playing in an early morning regular soccer game, and then participating in a tournament later that afternoon. 

She thought it was best to spend her Sunday making new Lalaoopsy homes out of recycled diorama projects from this year and last.  I wish I was nine!!!!

What I Ate Wednesday #12

What I ate Wednesday is based on my Tuesday meals this week.  It was a busy day between school, work, getting ready for Mya’s violin concert and doing a two week grocery shop. 
After my cardio session, breakfast was my usual tofu scramble for me and Andy.  It was full of peppers, onions, kale, shitake mushrooms, leftover sweet and white potato and tofu of course. I served Andy’s with a whole grain English muffin.


Mya wanted a tofu-egg, “ham” and “cheese” breakfast sandwich.  She ate every bite! 
Once Mya was off to school, it was time to get to the store to grocery shop for a two week supply of healthy foods.  I choose Wegman’s today, which usually fills most of my needs.  I was a little disappointed in the produce today.  They were out of most of what I needed.  It makes me frustrated that there is no shortage of junk food on the shelves, but no priority to have the organic potatoes, yams, mushrooms, kale, and a few other necessities stocked. How can the healthiest foods at the store have bare shelves at 9:00 am? 
Of course, I was getting hungry while checking out, I could smell the hot bar being stocked for lunch. Knowing that as soon as I got home to unpack the groceries, I would be running back out to see a few clients, I  gave in to my craving for Kung Pao tofu.  I ran my groceries to the car, loaded them up and went back in for fresh Kung Pao tofu, steamed veggies and some veggie lo mein.  I do love that they have calories info on tags above each item on the bar, I find it helpful in knowing the serving size before eating.  I filled up a container of tofu and two small veggie spring rolls for Andy and I to share. 
I bought the lo mein cold in a separate container in the pre-packed isle.  Here’s a tip, they only charge $8.00 for two pounds pre-packed, and $8.49 a pound if you buy it hot at the bar.  Two pounds is enough for me, Andy and Mya to eat, and enjoy a second meal.  I knew Mya would love some after school as she prepared for her concert.

Now, let’s talk dessert. I have been obsessively experimenting with baking small bars that are light and more nutritious than dessert to end a meal. 
Last week it was black bean brownies, this week it was LEMON BARS.  Oh how we love lemon.  Each batch that I test bake is gone within 24 hours.  My last batch was perfect. I think I’ve got it!  I am not ready to give out the recipe just yet, it needs a tiny bit of tweaking.  But these are magical lemony decadent bites that are coming in around 80 calories with only 5 grams of sugar.  They are sweet and tart but not in the sickening sweet way some bars are.  They are also gluten free, egg free, and dairy free.  Here is my latest batch. 




I squeezed in my second cardio session before Mya got home.  Once she arrived, I heated her up the lo-mien and tofu so she could eat in plenty of time for her concert. 
I worked in the office for another two hours, then it was dinner before the show.  I decided on a light salad.  I wanted some fruit and nuts on mine, Andy always likes olives and artichokes, Mya wanted a small salad with just spring mix, Italian dressing and some “bacon” bits on top.
My salad was so good.  It was spring mix, strawberries slices, thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced tart apples, a few crushed pecans, some crumbled Daiya Jalapeno Garlic “cheese” and drizzled with some white balsamic vinaigrette.


Andy’s salad was spring mix, grape tomatoes, olives, artichokes, red onion, sunflower seeds, thin sliced of vegan mozzarella, and some white balsamic vinaigrette.


I ended my dinner with a cup of decaf and anther small lemon bar before going to the show.


Mya preformed beautifully.  Although, she has no intention of participating in violin again next year.  She was disappointed she missed a soccer game last night, she asked if she really had to go to the concert, she said her soccer team needed her. So sweet. She loves her soccer team!

I hope you all have an awesome Wednesday!