Breakfast snack…

I am not exactly sure of the origin of this, but I think after you have one, you will be craving this everyday.  I believe there was this one time where I did bring bagels over to Jen’s apartment (when were dating) and we were making breakfast and I toasted the bagels and she made some eggs.  Now a bagel and egg sandwich is a great combination! Nothing wrong with that.

Now, for the weirdness: before you slap on those egg whites…put some peanut butter on both sides of the bagel and then go for the egg goodness.

I know it sounds strange: egg whites, peanut butter and bagels…but again, once you taste it, you will crave it!

Plus, the good part is the double hit on protein that you get from the egg whites and PB, plus throw in a whole wheat bagel…well, thats just tasty goodness.  I am sure they will be serving this in Heaven!

Try it…

The last several weeks have been a epicurious adventure. Trying new things are now quite standard when it comes to food…I love food!

Starting about 3 weeks ago – I tried something at Pei Wei that I thought was going to be more of the same which turned out, surprisingly, awesome! The menu is pretty standard as far as Asian food is concerned – but the choices for your proteins are appealing. There is the usual beef, chicken and goat (ha, are you paying attention?!) As well they have the vegetarian and tofu products as well. I tried the Kung Pao with the Tofu and Veggie combo…I was amazed. You know how normally the restaurants will cube tofu so you know your getting a tofu dish with these big cubes of white jello in your meal just to make you know its not chicken!

However, at Pei Wei, they slice it like its chicken breast, so it gives it a good texture and look. They use the extra firm tofu and pan fry it so when the whole dish comes out, you can’t tell that is not chicken. Plus, the bonus with tofu is that it absorbs the sauce around it and gets really tasty! Any meal at Pei Wei is recommended, especially with the tofu and veggie option. Try it…(by the way: at PF Changs when you order the Kung Pao with Tofu there, it is cubed but very crunchy and with no veggies. Disappointing since I love PF Changs ALOT!)

So a few weeks later, I am curious to try it at home. I have never cooked tofu before, but I was anxious to try. So I did the usual, picked any ‘kung pao’ sauce (you gotta start somewhere) from the grocery store and went home to try. I used the Denver Tofu, extra firm – I like to be able to slice it and it keeps it shape when I fry it, thats why! – and squeezed as much water as I could out of it. I sliced it like they did at Pei Wei and began to pan fry it with a little bit of toasted sesame oil. Very fragrant and it did fry up nice. I then cut up some veggies (onion, garlic, carrot and celery) threw in the pan fried tofu and then sauced it. What came out was very very surprising. Both Jen and I were pleasantly surprised at the result. (Bonus: I found garlic chili sauce, the same kind that they use at PF Changs, and stirred up the sauce that they make at the table – garlic chili sauce, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce. I think I can just about eat this with anything, Asian food, cake, coffee….yeah, its that good!)

So my other adventures have kept me in the Asian food category…we used the tofu to make Thai Chicken (Tofu) Curry. This one is simple as well and takes no time to make. You have to find a good curry (preferably mild) and I recommend going to Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods if your a beginner. Fry up your tofu, extra firm again, set it off to the side – cook up some shallots, throw in the curry paste, coconut milk, chicken broth and let that reduce a little. Throw in your tofu and set this to simmer for about 10 minutes…serve up some rice, throw some fresh spinach on there, pour the Thai Chicken/Tofu over the rice and spinach and then sprinkle some cilantro and green onions and squeeze o’lime and you got yourself a slice of heaven! (Beware: your house will smell like curry until the next day! Its good to air out your house the next day – windows open, put a fleece on…)

 

Tofurky – Latin for “Takes some getting used to…”

This was a find at Vitamin Cottage and rather a pleasant surprise. Tofurky Sausages are unique, I will say that. We bought it, again, since both Jen and I are really trying to incorporate a plant based diet into our lives. I have met some people that are accidental vegetarians and some who are vegetarians who like meat.

Tonites special was sausage and peppers using the Tofurky – both Jen and I looked at each other and kinda laughed. We didn’t think it was going to taste this good. Although, the real test is to make it for my brother-in-law and see if he can tell the difference – if it passes with him then I know this is truly a keeper.

The ones we got tonite are the italian sausage, but there are other flavors: Italian Sausage, Beer Brauts, and Kielbasa. We picked up the Beer Brauts but thought they ‘looked’ a little too green for our comfortability and assurance; we were just not sure what is being put in there…now, I think I will give it a shot.

Tonites recipe: Italian Sausage and Peppers

• 2 Tofurky Italian sausage links
• 2 bell peppers
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bunches (handfuls of fresh spinach)
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes
• 2 cups rotini noodles
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 t. italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut bell peppers and onion into strips. Mince garlic and quarter the tomatoes. Leave the spinach alone…you will throw it in whole (don’t worry it looks like alot when you through it in – but it will shrink as it cooks down.) Cook the rotini noodles according to package directions. Heat up a pan (med heat) and throw in some olive oil (2T) and let it heat up good. Once your pan and your oil is hot your going to have to work fast – you don’t want to overcook the Tofurky – throw in the onions til they are translucent, then throw in the garlic. Let that cook up for about a minute – then throw in your sausage. Let that cook for about 3 minutes, then throw in the peppers. Another 3 minutes and throw in the tomatoes and spinach. Add italian seasoning and salt & pepper to taste. Once the spinach cooks down (this should not take long) then throw in your rotini noodles and sauce, stir to incorporate sauce over all the ingredients and serve.We were quite surprised at the result!

Bon apetit!

Older

Just got back from a week of prodding, poking, undressing, labs and the like – in order to find that I have been getting older all these years.  

I hate that.

My doc says cut back on the beef, like not have any. Too many saturated fats are doing some nice damage inside of me.  Its not that I argued either – I have been looking for an excuse to cut out beef.  But not chicken! But the doc says, the only ones who have been saying that ‘chicken is good for you’ are the cows. Hmmm.

So, what are the options. Fish. Tofu. Spam (kidding.)

This has been coming around for a long time now, but I think I am most likely leaning toward the plant based diet – which means fruits, veggies and …coffee (COFFEE IS A PLANT!) Don’t get me started.As well, I will add the occasional fish and chicken.  I did find this stuff by Fantastic Foods which is a Taco Filling that has a similar taste and texture of actual ground beef. Its made of soy and you will have a hard time knowing if its really soy or not.  Thats how good it is!  I actually made nachoes for the SuperBowl from the taco filling and almond cheese with an organic salsa over nacho chips (ZERO Cholesterol!!!) and no one even knew that it was all good for them!

Wait, did you say almond cheese?  Yes, I did.  You cannot tell the difference either.  They (whoever they are, I will have to get you the name brand) have squeezed those almonds just so – so that you can have milk and cheese as well.  The cheese comes in cheddar, mozzarella and pepper jack. I am sure there are more, I just don’t want to oversell it. 

Last weeks healthfest tour included a trip to the dentist, a trip to my primary care physician (twice), and a nice trip to start rehab-ing my knee <= I like that one the best. 

I will keep  writing of the recipes that I find…there are things out there that I don’t want to eat that squish when its suppose to be chewy or have a granulated texture when its suppose to be creamy…and so on…I am a little apprehensive…I will try to be adventurous and let you know the result.  If its good, I will definitely let you know about it.

Good eating…!