An Easy Tofu Recipe!

My boyfriend and I watched too many food documentaries (I'll probably write a blog post about those soon) and we took a lot out of them.  One thing that we are trying to do is reduce the amount of meat we consume.  One way we do this is by cooking with tofu occasionally.  I stumbled across this recipe and decided to try it out with a few of my own modifications.  Let's start by talking about choosing tofu.  Tofu comes in different consistencies labeled by how firm they are.  When replacing meat with tofu, I use the firmest tofu because it cooks and feels more like meat.  Softer tofu can be used in smoothies as a protein boost or blended into soups instead of cream.  I have experience cooking with extra firm tofu now so I will share a few hints.  First, press your tofu.  This means remove the tofu from the packaging, place it on an absorbent, clean dish towel, cover it with another dish towel, then place something very heavy (like a pot full of water) on top to create enough pressure to remove some of the water.  Although you will remove a significant amount of water this way, it is also a good idea to dry fry the tofu.  Dry frying removes excess moisture so that the tofu can absorb the maximum amount of flavor from a marinade instead of still being so filled with water that it can't absorb the marinade properly.  Slice the tofu into 1/2 in thick pieces and place them on a cast iron or anodized dry skillet on medium heat.  Let the pieces cook on both sides until they begin to brown a bit.  If you press down on the pieces with a spatula as they cook, you will hear a sizzling sound as excess water evaporates.  Now your tofu is ready for marinade.  You don't HAVE to use this method, but it will help your tofu develop flavor from marinades instead of the stereotypical bland tofu people love to hate.  I have listed my modified recipe below as well as some photos so enjoy!

I started out with some organic sprouted tofu (different than traditional tofu because it is made from sprouted soybeans giving it more nutrients and making it easier to digest)

I pressed then cut it into cubes.  I placed the cubes in the following marinade for about 1 1/2 hours (tossing often):
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp non-GMO corn starch
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sriracha or chili sauce
1 tbsp unrefined sugar

this is what my tofu looked like while marinating...

Here are the ingredients and recipe (minus the marinade) with my modifications:

What you need:
2 blocks of extra firm, organic tofu
2 lbs of baby bok choy, trimmed
1 lb udon noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup reserved cooking water from udon noodle preparation
1 tsp unrefined sugar
2 bunches of green onions/scallions, sliced
3 tbsp sesame oil
salt & pepper to taste
crushed red pepper to taste

Mmm...I love bok choy

Once you marinate your tofu, place a tbsp of sesame oil on a non-stick surface (I used a Calphalon griddle).  Sear the tofu on medium heat until both sides are golden brown while adding salt and pepper to both sides.  Set the tofu aside and keep it warm, if possible.  Cook your udon noodles according to package instructions and reserve a cup or so of the starchy cooking water.  Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water so that you stop the cooking process (otherwise, they get sticky). 

Cooked and cooled udon noodles

In a large, high-sided skillet or pot, saute the bok choy in about 2 tbsp of sesame oil.  Continue to toss and saute the bok choy until it has all wilted.  Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sugar.  Add the green onions to the pot.  Add the reserved noodle water, soy sauce, and remaining tbsp of sesame oil to the pot.  This will create a brothy sauce around the veggies.  Let this broth come to a simmer in the pot then add in your cooled udon noodles.  Continuously toss the noodles in the veggies and broth until evenly coated and warm.  You want to remove the noodles from the heat as soon as they are warm so as not to cook the noodles further.  Serve the noodles and bok choy in bowls and top with you seared tofu.  It makes for a beautiful, healthy meal. 

Finished product

Do you have a favorite tofu recipe?  Feel free to share with us in the comments!  I encourage everyone to try tofu that is properly seasoned and prepared.  It can make for a tasty, healthy protein addition to many meals.  Enjoy!

Quinoa - Burgers & More!

At first, I was skeptical about quinoa.  I am starting to love it more and more as I realize how versatile it is!  It is such a healthy whole food.  Technically, it is a seed, but it is widely considered a whole grain and it can be prepared just like/instead of many popular whole grains.  Anyone can successfully cook quinoa, regardless of cooking experience (1 part quinoa, 2 parts water, pinch of salt, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook until the water is absorbed).  Most quinoa is farmed in Bolivia and there is some controversy lately since there has been a boom in the popularity of quinoa.  A lot of farms have difficulty keeping up with the demand while also maintaining worker safety/fairness.  Therefore, if you use quinoa, be sure to purchase Fair Trade Certified quinoa.  This certification means all kinds of positive things for the farmers and the land.  Anyway, I digress.  What do you do with quinoa?  Quinoa can be eaten solo/mixed with veggies as a side dish (tasty when you replace the water with broth) or incorporated into recipes that call for whole grains (tabbouleh, veggie burgers, quinoa salad, etc).  In other words, it is versatile, can be served hot or cold, and provides unprocessed nutritional value.  First, you need to find quinoa.  You can find it at most grocery stores and you can find a wide variety of quinoa at natural grocers like Whole Foods (where I do 100% of my grocery shopping).  At Whole Foods (and the other natural grocers), quinoa is either available in bulk or prepackaged.  I buy Alter Eco Fair Trade brand organic quinoa.  They have different varieties, but I enjoy the rainbow quinoa:

Rainbow just means it a combo of pearl, red, and black varieties of quinoa.  Some people hypothesize that black quinoa has more antioxidants than pearl.  Who knows.  I often need to take my lunch with me to work so sometimes it is easiest to eat something that tastes good cold or hot (I prefer hot but I don't always have time to warm food up).  I found a recipe for Southwestern Vegetarian Quinoa (follow the link for the recipe) and I omitted the tomatoes, since I dislike fresh tomatoes.  It was delicious cold or hot but it made waaayyy more than I could ever eat in a couple of days.  Next time, I will reduce the recipe.  There are beautiful pictures of the quinoa on the blog with the recipe but this is how mine looked (before adding avocado):

Please excuse the obnoxiously pink bowl.  I should have taken more photos.  Anyway, this would work well as a side dish (warm) or as a salad (cold).  The beans add a nice touch of extra protein so this is really filling!  I prefer quinoa warm so I decided to try out a new recipe today.  I made quinoa burgers (follow the link for the recipe).  I followed the recipe for the most part but I cooked my quinoa a little differently (as I described above), and I used Fage 0% Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese.  I did a test burger in a skillet with olive oil and I didn't like the way the burger absorbed the olive oil (adding a heavy flavor and extra calories).  Instead of pan frying them in olive oil, I used a Calphalon griddle with a touch of olive oil spray.  They did not stick and the correct flavors prevailed.  They were so good!  Even my quinoa-skeptical boyfriend enjoyed them :)

my quinoa burgers cooking on the griddle

I am still experimenting with quinoa and I will gladly share any recipes I try and enjoy.  I only post recipes to my blog that I have tried myself and I will always include any modifications I make.  I don't want to plagarize other peoples' blogs so I will include links to recipes I use instead of just copying and pasting them with no credit to the author.  I just hope those recipes aren't stolen from someone else!  I digress again.  If you've never tried quinoa, I hope you find inspiration here to try it for yourself.  If you are already a quinoa lover, I hope I provided you with new recipes.  If any of my readers come across a recipe for quinoa that you love, please comment and share!  Happy cooking :)

Green Monster...You'll Just Have to Trust Me on This :)

Some people sweat by green monster smoothies.  I had never heard of them until a few months ago.  I always looked from afar and judged them in my head.  Finally, I tried the Naked brand Green Machine bottled smoothie.  It was good!  I read the label and began to wonder why there was NO fiber in the smoothie if it was made of only fruits and veggies.  This seemed pretty sketchy to me and probably means the company processes the ingredients more than I would like.  I decided to make my own.  It tasted better than the Naked smoothie and it had so many more nutrients!  Here are photos of the Naked brand smoothie and the one I made at home:

My homemade green monster smoothie (10g fiber)

Naked brand green smoothie (no fiber)

I know, I know, it's green and it probably looks gross to you.  This is why I said you have to trust me.  You do not taste the spinach and it tastes like a fruit smoothie.  I have included the base recipe and how to add on/improve the smoothie to your own liking. 

Recipe for Green Monster (shown in my photo):
2 1/2 cups of fresh baby spinach (rinsed & drained)
1 pear (cut into pieces)
1 banana (cut into pieces)
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in a blender (I find putting the solids on top helps blend).  Blend until the smoothie is uniform in color - stirring if you need to.  Enjoy!

I did a lot of research on how to make the ideal green monster smoothie.  Ultimately, it is up to you to alter the ingredients to your liking.  I used fruits pale in color to maintain the green color of the smoothie and avoid a brown smoothie.  You are welcome to try berries and other fruits if you are OK with a brown smoothie ;).  The green monster base is the spinach, a banana, ice, and a liquid.  You can edit the other ingredients to suit you.  I use coconut water as the liquid because it has many fewer calories than juice, but it is rich in nutrients like potassium, unlike water.  I use Fage 0% nonfat Greek yogurt to add protein and probiotics but feel free to use another dairy or non-dairy source.  Some people like to add honey to their smoothies to add sweetness but I find that the smoothie was sweet enough on its own.  You WILL find recipes online calling for artificial sweeteners, sugar, or juice.  Why spoil something that is so good naturally?  Naturally occurring sugars from fruit do not have the same effect on your body as refined sugars and artificial sweeteners and many fruit juices are from concentrate with added sugar.  I think you will find the smoothie to be delicious on its own without these sugary additives.  Some ideas for added health benefits would be adding ground flax seeds, chia seeds, rolled oats, or protein powder.  Now it's your turn to try it out and let me know what you think and what additions you come up with!