April | 2010 | Beyond Rice and Tofu

Archive for April, 2010

Where’s the Protein?

Posted in General, Nutrition, tagged nutrition, protein on April 27, 2010| 5 Comments »

When most people hear that I am gluten free and vegetarian (mostly), they wonder how on earth I get my protein for the day. Generally most Americans eat plenty of protein, in fact most probably eat too much, especially those on the standard American diet (SAD). Perhaps this is where the misconception lies that it is hard to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet, let alone with the additional restriction of requiring a gluten free diet. Since as a vegetarian I am not overdosing on burgers and giant chicken breasts, I must not be getting enough protein!

First, let’s review how much protein an average person really needs. The Recommended Daily Allowance for a man is 56 grams and for women, 46 grams.

Out of curiosity, I counted my protein grams one day this week. My breakfast and lunch are pretty much the same every day. I know, boring! But it works for me, mainly for weight control.

3/4 cup Greek non-fat yogurt = 17g (a lot more protein than regular yogurt)

1-1/2 cups strawberries = 1g

1 Tbsp honey = 0g

1 oz baby carrots = 1g

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes = <1g

1 small apple = <1g

String cheese, low fat = 6g

Rice crackers, 1.5 servings = 1.5g

1 cup blackberries =2g

So, where are we after my typical breakfast and lunch? 29.5 grams, not bad. On some days I bring in some non-fat milk for chai and once every couple of weeks I will go across the street from my office and get a Starbuck’s tall non-fat chai. So let’s add that in there at 6g, or 4g if I bring my milk from home. Or, if not a chai, I will allow myself a snack of a rice cake with a bit of almond butter on top. Rice cake: 1g and 1 Tbsp almond butter: 3.5g.

So we’re at 33.5 grams, assuming I had a homemade chai. I only need 12.5 more grams the rest of the day. For dinner, let’s assume we had a tofu stir-fry with rice.

1 cup brown rice = 5g

1-3 oz. serving of tofu = 9g, but I probably had more like 1.5 servings for 13.5g of protein

So where does that leave me? 52 grams and I didn’t even count the vegetables we had with dinner.

Nor did I count the ice cream I had for dessert…we’ll pretend that didn’t happen since I shouldn’t count on it! (But I did go look in the freezer, a chocolate fudge bar has 4g and a 1/2 cup of ice cream has 2g, at least the kinds we have in our freezer right now.)

Now let’s look at some other typical protein sources for lacto-ovo vegetarians. (Remember that lacto-ovo means that we do consume dairy (lacto) and ovo (eggs).)

Yogurt, 1-6oz. container: 5g

Skim Milk, 1/2 cup: 4g

Egg, 1 large, cooked: 7g

Almonds, 1 oz.: 6g

Quinoa, 3/4c cooked: 6g

Chickpeas, 1 cup, cooked: 15g (!)

Cheese, 1 oz.: 7g

Brown rice pasta, 1 cup: 4g

Veggie burger: 5g

So, in reality, if you are eating a healthy, well-balanced, vegetarian diet, getting enough protein shouldn’t be much of a problem. If you are vegetarian and eating mostly junk or processed foods, you may or may not be getting enough. You may want to write down a couple day’s worth of meals and count them up to be sure. I know it has helped me pay a little more attention.

Are you vegetarian? Or partially vegetarian? What are your favorite protein sources?

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Meal Plan Monday, April 26, 2010

Posted in Meal Plan, tagged meal plan on April 26, 2010| 5 Comments »

Woo-hoo! Two weeks in a row now, I have managed to post my meal plan. I think the reason why it feels like such an effort to do this is because I typically don’t go grocery shopping until Tuesday or Wednesday evening during the week. I don’t like shopping on the weekends because it gets way too crowded. And Mondays usually aren’t good because the stores don’t always get their new produce shipments in right away after the weekend, so I prefer to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. So making a meal plan on Sunday instead of Monday or Tuesday night at 9pm feels a bit awkward. It will take some time to get into this habit.

Be sure to check out all the other Meal Plan Monday listings over at Org Junkie.

As I have said before, I usually only make 4 dinner meals a week and rely on leftovers the rest of the week. These are all familiar recipes that have passed the test.

Lentil Salad Provencal

Spicy Tofu with Vegetables and Cucumber Salad from Complete Book of Thai Cooking by Linda Stephen

Mixed Pepper Pizza with salad

Napa Noodles

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Curried Tofu

Posted in Quick, Tofu, tagged bell pepper, curry, Tofu on April 25, 2010| 2 Comments »

This is a good starter recipe. The first time I made this recipe I modified it, which is unusual for me. You can check out the original recipe here. I think I change it slightly each time I make it. My modifications are included below. If you aren’t a fan of tofu, I am sure chicken would work just fine.

Curried Tofu

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

2 tsp oil

1 pound extra-firm tofu *

1/2 tsp salt

1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2 tsp curry powder *

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 can light coconut milk *

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1 – 15 oz can pineapple chunks, drained

1/2 cup fresh basil, torn

Cut tofu into 8 slabs and press between the layers of a clean kitchen towel. Place a heavy pan on top and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, the longer the better. Prepare vegetables while tofu is draining. Cut each slab into 4 pieces.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add tofu and sprinkle with salt. Cook about 5 minutes and then flip over and cook for about 5 minutes, or until it is slightly browned on the edges. Remove from pan.

Add onions to skillet. Saute for about 5 minutes or until they are beginning to soften. Add carrots and bell pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in curry powder and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk. Add peas and pineapple. Gently stir in tofu. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Top with basil and serve with rice.

Notes:

* Extra firm, water-packed tofu is best for stir-frying. You can find it at most large grocery stores.

* I used a different curry powder this time, some Turkish curry powder that my mother-in-law brought me back from a trip. It is getting old and needs to be used. It wasn’t the best flavor for this dish. Next time I will go back to my regular old Spice Island curry powder for this one.

* I prefer to use light coconut milk when I cook. Trader Joe’s has a house brand that works for me.

* The original recipe does not call for onions or green peas but I like them both a lot so I add some every time. I am not a huge fan of the pineapple but yet add it every time. Next time I think I will try to remember to make it without.

* I also used a whole can of coconut milk instead of just 1/3 cup. I wanted to be able to simmer the vegetables in the sauce a bit and 1/3 cup just isn’t enough.

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Tofu Stir Fry

Posted in Rice, Stir Fry, Tofu, tagged bok choy, mushrooms, Rice, snow peas, Tofu on April 25, 2010| 1 Comment »

When stir-frying, be sure to have all your ingredients prepared, chopped and ready to go before you turn on the stove. Start the rice cooker as you begin your preparations and your rice will be ready when dinner is ready.

Many people do not like cooking rice on the stove and so resort to using Minute Rice. I grew up on Minute Rice and have never actually cooked rice on the stove. When I met my husband, he had a rice cooker already and so I learned to use it. Rice cookers do not require any skills to make rice. This is our favorite style of rice cooker. There are other ways to cook rice but I like using a rice cooker because it is one less thing for me to worry about when making dinner; you can turn it on and forget about it. Some of my family members like to use this to cook rice (full disclosure: my mom sells Pampered Chef products). You can also buy frozen pre-cooked rice and microwavable pre-cooked rice bowls at places like Trader Joe’s now too.

If you aren’t a fan of tofu yet, you could use a pound of sliced chicken, or even shrimp, instead.

Tofu Stir Fry

Adapted from Martha Stewart EveryDay Food

1 pound extra-firm tofu *
2 tablespoons soy sauce, gluten free *
1 tablespoon rice vinegar *
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil *
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 small onions, cut into wedges
9 ounces mushrooms *
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 1/4 pounds bok choy, chopped, stem and green pieces separated
1/4 pound snow peas, trimmed
1 inch knob of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water

Slice the tofu into 16 slices (or more) and lay in a single layer on a clean dish towel. Fold the dish towel over top of tofu and then lay something heavy on top like a cast iron skillet or cutting board. This helps remove the extra water from the tofu so that it browns quicker and easier. Leave it for about 10 minutes.

Mix together the soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and pour into shallow baking dish. Place the tofu in a single layer in the baking dish. Let marinate for about 5 minutes, then flip the slices and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

When all your ingredients are chopped and ready to go, heat the oil in your wok or large skillet. Carefully lay in the tofu in a single layer. The oil will splatter because of the water remaining in the tofu. Reserve the marinade from the tofu. Let the tofu cook for about 5 minutes and then flip it over and cook for 5 minutes more, or until it is slightly browned. Remove tofu to a plate.

Add the onions to the hot oil in your pan. Stir until they begin to get brown, 5-6 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and bok choy stems, cook for 3 minutes. Add snow peas and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Add the bok choy leaves and the reserved marinade. Stir up the cornstarch and water mixture again and stir in. Add tofu and heat through. Serve with rice.

Notes:

* For stir-frying, extra firm tofu is best. It comes water-packed in a plastic tray. You will find it in the refrigerated section of large grocery stores.

* If you are cooking gluten free, be sure the soy sauce is gluten free. San-J Gluten Free Tamari and LaChoy brands are both safe. Be sure to watch the labels on the San-J sauces as not everything they make is gluten free.

* Rice vinegar can be found in the Asian food section of most large grocery stores. Be sure to read the ingredients and make sure it is gluten free.

* Toasted sesame oil, yum! This can be found at most large grocery stores with the specialty oils. This is one of my favorite ingredients. The smell is divine. Whenever I use this, my husband always comments that whatever I am making smells wonderful.

* We used shiitake mushrooms for this dish as it is our preferred mushroom.

* I doubled the amount of marinade for this recipe and thought it was just right.

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Thai Tomato Soup

Posted in Soup, Thai, Tomatoes, tagged soup, tomatoes on April 24, 2010| 7 Comments »

I knew we were going to have a busy evening one night this week since we had two new pullets (young hens) coming to live with us along with one pound of honey bees, both on the same day! So I wanted something in my meal plan that was fairly quick and easy.

This was a new-to-us recipe that we enjoyed. I served it with the classic grilled cheese. My grilled cheese was gluten free as it was made on Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Sandwich bread. This bread is wonderful and makes a lovely grilled cheese sandwich, as you can see in the picture below. My husband had his grilled cheese on wheat bread, made separately and carefully from mine, of course.

Thai Tomato Soup

2 tsp oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 inch knob of ginger, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1-1/2 c water

1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp chili paste with garlic *

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c lite coconut milk

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion until tender. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar, chili paste and salt. Remove from heat.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot until smooth. (Or carefully blend the hot liquid in your blender in batches – but be sure to let a little steam escape out from under the lid as you do so or you could have a problem.)

Add the coconut milk and heat through. Serve.

Notes:

* Chili paste with garlic can be found in the Asian food section of most large grocery stores. Check ingredients to be sure they are gluten free!

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Three Bean Tacos

Posted in Beans, Black Beans, Chickpeas, tagged Beans, Chickpeas, Tacos on April 23, 2010| 7 Comments »

This is an old stand by recipe for us; we’ve made it for years. It makes a lot and can be eaten in a variety of ways so it is great to make when you know you will need some leftovers to munch on later in the week. I am not sure where the original came from, but here is my version.

Three Bean Tacos

2 tsp oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp chili powder *

1 Tbsp oregano

1-1/2 tsp cumin

1 clove garlic

3- 15 oz. cans of beans, drained and rinsed *

1 – 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, peppers and spices. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the beans and tomato sauce and 1/2 can of water (1/2 cup). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.

Serve with hard taco shells, soft corn tortillas, or if you aren’t gluten free, flour tortillas. Add your typical taco toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, salsa – whatever you like.

In the picture above, I used a Brown Rice Tortilla from Trader Joe’s. They are pretty good, be sure to heat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

I also enjoy eating the leftovers heated with some shredded cheese on top and some corn tortilla chips to scoop it up. I have also been known to make a taco salad out of it; just make a bed of lettuce, heat some of it up and place on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with cheese. Add whatever other salad topping you like.

Notes:

* Sometimes I use all regular chili powder, sometimes I substitute part of the chili powder with chipotle chili powder for a slightly different flavor.

* Our usual mix of beans is 1 can of pinto beans, 1 can of chickpeas, and 1 can of black beans, but you can mix it up with whatever you have in the cabinet, kidney beans, black eyed peas, cannellini beans, etc.

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Meal Plan Monday, April 19, 2010

Posted in Meal Plan, tagged meal plan on April 19, 2010| 7 Comments »

This week, I am on the ball! I got organized and started writing this post so I could link up to I’m An Organizing Junkie’s Meal Plan Monday. Over there she links up to hundreds, literally, of other bloggers who post their weekly meal plans online. This is a great resource if you are stuck in a rut and want to try something new. Surely you will find something on there you would like to try.

As for us this week, we have three old favorites and two new recipes:

Curried Tofu with rice – this didn’t get made last week

Three Bean Tacos

Tofu Stir Fry with brown rice

Thai Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese – new to us

Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad – new to us – thanks, M, for the recipe!

I will post reviews later in the week. Check back later!

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Recipe Review: Double Bean Pasta with Tomatoes

Posted in Chickpeas, Pasta, tagged brewer's yeast, Garbanzo Beans, Pasta on April 18, 2010| 5 Comments »

DOUBLE BEAN PASTA WITH TOMATOES
Adapted from Gluten Free Bay

16 oz pasta *
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp dried basil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces *
2 Tbsp brewer’s yeast flakes *
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced

Cook pasta. Drain and set aside. Cook green beans to tender crisp and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallot, pepper flakes, parsley and basil. Saute until shallot has become translucent. Add garlic and bell pepper and saute until pepper starts to soften. Stir in tomatoes, garbanzo beans and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the pasta and green beans. Add yeast and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh basil.

Notes:
* Our preferred gluten free pasta is Trader Joe’s Brown Rice pasta – we prefer penne or spirals for this recipe.
* I used frozen green beans and just cooked them a bit in the microwave.
* I used Lewis Labs Brewer’s Yeast Flakes; they say gluten free on the package and are made from sugar beets, not beer. If you don’t have any, you could use grated Parmesan in it’s place.

The brewer’s yeast flakes are a good dairy free substitute, full of good stuff. They have a slightly cheesy taste and texture, especially when mixed into a warm dish such as this.

When cooking gluten free pasta, you should use a pot larger than you would for the same amount of regular pasta. The more water and room for the pasta, the better. I never add salt or oil to my pasta water. After you place the pasta in the boiling water, be sure to stir it up good to break apart the clumps of pasta. And stir it frequently while cooking, more often than you would regular pasta. Watch it closely and taste pieces frequently to see how close to done it is. You really want to catch gluten free pasta at al dente; otherwise it starts to turn to mush. Drain and rinse.

As I mentioned in my Meal Plan post earlier in the week, this is a recipe we had made previously and enjoyed. I hope you’ll try it. Let me know if you do!

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Recipe Reviews: Indian Saag and Asian Peanut Slaw

Posted in Indian, Spinach, Tofu, tagged Cabbage, Indian, Rice, Spinach, Tofu on April 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

As I mentioned in my Meal Plan post this week, we had two new recipes to try, both from a recent issue of Sunset magazine.

The other night we made the Indian Saag with basmati rice. My non-celiac husband also had some naan (Indian flat bread) with his. I really enjoyed it. My husband on the other hand, wasn’t too thrilled with it, mainly because it is almost entirely spinach! He and spinach don’t get along so well, perhaps too much fiber? Or is that too much information? (I may get in trouble for this review!) But, when pressed he said it was good. But I am not sure it got the ‘make it again’ vote from him.

Indian Saag

Adapted from Sunset magazine

1 medium onion, chopped *see notes below
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 pounds spinach leaves, chopped *
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt *
1 teaspoon kosher salt *

In a large pot, cook the onion in the oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, being careful not to burn it. Add the ginger and spices and cook about 1 minute. (It may be helpful to have all these measured out into one little bowl and just dump in all at once.) Add about 1/4 of the spinach to the pot and stir it in, allowing it to mostly wilt and then add more spinach in batches until all of it is in the pot and wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt and salt. Serve over rice.

Notes:

*I used two medium onions, we like onions!

*I had only bought two bags of spinach = 24oz, so not quite as much as the recipe calls for.

*I used non-fat plain yogurt as I save my Greek yogurt for breakfast.

*I used sea salt.

The turmeric turned it nice shade of yellow, which I wasn’t really expecting. I don’t recall restaurant Saag looking so yellow, but I think it may have been a combination of a couple of things I changed while cooking. Like I said above, I had less spinach than called for. I also did not measure out the yogurt exactly, so there might have been more and this made it more soupy. It was also regular plain non-fat yogurt and not the thicker Greek yogurt. But all in all, it was a great dish and the rice soaked up the extra yumminess of the sauce well.

Next time I think I will try it with Greek yogurt or reduce the amount of yogurt to reduce the sauce (or just measure it). I will probably also use more onions as I love onions cooked in Indian spices.

And now for the slaw.

Asian Peanut Slaw with Tofu

Adapted from Sunset magazine

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce (make sure it is gluten free)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
1 pound of extra firm tofu, cut into 8 slices
2 cups thinly shredded napa cabbage *
2 cups thinly shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In a measuring cup, mix up the oil, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and chile flakes. Slice the tofu into 8 slices and place slices on a clean tea towel, wrap the tea towel over top the tofu and place a heavy pot or cutting board on top for about 10 minutes to absorb some of the water.

Preheat broiler. In a large baking/casserole dish, place the tofu slices flat and spoon over about half of the oil and lime mixture. Allow it to sit for a few minutes. Maybe flip it over once.

Meanwhile, chop up the vegetables and throw them into the bowl. Mix them up and then toss with the remaining dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place pan of tofu on about the middle rack of the oven, under the broiler. Don’t place it too close or the oil could get too hot in the pan and catch fire (eek!). Broil for about 6-8 minutes, flip the slices and put it back in for another 6-8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Serve the slaw topped with peanuts and a couple slices of tofu on the side.

Notes:

*Also known as savoy or Chinese cabbage.

I actually made more than the recipe called for as I was just chopping up vegetables until I thought it was enough for us to eat and have some leftovers. Plus, I had so much cabbage, I figured I should use up as much as possible before it sits in the fridge and gets bleh because then it will just go to the chickens. And that is okay, as they love cabbage. But it was intended for human consumption first. No worries, they get plenty of scraps. So I also made more dressing since I had more vegetables but I made too much and poured it all on. I should have poured on a bit first to see if it was the right amount but I didn’t. Hopefully I learned a lesson there. Only time will tell.

We both really enjoyed this. It is very similar to another slaw recipe I make but with a slightly different dressing. Sorry I didn’t take a photo, I need to get into the habit of keeping my camera in the kitchen with me. Let me know if you try it! You can also go back to the original recipe and make it with pork if you aren’t a tofu fan. But try the tofu, it is really quite tasty because it just soaks up whatever sauce or marinade you put on it. Just be sure to buy the extra firm tofu and squeeze some water out first.

Enjoy!

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My Favorite Cookbooks

Posted in Cookbooks on April 16, 2010| 2 Comments »

If you get a chance to read my About page, you will see that I do not claim to be an original, creative cook. Most of the time I use a recipe when I cook – and there is nothing wrong with that! With that said, I wanted to give others some idea of where to find vegetarian recipes. The following have become some of our favorite cookbooks over the years. What are your favorite vegetarian cookbooks?

Indian Vegetarian Cooking From an American Kitchen