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Meal Plan Monday, May 3, 2010

May 3, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week is going to be another busy one. And we are going to be eating out a few times at the end of the week, so I am only planning three meals this week. Plus, there is always stuff in the cabinets and freezer to make if we need it. I’d rather make something out of the cabinet instead of let produce go bad in the refrigerator. Weeks like these though, I do try to keep salad fixings in the frig so that we can have something ‘fresh’ tasting with our cabinet and freezer staples.

On another note, I am going to try to wean us off of bottled salad dressings for our summer salads. Over the years we have tried to eliminate excess sugar in our diets where we can because we ARE such sugar addicts. We’d rather enjoy our sugar in sugary treats and not in places where you don’t even know it is there. So this is another step in this process.

My husband’s dressing of choice is Wishbone Italian. Does anyone have a good homemade Italian dressing recipe they would like to share? My personal favorites are red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar dressings, and those are easy. I just need to find one for him.

So for this week, we’re going to have some things from a few of my favorite bloggers:

Yummy Grilled Tofu from Book of Yum with Artichokes and Salad – we will probably bake or broil the tofu instead of grill. This is our favorite tofu marinade and it has convinced non-tofu eaters that tofu can be good. Thanks, Sea! And I am going to attempt to make artichokes after Heidi gave me the courage.

Polenta with Lemon Asparagus and Chickpeas from Fat Free Vegan – since we don’t care for asparagus we’re going to use steamed broccoli instead. Maybe we will try asparagus one day again. But this week the new vegetable is artichokes.

Pasta with Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce from The Pioneer Woman with Salad

And of course if you don’t find something of interest here, be sure to go on over to OrgJunkie and check out all the other Meal Plan Monday postings.

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , | 33 Comments »

Gluten Free Challenge – Are you up for it?

May 2, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

In honor of Celiac Awareness month, May, the Gluten Intolerance Group and Pamela’s Products are hosting a Gluten Free Challenge. They are challenging YOU to live gluten free for one weekend – just two days, May 22-23 – in support of those of us who must live gluten free. The goal is to show our gluten-consuming friends and family that you can enjoy great gluten free food with us. It is also our hope that you will come away with a better understanding of what we face every day on a gluten free diet.

Can you do it? I think you can.

Sign up here and you’ll receive tips and daily recipes to prepare you for your experience.

Posted in General | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Napa Noodles

May 2, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

We really enjoy this dish. I am a big fan of napa cabbage, also known as savoy or Chinese cabbage; it is not as hard as regular green cabbage and it wilts easily in cooked dishes. The edamame provides the protein. I bumped up the quantities of vegetables in this one, mainly because I had them but also because this recipe seems pasta-heavy. I also lightened it by reducing the amount of oil. You could serve it with a salad but we choose to eat it by itself.

Napa Noodles

Adapted from Rachel Ray Everyday

1 pound pasta

1 tbsp canola oil *see notes

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil *

1 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded *

1.5 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed and cooked *

1 bunch scallions, sliced into 1/4″ pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

1/4 cup hoisin sauce, gluten free *

3 tablespoons soy sauce, gluten free *

Grated peel and juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

1/2 cup mint leaves, shredded

20 basil leaves

Cook pasta. Chop and prepare vegetables and herbs while the pasta is cooking. Drain pasta.

Once pasta is ready, heat your large wok or skillet. Add oil and heat until hot. Add cabbage and edamame. Stir until cabbage just begins to wilt. Add the green onions, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for a minute or two. Add in sauces, lime and pepper. Stir until combined and cabbage is wilted. Add cooked pasta and herbs.

Notes:

* I used Trader Joe’s brown rice spaghetti. Be sure to cook it in a large pot with plenty of water.

* The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oil which seemed excessive to me, so I reduced it by half and it was plenty. I also tried to bump up the flavor a bit too by using part sesame oil and part canola. We liked the change.

* I used probably 3.5 – 4 pounds of cabbage as it was what I had in the fridge. Don’t worry about how big your cabbage is, the bigger the better in this one, as it cooks down to nothing.

* I cooked my edamame in the microwave first as it was frozen and uncooked.

* Hoisin sauce is not always gluten free. There are a couple of brands that are but check for yourself. I use Dynasty brand. Or you can make it yourself with this recipe from the queen of slow cooking, Stephanie O’Dea.

* Again, not all soy sauces are gluten free. LaChoy and San-J’s Wheat Free Tamari are gluten free.

Posted in Asian, Pasta | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Where’s the Protein?

April 27, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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?

Posted in General, Nutrition | Tagged , | 5 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, April 26, 2010

April 26, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged | 5 Comments »

Curried Tofu

April 25, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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.

Posted in Quick, Tofu | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

Tofu Stir Fry

April 25, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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.

Posted in Rice, Stir Fry, Tofu | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Thai Tomato Soup

April 24, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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!

Posted in Soup, Thai, Tomatoes | Tagged , | 7 Comments »

Three Bean Tacos

April 23, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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.

Posted in Beans, Black Beans, Chickpeas | Tagged , , | 7 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, April 19, 2010

April 19, 2010 by BeyondRiceandTofu

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!

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged | 7 Comments »

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