Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry

So, I was wanted to make something with Tofu and had previously made this really good teriyaki
tofu ; so I decided to make it again instead of trying something new. I'm glad I did . This recipe is super easy and very good and good for you. Its about 10grams protein and around 90 calories per serving. So instead of making my own marinade i used trader Joe's Soyaki marinade. Originally was only going to marinade this for a few hours and cook but I sort of forgot about it and it ended up marinating overnight. Oh well. I then saute 1/2 red onion , 1 teaspoon minced garlic , 1 yellow bell pepper in tablespoon olive oil maybe less. I then added the tofu which i had cut up the night before and was already marinating. I cooked until Tofu was nice and golden color. I added some broccoli and served over brown rice. Yummy.

Side note. Make sure your get the extra firm tofu.

Super Easy Sesame Salmon

Ok ,so keeping with the good protein and Omega 3s . I wanted to throw something together that was easy and good and a twist on the usual Salmon.This was super easy and so yummy. I used this Soyaki Marinade from of course Trader Joe's. Marinaded it for 2 hours. Seasoned with fresh garlic ,sesame seeds, ginger , pinch of brown sugar. Made this with Baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli. Delish
!!!



This isnt the best picture but decided to update this recipe with the Soyaki marinade I used.

Yum Yum and then some Brown Sugar Meatloaf...And Cauliflower mashed

Ok, so keeping with the low carb vibe wanted to make a nice good comfort food dinner. So, I had some ground lamb on hand decided to throw it together for some awesome meatloaf. I searched on all recipes.com and found the top rated recipe for meat loaf and used this as a base and added a few other things and changed it a bit. This recipe called Brown Sugar meat loaf had 4.5 stars and some 2,800 reviews/ratings ...hmm all those cooks cant be wrong? Right?

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground lamb (you can use lean ground beef or ground turkey)
  
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup finely crushed Ritz buttery crackers
• 1/2 green pepper diced
• 1 large garlic clove minced
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic power
• 1.tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  

Directions: Mix brown sugar and ketchup in bowl and set aside. Ok so here is what I did differently than the recipe on allrecipes.com. Ok , so in a non-stick frying pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil, then add the garlic , onion , and green pepper saute till done. About 8 mins. In a separate larger bowl mix all the other spices, crackers, milk , with the ground meat. (everything but brown sugar mix) .Then add the onion and green pepper mix to the meat. Toss together and add to baking loaf pan. Top with the brown sugar mix. Also if you add 2 pieces of plain bread doesn't matter what kind to the bottom of the loaf pan before you add the meat it will soak up the oil from the meat and make the meatloaf a little healthier. Then discard the bread after cooking.

I served this with Cauliflower mashed (yum taste just like mashed potatoes ) low-fat crescent rolls and zucchini squash. Delicious !

Ok so I do not have a separate pic of the cauliflower mashed so I will combining this post. So last week I was watching FitTV and saw Blaine's low Carb Kitchen. And he made what looked like some yummy cauliflower mashed. Basically for those that do not know its an alternative for mashed potatoes made with cauliflower and taste just like mashed potatoes. Great for low carb dieters. So , anyways was watching fit tv and became instantly inspired to try it. Little did I know this would be so easy and so tasty. I didn't use his exact recipe I kinda just made up my own as I went along and it turned out great.

3 cups cauliflower (approx. 1 head)
2/3 cup. light fat free sour cream
3 tablespoons low-fat butter spread
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup low fat cheddar cheese
1 tsp. paprika
1 small garlic clove .
Directions
Trim hard stems and leaves from cauliflower. Cut florets from stem (discard stem) and place in steamer . Steam until tender about 15mins.

Place hot cauliflower and garlic in food processor with large blade. Pulse while adding butter and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mash into 1-quart oven-proof casserole dish and add in Parmesan cheese and mix. Then add cheddar cheese to top. Add a dash of paprika. Bake in oven for about 7mins. until cheese is bubbly.

This meal was soooooooo good .

Eggcellent Veggie omelet

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup portobello mushrooms sliced
  
• small onion diced
  
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 3/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Egg beaters
  
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions :
In a large nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms, spinach, onion ,green pepper, & tomato in butter until tender. Add the oregano and pepper. Cook for 5 mins until veggies are done and drain any liquid, then set aside. Beat egg whites, water, and salt . Place egg beaters in another bowl then fold in egg white mixture. Pour egg mix into non-stick frying pan, then add veggies and half of the cheese. Fold over sides of omelet with spatula add remaining cheese . And serve.

Side note : This omelet was so good and healthy but, it makes a big omelet. I could only eat half of it . If you are feeling extra greedy then this is awesome or if you are sharing breakfast with someone this would be great as well. I made it with Morning Star farms veggie breakfast links umm great combination! Half the omelet is about 200 calories + the veggie links =320 calories. Not bad for a really good breakfast.

4-Cheese Spinach Alfredo Tortellini with Grilled Chicken

This was soo soo good. I used a pack of 4- cheese Tortellini from Trader Joe's. Yum Good stuff right there. Cooked pasta and set aside. Then I made a quick Alfredo sauce. Here is the recipe

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cups milk
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Directions
  

• 
  
• Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Then I tossed this with the pasta.
  

In sauce pan : saute 2 garlic cloves sliced, 1/2 diced yellow onion, and bag of fresh baby spinach until spinach cooks down. Drain any juices and add to the pasta.


Earlier I had 6 chicken breast marinating with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, Juice 1/2 lemon, 3 garlic cloves minced. About 1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt. A few shakes of fresh ground black pepper. 1/4 cup fresh parsley.
Directions after chicken marinated for 2hrs I grilled on the George forman till nice and juicy.

I added the chicken to the pasta and this made for one awesome dish . If you don't care about over doing it with the carbs then make with Texas toast.

Fat-Free No Pudge brownies

Ok these aren't really from scratch, they are from a box . ...BUT, these are the best tasting fat-free brownies I have ever had so I just had to share. Now, even though I try to be health conscious and eat balanced meals some sweets in moderation is ok. With that being said, I'm still always skeptical when I see something that says fat-free and chocolate in the same product. It just doesn't look right. So, I was at Trader Joe's today and since I love that store so much and they have yet to steer me wrong decided to try the "No pudge fudge chocolate brownies". Wow these are so so good. The only thing you add to the mix is vanilla yogurt. (I used Trader Joe's organic low fat vanilla yogurt). Somewhere I read these are supposed to be like 2 ww points. Also, these are sticky so when making them defiantly use some Pam or make them in muffins pans. They turn out prettier this way and easier to cut. I made mine in muffin pans.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh

2 bunches of parsley
2 tbs mint
1/2 cup Spanish onion
2 vine ripened tomatoes
1/2 cup bulghar wheat
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Place bulghar wheat in a bowl with the boiling water. Cover and let it stand for 20 minutes. Strain the bulghar wheat to drain off any excess water. Set aside.
2. Finely chop the parsley and mint. Place in a mixing bowl.
3. De-seed the tomatoes and dice. Dice the Spanish onion. Place tomato and onion in the mixing bowl with the parsley and mint.
4. Add the cooled bulghar wheat to the mixture. Add the lemon juice, remaining salt and olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
5. Cover and refrigerate . This salad is soo good. I could eat this everyday. This is another recipe I found on Taste buddies blog thanks Syrie.