Food, Glorious Food!

Now that my whine-fest is out of the way, I can truly honor the delicious foods I’ve been eating.

Enter, the tofu-lentil mash-up tacos…

Tofu is a relatively new product to me in terms of preparing it myself.  Each time I’ve made it, I’ve used this amazing recipe.  For the sake of novelty, I tried a different recipe found here, and as follows with nutritional info.:

“Tofu Balls” (not my title!) – Instead of making them as meatballs, I made them as “ground beef”

Ingredients

• 1 lb. extra firm tofu – I used 14 oz. as that’s how it’s sold at Trader Joe’s – 350 calories, 20 g fat, 5 g fiber, 40 g protein
• 1 small finely chopped onion – 29 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.6 g protein
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce – I used Trader Joe’s Reduced Sodium – 45 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter — I used Kirkland’s organic brand – 300 calories, 22.5 g fat, 3 g fiber, 13.5 g protein
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs — I used 1 slice of toasted Oroweat double fiber bread – 70 calories, 1 g fat, 6 g fiber, 3 g protein
• Fresh basil or oregano
• Nutritional information for entire pan:  794 calories, 43.6 g fat, 15 g fiber, 57.1 g protein
• 1/8th = 99.25 calories, 5.45 g fat, 1.87 g fiber, 7.14 g protein
• A note: I link to Calorie King for items, particularly fruits/veggies, that do not have nutritional info. listed.  If I do have access to the exact nutritional info. on a package, I list that instead of linking to a calorie estimator site.

Directions

• Easy. Drain the tofu, then mix all the ingredients and mash into the texture of ground beef.  Wow, this should be in my own version of “Vegetarian Cooking for Lazy-Butts.”
• Saute over medium-heat until browned. Voila!
• I then mixed the cooked tofu “meat” with lentils made via this recipe.  You have no idea how good this tastes in a corn tortilla.  Like party in my mouth and no one is invited because I’m not sharing good. Add a slice of avocado + spinach + Tapatio = Bliss.
• Calories estimate for serving of tofu (99.25) + serving of lentils (56.13) + 2 corn tortillas (110 cals) = 265.38
• Note: The lentils used in the above are so delish by themselves in a taco as well.

It’s been a while since I’ve showed my obsession with love for black beans and I’ve been having BB withdrawals.  Here are some “re-fried” black beans sauteed with orange, yellow and red bell pepper, onion and tomato and placed in a corn tortillas with spinach and Tapatio.

Yum.  Calories estimate? 110 for tortillas + 220 for a cup of beans (generous estimate) = Around 340 calories and good taste for days.

Give-Aways Round-up

• Did you see all the give-aways listed on this post as well as my own Crispy Green freeze-dried fruit give-away? Enter if you haven’t!
• Happy Herbivore is having a Swanson’s spices give-away here.

Did you know?

• Trader Joe’s website offers recipes here?  They also allow you to select product lists, here, based on “vegetarian” options, “gluten-free” options, etc., so you can see all the products they sell that fit your particular food restrictions/life-style.
• Whole Foods Market’s website offers cooking videos and recipes here.

Tags: Black beans, calories, Give Aways, lentils, nutritional information, Recipes, tofu, trader joes, Whole Foods Market