Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 medium banana
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ice
• optional: extra pumpkin pie spice to sprinkle on top
• optional: a dash of stevia to make it super sweet

Directions:

• blend!

Nutritional info.:

1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		190.2
Total Fat		4.0 g
	Saturated Fat	0.5 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.2 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		187.3 mg
Potassium		909.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		39.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	7.3 g
	Sugars	18.6 g
Protein		3.5 g

Vitamin A	393.2 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	37.5 %
Vitamin C	26.5 %
Vitamin D	25.0 %
Vitamin E	58.1 %
Calcium	23.9 %
Copper	12.7 %
Folate	9.2 %
Iron	13.5 %
Magnesium	19.7 %
Manganese	18.2 %
Niacin	5.4 %
Pantothenic Acid	7.9 %
Phosphorus	10.6 %
Riboflavin	10.9 %
Selenium	2.5 %
Thiamin	5.4 %
Zinc	2.7 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs

Can’t beat those stats! 7g of fiber, hello! And, get in my belly!

<3,

The Cranky One

Since it’s winter break and I’m making a point to truly sit back and reflect on ways to ensure that I can maintain a healthy diet even when times get really tough (as they did last semester and as they will, invariably, next semester), I thought I’d share some of the ways I’ve been planning meals to save time (and money!):

• Find recipes that are easy, cheap, delicious and easy to spice up. Make a batch of one or two of your fave recipes on Sunday night and eat them throughout the week. I always change up recipes by adding different spices, a different type of bean, salsas, turning it into a soup, eating it with hearty whole grain bread, adding hot sauce, etc.
• Make sure your pantry and fridge are stocked with the staples, like beans, veggie broth, vegetables & fruits, non-dairy milk and …

Tortillas, pitas

Canned organic tomatoes. If you’re weary about BPA from cans, try Eden’s new amber glass jarred tomatoes

Brown rice [basmati pictured] and other whole grains

Tofu, tempeh, or seitan

• Get creative!

Some of my favorite things to make from these staples include:

Pictured: brown rice, lentil bolognese, & tofu taco “meat”

I love to make lentil bolognese, which only requires a few ingredients (& a bit of chopping). It has 85.83 calories, 0.95g fat, 5.53 g fiber, 4.44g protein per 1/2 cup serving.

I also love to have a batch of brown rice (made without oil) ready as a blank palette. Per 1 cup cooked, brown rice has 216 calories, 2g fat, 10mg sodium, 45g carbs, 4g fiber, 1g sugars, 5g protein. I like to eat 1/2 cup cooked brown rice with steamed veggies, in stir frys, with tofu or Italian Tofurkey sausage with veggies or edamame (pictured below).

Having a batch of cooked beans or canned beans around comes in super handy to throw into salads, burritos, enchiladas,

I love to simply saute chickpeas with a tablespoon of hoison sauce and throw into tortillas with spinach. A half cup of cooked garbanzo beans has 143 calories, 1.3g fat, 359mg sodium, 27.1g carbs, 5.3g fiber, 5.9g protein.

Recipe for Tofu “Taco Meat”

Ingredients

• One package organic firm tofu, drained
• One 14.5-oz can organic diced tomatoes (I like to use fire roasted)
• Two teaspoons vegan taco seasoning (from Trader Joe’s)

Directions

• Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray, heat on medium heat, saute tofu with all ingredients while breaking up into crumbles. Cook for about 10 minutes, until tofu and tomatoes absorb some of the extra water.
• Nutritional information per 1/2 cup serving (7 total): 65.35 calories, 2.85g fat, 237mg, 1.36g fiber, 6.21g protein
• Serve in corn tortillas with lettuce, salsa (cilantro, diced jicama, guacamole, etc.!)

Local Events Coming Up

• Vegan Cooking with Chef Joni Newman, author of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions, at Whole Foods Market in Long Beach this Thursday the 13th, 6 – 8:30 pm. Free! See here.
• The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life book signing with Melisser Elliot at Doomie’s Home Cookin’ in Los Angeles, this Friday the 14th, from 7-9 pm. [via Quarry Girl]

Do you plan your meals for the week or take it day by day? What are your fridge and pantry staples?

<3,

The Cranky One

Ok, get ready for the food porn because I’m going to give the first recipe of three of my new favorite low calorie and healthy vegetarian dishes.  These would all make great Thanksgiving entrees if you are cooking a vegetarian meal or even if you need a side dish that’s “all eaters” approved.

“Tofu, Meet My Boyfriend” Enchiladas

Can you see the melted cheese on the left? C’mon that’s freakin’ foodgasmic!

Ingredients

• One package 14-oz package firm tofu
• 1 cup of corn
• One small green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup white onion, chopped
• One 12-pack of corn tortillas — I used Trader Joes’
• One large can of enchilada sauce
• 2 cups spinach
• 12 ounces low-fat mozzarella cheese (I bought Trader Joes’ low-fat mozzarella slices – as each slice is one ounce and 80 calories)
• Salt, pepper, paprika, seasoning salt, to taste

Directions

• Drain the tofu; place all of the enchilada sauce in a wide, shallow bowl; place raw, washed and dried, spinach in a small bowl
• In a saucepan, saute the onion, bell pepper and corn over medium heat for about 2 minutes then add the block of tofu
• Break up the tofu while sauteing as you would if you were making a ground meat dish
• Add seasoning and cook until the veggies are translucent, turn off heat
• Heat the tortillas one by one, both sides, over an open flame — carefully! (*sings “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…*)
• Immediately after the tortilla is heated, dip it in the enchilada sauce (both sides — yes, this is messy!), fill with some tofu mixture, a few leafs of spinach, and one ounce of cheese then fold tightly and place seam down on a baking dish sprayed with Pam. Repeat with all tortillas.  Top off enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce, to taste.
• Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for about ten minutes.  You can sprinkle some shredded cheese on top before you bake – for presentation’s sake — but make sure to add those calories to the nutritionals I provide below!
• Give one to your carnivorous boyfriend and watch him chew with delight
• Nutritional information for one enchilada: 183.8 calories, 8.4g fat, 446.0mg sodium, 20.0g carbs, 3.3g fiber, 13.5g protein (Calculated with Sparkpeople Recipe Calculator and did not include seasoning in calculations, and inflated the use of enchilada sauce in the case you used the entire can)
• To make even more low-cal — Use only half-an ounce of cheese.  That’s what I did — but I figure I’m abnormally stingy in my cheese use…

What to look forward to for part 2:

Holy Mother of All that is Sweet Potato Enchiladas

How are you faring in terms of happy eating this holiday season?  What’s on the menu for Thanksgiving?

<3, The Cranky One

p.s. Did you enter my give-away? I might throw in a little something fun for the winner!

p.p.s. My boyfriend thinks all my food photos look like food that’s already been eaten…lol.  So, I’m especially sorry if the blown up photo of tofu vomit made you lose your appetite!

A lot of tofu recipes I’ve tried load the tofu with oils, but, turns out, the oil is completely unnecessary!  Here’s what the final product looked like:

Ingredients for Tofu A La Cranky One

• One 14 oz Trader Joe’s Extra Firm Tofu — 350 calories, 20 g fat, 5 g fiber, 40 g protein
• 1/2 tablespoon Trader Joe’s Chili Pepper Sauce — 7.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup — 52 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce — 15 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce — 7.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• Total nutritional composition for tofu + marinade: 432 calories, 20.5 g fat, 5 g fiber, 40 g protein
  

Ingredients for Vegetable Mixture

• 1 bag of Trader Joe’s Vegetable Medley  — 100 calories, 0 g fat, 8 g fiber, 8 g protein *I like to chop the vegetables even thinner than they come pre-chopped
• 1 cup frozen edamame in pods — 100 calories, 4 g fat, 5 g fiber, 11 g protein
• 1/2 cup white onion — 33.50 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.1 g fiber, 0.75 g protein
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce — 15 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• Total nutritional composition for vegetable mix: 245.50 calories, 4.1 g fat, 14.1 g fiber, 19.75 g protein
  

Directions

• Drain tofu and pat dry.  Chop into inch-size pieces.  Add to marinade mixture, mix, then place on cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with Pam.  Cook for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping half-way.  You may want to cook it longer depending on how crispy you like your tofu.
• Saute vegetable mixture in Pam for 5 minutes over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons water, cover and steam for about 7 minutes.
• Add tofu to vegetable mixture and enjoy!
• Total nutritional composition for meal:  677.50 calories, 24.6 g fat, 19.1 g fiber, 59.75 g protein
• Per serving (1/4th of mixture) — 169.38 calories, 6.15 g fat, 4.78 g fiber, 14.94 g protein

In the News

• Science Daily‘s, “How Does Media Exposure Affect Self-esteem In Overweight And Underweight Women?” (10/20/09) here

Give-Away Round Up

• Win a Cuisinart Mini-Food Processor here (and congrats on your 6-month bloggiversary, Janetha!)

Alright gotta get a run in before work!  Do you have any strict rules before you decide to try a recipe out?  Like, the meal has to be below x amount of calories, or use less than 5 ingredients or?

<3, The Cranky One