Ready for some food porn?

Ingredients

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 package 14-oz organic firm tofu, drained and patted dry (the more moisture you can remove from the tofu, the better. I wrap the block in paper towels then place a pan atop it for a few minutes), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 cup bbq sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3-2/3 cup pizza sauce (I used Trader Joe’s refrigerated pizza sauce; use more or less depending on how…saucy(?) you want your pizza lol)
• 1-2 bell peppers (I used 3/4 red and 3/4 yellow), sliced
• One package refrigerated wheat pizza dough (I used Trader Joe’s, 16oz package)
• 1 bunch cilantro washed and chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450.
  
• Heat the tsp of canola oil and a spritz of cooking spray in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat for a couple seconds, then add onion and garlic. Saute until onion gets a little translucent.
• Add in tofu and saute until lightly browned and crispy on all sides, like this…
  
• When tofu is crispy, onions should also be carmelized. Turn off heat, add in bbq sauce and water. Stir together softly so as not to break up the tofu. Let sit while you take care of the crust…
• To make the pizza dough, you’ll simply be rolling out the refrigerated dough. I use a large wood cutting board, sprinkle it with white whole wheat flour, and sprinkle the rolling pin with flour, too; I then roll out the dough pretty thin, but not perfectly.
• Place foil over a cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray, then place dough on it and press/spread to all edges (yes, I make the pizza dough thin).
• Spread bbq sauce over pizza dough, then spoon bbq sauce and tofu mixture atop, gently not to break tofu.
• Place bell pepper slices throughout.
• Sprinkle with cilantro, like this
  
• Bake for 12-16 minutes, until dough is cooked (there will be no wetness on top)
• Nutritional information per slice (1/8): 213.75 calories, 5g fat, 552.5 mg sodium, 32g carbs, 3.75g fiber, 5.5g sugars, 8.56g protein

<3,

The Cranky One

Not when you can make one of these to satisfy that hankering for coconut…

That, my friends, is coconut cream pie. Now what I’m going to tell you may shock or disgust you. Are you ready for it?…..

It’s made with tofu!

I love tofu in pretty much anything, so when I saw that a lot of vegan pies included the stuff, I wasn’t afraid it would taste bad, but I was afraid of having to convince others to try it. Tofu seems to be one of those foods that is either deeply loved or truly detested — no in-between. So, I was ready to do the “spoon airplane” maneuver and baby voice to get my mom and boyfriend to try it. No need. The boyfriend began licking spoons with batter well before the pie was complete and my mom gladly devoured a slice of the masterpiece. Kids, this pie is insanely simple to make and insanely delicious.

Allowing the pie adequate time in the fridge to firm up and absorb the coconut flavor is key! Once it has the time to settle, it gains the consistency of cheesecake and loses any “tofu taste.” Amazing.

If you’re afraid of cooking with tofu, have no fear – you can’t mess this recipe up! You don’t cook the tofu AND you don’t really have to worry about draining it as well as you would if you were cooking it as an entree! Have I convinced you yet?

what about now?

Recipe for “Tofu Coconut Cream Pie” from DeliciousTV here, and listed verbatim below, w/ my notes in italics.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 pkg. vegan graham crackers (12-14 crackers)
• 2 T. sugar
• 6 T. vegan margarine (I’d actually use much less margarine next time (I’d add little by little) — the crust was one big buttery flake, which is fine for most, but not for those of us erhem who are trying to battle the bulge)

For the filling:

• ½ c. plus 2 T. toasted shredded coconut (reserve 2 T.)
• 1 14-oz. package firm tofu, drained and rinsed (I used extra firm)
• ¼ c. light brown sugar (very lightly packed) or pure cane sugar
• 2-3 T. coconut milk* (I used light coconut milk)
• 1/8 t. Vanilla extract (optional)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350. In a small pan, melt the margarine. In a food processor, process the crackers and sugar. Place the dry mixture in a bowl and drizzle in the melted margarine, mix well, and press into a 9 inch spring form pan. Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove it from the oven, and allow it cool.
• Sprinkle the shredded coconut on a lined baking sheet and toast it in the oven until it’s light brown. Keep an eye on it, because coconut can burn very quickly. Remove the toasted pieces from the oven and place them in a bowl, fluffing the coconut if needed.
• In a food processor, purée the tofu until smooth. Add the sugar, coconut milk, vanilla, and 8 tablespoons of the coconut. Process on high for about 10 seconds, then pour the mixture into the pre-baked shell, and top with the remaining toasted coconut. Chill the pie for two hours, or overnight. This pie keeps for up to a week in the refrigerator – but it usually gets eaten long before that.
• This recipe may also be prepared in a square or rectangular pan and cut into individual squares for a great party treat.
• *Sweetened coconut milk is, of course, sweeter and has a more intense coconut flavor, however unsweetened works just as well. Try it both ways and see which you prefer.

From Sparkpeople recipe calculator for 1/8th pie:

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		277.9
Total Fat		18.3 g
	Saturated Fat	4.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	4.8 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	5.1 g
Cholesterol		9.4 mg
Sodium		231.0 mg
Potassium		168.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate		32.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.3 g
	Sugars	18.7 g
Protein		9.8 g

Vitamin A	9.3 %
Vitamin B-12	0.1 %
Vitamin B-6	2.9 %
Vitamin C	0.2 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	5.8 %
Calcium	35.3 %
Copper	12.1 %
Folate	5.6 %
Iron	11.9 %
Magnesium	9.0 %
Manganese	37.4 %
Niacin	4.6 %
Pantothenic Acid	1.7 %
Phosphorus	11.7 %
Riboflavin	6.5 %
Selenium	15.2 %
Thiamin	7.9 %
Zinc	6.2 %

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

Ever made dessert with tofu?

Want more tofu dessert recipes?

• Heavenly Pie from 101 Cookbooks (Vegetarian; not vegan)
• Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake from PPK
• Low-Fat Vegan Cheesecake from Happy Herbivore
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse (Vegan)

Alright — I’m off to run and finish prepping things for my boyfriend’s birthday. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!

<3,

The Cranky One

p.s. In hilarious (and frightening?) news of the day — prepare for a nasal assault! Highway billboard in North Carolina is “steak-scented.” Good lord. Click here for story.

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

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.

Last night we went to The Pirates Adventure in Buena Park, CA.  They also have one in Orlando, for all your Floridians out there. It’s basically a pirate tournament/show on a big stage boat and you sit around in stadium seats while eating loads of food (they start you off with a buffet-style appetizer set-up, then you get seated and they serve you dinner, of which you choose from 3 options). You know I have issues with eating food that I don’t have control over cooking, but I had a pep talk with myself and planned beforehand so it wasn’t a big deal.  Here are some of the eats:
The Appetizers

Vienna sausages and meat & cheese bites for him.

Veggies and fruit for her.

The Dinner (which, by the way, they serve the adults either a choice of 2 Cokes or 2 Bud Lights.  Yikes!  I opted for the Bud Lights only so I could pawn them off on the birthday boy.  Trying to get him a little tipsy, Annabel?  Perhaps!  I wanted his true pirate spirit to come out and play!)

Chicken/Shrimp combo with rice for him

Vegetarian option for her (veggie lasagna and veggies. Not low-cal b/c it’s still full of cheese and the veggies were loaded with butter, I’m sure)
Dessert

Apple pie goop & a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I had a couple bites and pawned the plate off on the birthday boy.  Hmm I think that was a common theme yesterday!

Needless to say, we came home STUFFED, but happy.  No crazy shenanigans for us after the show — we just stayed in and I made sure at midnight to give him a big smooch! Aww, we’re so lame, huh? 

How do you guys deal when you don’t have much control over your food options?

On to other, not-so-mushy things!

My adorable Adidas bag arrived from Fitz after my little interview appeared in That’s Fit.

Yay! It’s a beautiful bag!

Of course my mind has been set on the This Ain’t No Freshman 15, This is the Final 10 Challenge with Jen from Prior Fat Girl. This week has been FULL of challenges and temptations, you guys.  I have been able to avert most of them, but that’s only because I get by with a little help from my friends! If the people I was closest to did not respect my decisions I wouldn’t necessarily be halted in my progress, but my life would certainly be much harder.  Thankfully, I always have friends who are up for going to the gym and friends, who when we decide to go out to eat, kindly ask before I even say anything if I would like to choose the restaurant so that I’d have a healthy option.  Now, that, is what I call a support system.  Yesterday I wrote that I had a secret, good-lookin’ weapon.  What is it?  More like, who is it?

Well, it’s the birthday boy himself!  My boyfriend happens to be in great shape.  So while we may not share the same passion for healthy food, we do have fitness in common.  Thing is, I have always been a cardio girl.  I was the one running for an hour every day and he would do weights a few times a week and have the perfect physique!  What gives?!  I guess the better question to ask is, “will you show me?” Without hesitation, and with the sweetest demeanor I could ever ask for, he has been helping me come up with a strength training routine I can stick to.  With MizFit and the boyfriend in my fitness corner, I am STOKED and totally grateful.  Are your loved ones involved in your health goals?  Do you have their support?

In terms of healthy eats, if I had to choose my favorite meal this past week, it would be, hands down, this salad:

Arugula, peach, apple, cranberries, cucumber, avocado, tofu (made according to this recipe except I used unsweetened almond milk instead of orange juice as that’s all I had on hand.  Came out DELICIOUS!).  Just plain amazing.  What’s your favorite healthy eat from this past week?

Ok friends, I’m off to go thrift shopping and run some errands!  I hope you have a beautiful Saturday!

TGIF guys!  First some random bites of info.:

1. I won a cool little pack of exercise cards from Miss Kari at Running Through Life!  Thanks, pal!  I must say that doing strength-training exercises only using my body weight has been the most enjoyable way for me to build muscle.  We used cards like these once when I was enrolled in a boot camp and I would always think to myself ashamedly that I had been incorrect in thinking one needed a gym and extensive machinery to get a little bicep action.
   This picture is cheesy, what can I say? But those are the cards in my hand as I dream of tricep extensions!

2. Thanks to my friend Tamara for informing me that Calorie King has now posted nutritional information for Olive Garden restaurant here!  What was once elusive and daunting — to gauge how much damage one did with a bowl of pasta and few breadsticks — is finally out in the open!  It’s certainly a good thing – now we can be informed eaters! It also sucks, cuz, let’s face it – you can see your previous choices might have been downright awful!  My favorite dish back in the day was the “chicken con broccoli” coming in at a whopping 960 calories and 41 grams of fat.  I thought it was just chicken with broccoli!  Seems harmless.  Until you face that it’s drenched in a delicious fat sauce.  Oy. Anyone else have a mini heart attack when they found out what their food really consisted of?
3. I noticed I have a little “tick” that I wanted to share because it totally made me laugh (and cry boo hoo) at myself.  I am a total straight-from-the-pan-muncher*! A “pan muncher” or “PM” is someone who, even though she has set aside a nice little portioned out meal for herself, “innocently” nibbles on bits of food straight from the pan while her portioned food sits nicely measured and untouched on the plate. The foolish PM has what is called “in the moment amnesia” so that while the act is occurring she is not even cognizant of it because she is staring lovingly at the cute little portions on her plate and already congratulating herself for being controlled and mannerly while mindlessly indulging!  What a foolish PM I am! *yes I did just make up this term Any one else guilty of PM-ing?
   

Now on to the exciting topic of the day (by “exciting” I mean completely random and only interesting to me, sorry)! TOFU! I made tofu for the first time last night and I absolutely loooooved it!

I tinkered with the recipe from All Recipes here and this is what I ended up doing:

“Baked Tofu Bites” done Bella Style

Ingredients

• One 16-oz package extra firm tofu (I used the Whole Foods 365 brand) — 400 calories, 20 g fat, 4 g fiber, 32 g protein
• ¼ cup light and low-sodium soy sauce — 33.75 calories, 0 g fat, o g fiber, 0 g protein
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup – 104 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 2 tablespoons ketchup — 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 tablespoon vinegar — 3 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 tablespoon Hoisin — 35 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0.4 g fiber, 0.5 protein (Read more on Hoison here)
• 2 tablespoons organic, no pulp, orange juice not from concentrate — 13.75 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds — 52 calories, 4.5 g fat, 1.1 g fiber, 1.6 g protein
• pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with Pam Cooking Spray.
• Slice tofu into 1/2-inch slices, and gently press excess water out of tofu. Cut sliced tofu into 1/2-inch cubes.
• In a bowl, stir together the tofu and additional ingredients.  Cover, and marinate at least 5 minutes.
• Place the tofu on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn tofu, and bake until the tofu turns golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Nutritional info.:

• Entire cookie sheet worth of tofu (good for sumo wrestlers and really hungry, cranky girls aka ME! ok, I didn’t eat it all but I sure wanted to and came close!) — 671.50 calories, 25.1 g fat, 5.5 g fiber, 34.1 g protein
• 1/4 portion:  167.88 calories, 6.28 g fat, 1.38 g fiber, 8.53 g protein
  

Notes about tofu:  I guess it’s a common challenge to drain the tofu of excess water before cooking so that it doesn’t maintain a soggy texture.  I read that some people let it sit on paper towels and one person even had weights sit atop it to drain the water.  I patted the tofu vigorously with paper towels but found that “vigor” and tofu don’t go well together as the block began to crumble.  Oh wait, I wasn’t supposed to pat it while it was still in full block form? Yea.  I didn’t read the directions.  Lame!  My tofu did come out a bit mushy.  The thing is…I liked it!  Honestly, I thought the tofu tasted like something a good Chinese restaurant would concoct to turn healthy tofu into a heart attack amongst noodles.  But this is just plain good for you and delicious (oh please spare me your “‘good for you’ is a relative term and soy can actually be bad” speech!).  Any suggestions for draining tofu?  Any tofu recipes you want to link me to?

Last night I ate it as is with a side of corn bread and some red potatoes baked with a tad of olive oil, Pam Cooking Spray and fresh from the garden rosemary. Today, I ate it in a salad:

Let me just say, you ain’t no fu if you try this recipe! Just (to)fu it!!

I’ll leave you with a link to the real, and actually meaningful, “To Be or Not to Be” soliloqy here.  How blasphemous of me to conflate discussions of tofu with Hamlet!