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Friday, October 10, 2008

The Healthiest Meal Ever (that actually tastes great!)


Haha, I love how I'm posting this right after my "meat 'n' potatoes" meal. But nevertheless, lately I've been trying to do my body right by eating more natural and vegetarian. Not sure how long I'll last before I crave a juicy burger, but it's 3 weeks in and I'm doing ok! The most fun part has been finding creative ways to get the same amount of protein I used to consume on my low carb diet. With so many resources out there, and several stores close by that carry a variety of natural ingredients, it hasn't been as hard as I expected. While searching allrecipes.com this week, I ran across this quinoa salad that got rave reviews AND packed almost 30g protein! I read about all the benefits of quinoa but had never tried it so this was my first time cooking it. Tastes pretty much like rice but less starchy, it might be bland on its own but mixed in with yummy flavors here, it was perfect.

REVIEW: I will be making this recipe again for sure, but I may try different veggies next time to change it up. It seems to be very versatile. Start to finish took me about 30mins, 1 pan, and it was easy! In Cooking Light I read that if you're stir frying tofu, you should press it between two towels (paper or cloth) with a weight on top for about 20-30 mins to squeeze out all the extra moisture. I've only made tofu twice and I did that both times, so I can't say what would happen if you didn't, but I bet the tofu would crumble during all the stirring.

RECIPE:
1 block extra-firm tofu, cubed
3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup corn, fresh or canned or frozen all work
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans
1 tsp cumin
dash cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Heat canola oil in skillet on med-high heat. Sautee tofu cubes, onion, garlic, bell pepper for 8-10mins until onions are transluscent and tofu is slightly brown on edges. Add vegetable broth and quinoa, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Mix together and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20mins. Add corn, black beans, and cilantro and mix until heated through. Serve! Makes 6 large servings. (per serving: 400 cals, 6g fat, 30g carbs, 26g protein)