easy.healthy.affordable.&maybe a little creative

spicy thai tofu salad

so yummy and full of flava!

1 ts Black sesame seeds, toasted

• 1 ts Peanut or sesame oil
• 1/4 c Rice vinegar
• 1 tb Tamari
• 2 ts Honey
• 1 Garlic clove; minced
• 1 tb Fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/4 ts Red pepper flakes
• 1/4 lb Tofu steak; thinly sliced
• 1/2 c Fresh shiitake mushrooms

sliced

• 1 sm Red bell pepper

sliced into thin strips

• 1 c Fresh sugar snap peas

OR snow peas

• 1/2 c Green onion, sliced
• 1/2 lb Fresh spinach; washed, dried

PREP TIME: 15 Minutes MARINATING TIME: 30 Minutes To make dressing, combine sesame seeds, oil, vinegar, tamari, honey, garlic, cilantro and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl, stirring until well-mixed. Add tofu, shiitake, red bell pepper, snow peas and green onions. Toss with dressing until coated. Let marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes. Divide spinach between four plates. Top with marinated tofu and vegetables and serve. Calories per serving: 145 Grams of Fat: 5 % Fat Calories: 31 Cholesterol: 0 Grams of Fiber: 5 Source: Delicious! - May/June 1993 Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

simple as that. 

1 ripe cantaloupe, a little bit of sugar, and a magic bullet.

throw it in the freezer, and once it’s frozen use a spoon to shave off what you want to put in a little bowl.

i’m lactose intolerant, so this is a good little sub for ice cream. 

you can do this with any fruit! berries, peaches, pineapple, watermelon…

busy is an understatement m-th, so dinner has to be thrown together semi-quick those nights, if i’m not working. 

anywayssss

frozen veggies, check.

garlic, check check.

fresh broccoli, check.

lil olive oil…tada

this is my new favorite recipe! 

* button mushrooms, chives, onions, lemon juice, s & p, and whole wheat bread crumbs. i sauté the goodies until they are golden brown, then add the crumbs, cook a little longer and ta-da! 

you can use butter, which i use sometimes, but it’s not really necessary (but it is pretty good with it) .

this time (when i remembered to take a picture) i actually added some more veggies; zucchini and spinach, and it was still yummy!

and i made some coconut & ginger brown rice to go with it. 

* a little freshly chopped ginger root, 1/2 water, 1/2 light coconut milk 

the rice could have used more of each, but whatever, it was still alright. 

this blog is really for me, and the handful of family members that might check this out from time to time, but just incase you, stranger, come across my blog, i’ll tell you what i’m doing here. 

i was raised by a tofu loving mama that wouldn’t let cereal come in the house if it had sugar in the first 5 ingredients. we didn’t drink soda or juice. well, she let us drink juice if 1/2 was watered down. we didn’t eat candy or desserts. she preferred no dairy, but we had bits here and there. we had bagels & cream cheese sometimes, but that was a treat. if we said, “there’s no food in the house!” she would say, “yes there is, get creative.” ha, at this point you are probably thinking: DEPRIVED!

not-so-much. 

i grew up eating tofu scrambles for breakfast, so many fruits & veggies, roasted garlic cloves brushed with olive oil, and homemade pasta, yes, we would hang it to dry around the house. my mom would put out bruschetta for a snack, or mozzarella and tomatoes in balsamic. she would make pancakes with toasted walnuts, or bananas, or the occasional treat of chocolate chips. and if we were lucky she’d throw in all 3. so yummy. for a few years it was tradition on my birthday to make our own sushi, and my mom knew how to do it right. i think that tradition ended the year we got in the rice fight. sushi rice doesn’t come out of the carpet. mom started it.

so, i think you can catch a glimpse of where i get my inspiration from. she’s simply amazing. she had me cooking at 3, but somewhere in there i slowed down. now i’m in the kitchen as much as possible. it’s fun, therapeutic, and a learning experience for me every time. 

from ‘05-‘10 i was vegetarian, and went in and out of being vegan. 3 weeks ago i took a few bites of chicken, and have had it a few times since, all in very small quantities though. i still don’t crave it, and it’s weird to eat, so this blog will remain mostly vegetarian, sometimes vegan, and sometimes have meats depending on my dinner party guests.

i don’t like to waste food, so meals get creative. i love the healthy alternative to everything. i’m not joking…everything. probably because i’m a quality and quantity eater, no shame, so i know if i can make something healthy, i can eat more of it. i shop on a budget, but know when to splurge, so meals stay affordable majority of the time. i love going out to eat, but lately i’ve gotten a kick out of how delicious i can make a meal at home for a fraction of the cost.

ok, i think that’s enough.

welcome :)