Baked Tofu with Roasted Vegetables

For all you tofu and vegetable lovers, try this recipe!! It is so easy it hurts! :) The best part of this recipe is that it very well can be changed and modified into many similar yet distinct dishes. Adapted from original recipe!!

Baked Tofu with Roasted Vegetables
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 block of extra/firm tofu
4tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oi
olive oil
salt
black pepper
1.5 peppers (red, yellow, green)
1/3 eggplant
(any vegetable you desire)

Directions:
Begin with your firm block of tofu and drain fluid. Freeze tofu to aid in slicing without it crumbling. Take frozen tofu and slice horizontally into four slabs. Pat with paper towel to absorb any extra liquid. Place in shallow containers and allow tofu to soak in a mixture of reduced sodium soy sauce and sesame oil. Place in refrigerator covered for at least 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice eggplant, sprinkle with salt and let stand in the colander until 45 minutes has passed or you are ready to bake.

Just as the 45 minutes (or more) is coming to an end, dice up your favorite vegetables. I used eggplant and a variety of peppers.

Place all vegetables and tofu on a tinfoil covered baking sheet. (Be sure to coat the tinfoil with a little olive oil to avoid sticking!) Brush olive oil onto vegetables. Sprinkle all with salt and pepper as desired.


Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tofu is done to your liking!


This dish can be enjoyed as a main dish or as part of a variety of tapas! Happy eating! :)

Dessert Gone Wrong to Breakfast Gone Right!!

One night, I decided that I wanted a 'sweet and light summer-time' dessert. To make a long story short, I failed! I tried to make Raspberry Fool, which is essentially cream and berries. Little did I realize that you can't make cream from 'light cream.' Although the 'dessert' tasted great (you can't really go wrong with any kind of cream, now can you?!), it just wasn't really what I expected nor what I classify as dessert.

As I kept starring at my failed dessert, I wondered what-in-the-world could be done with these ingredients. Drinking the cream wasn't really appealing and tossing it was not an option. Finally, I came up with the perfect idea- french toast topped with cream soaked berries! Voila!

Moral of the story: one failure leads to one success!

Enjoy!

NEW Pretzel M&Ms!!!

As I was standing in the long line at the grocery store waiting to check out and purchase my groceries, out of the corner of my eye something shiny and blue caught my attention!! What could it be?! PRETZEL M&Ms!!! Yes, this is a BIG deal! For one, chocolate covered pretzels are delicious. (Don't be fooled. I think it's an admissions requirement into the dietetics program to love chocolate!!) For two, the package is... PORTION CONTROLLED.

Every time I see the 'snack' bag of peanut M&Ms, my stomach turns. One package (a.k.a. a handful) is 250 calories!!! I just think that's a bit much for a 'junk food!' (And don't be fooled; don't blame the nuts. The milk chocolate package is 240 calories!!) BUT the pretzel M&Ms are 150 calories!!! Love it! Love it! Love it! A little something tasty in the perfect sized package. (I understand the difficulty of only eating half the package...)

So kudos to Mars!

(P.S. Just to be clear- I'm not stating M&Ms in any variety are healthy! I'm just excited about finding portion controlled varieties of not-the-healthiest snacks. I'm realistic and realize people like candy. So, why not INdulge occasionally with the proper portion! I'm okay with that.) (In all honesty, anything with red 50 and yellow 6 is never going to be healthy!!!)

Motivational Inspiration

We have all come across moments when we want to stop and give up, whether this be food and exercise related or not.

An avid runner and cyclist shared a story of motivation during one of our recent hikes. As the never ending seemingly vertical climb continued, the look of excitement of hiking and reaching the top of the mountain was slowly (perhaps quickly) fading. Personally, my legs were tiring and I felt as though they were going to give out at any second. This woman I was hiking with recalled moments during some of her runs when she questioned why she ran and why of all days -today- was she running a longer distance. After realizing her negative stream of thoughts (and also admitting to herself that she still had to run home), she stopped, smiled and thought of something positive such as 'When I finish this run I will have completed...' [insert goal.]

Admittedly, this might seem silly BUT next time you want to give up, don't! Stop! Smile! Think of something positive! It works! And before you even know it, you've reached the end- you're back to running on a flat surface, you've reached the top of the mountain, dinner is made, and life is good!

Happy Tuesday! :)

A Family Affair at Lunch Time!

Sometimes we all seem to get overwhelmed when it comes to 'what do I serve my guests?' Recently, I was visiting my BFF (best friend forever! duh! :)) and she made a small smorgasbord of food; she made it all seem so simple! And really that's the idea, right? A time for family to spend together smiling, laughing, and eating delicious (and quick and healthy) food.

Below was the spread!


Let me break it down for you.

First there was the starch. My BFF (we'll keep her nameless, for now!) offered whole grain bagels, onion bagels, pumpernickel bagels, and whole grain crackers. (Did you see how the bagels are cut in half. Oh how I love portion control!!! :))

Despite many who only eat one food group per meal, there's more to life than starch! (And as it should be.) One of the most important parts of a meal to provide satiety is protein. Our choices were some of my favorite- chickpeas, eggs, and tuna fish! Yum, yum, YUM!


To hit that tempestuous spot, there was a lovely (and I mean lovely) block of cheese awaiting the painless slice from a sharp knife followed by a quick plop onto each of our plates and an even quicker slurp into our mouths descending into our tummies!!


With a melange of ingredients, one could never (yes NEVER) forget the veggies!!!! Bring it on!! (Extra tuna on this plate and low fat cottage cheese!!)


And last but never least, let's not forget the dessert!!


All in all, this meal is fit for EVERYBODY- even kids! (Promise. A five year old tried everything on the table!!! Never forget the two bite rule!) Enjoy!

My New Favorite Adventure- BIKING!!

For the past few years, I have been talking about buying a bike. Yes, you read that correctly- talking and not (sadly and unfortunately) acting! I'm not sure what was holding me back. Maybe the fear of biking alone or the fear of biking on the crazy streets of Boston was the reason for putting off the purchase! This past weekend, however, those fears were put to rest. I went on a 25 mile bike ride and LOVED every second of it! I biked on trails, suburban streets and even on main streets in Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. To my surprise and delight, biking around Boston isn't so horrible. With my fears put to rest, I quickly turned my talking into actions and bought myself a new bike! (Sadly, I don't think I've owned a bike in 15 years!!) I'm so excited!! Although I don't have any pictures of my own bike yet, here's a generic picture (courtesy of Raleigh!)


I promise there will be stories of my adventures to come! Stay tuned!

Grapes Grapes Grapes and MORE GRAPES

Apparently a common signature of Somerville, MA (or so I learned on a bike tour) is grapes! I went on a group bike tour recently, which included a tour of local farms. There I was able to see grapes around a wooden fence!




I havent done my research to determine the validity of this supposed fact, but either way this is a cool addition to a garden or outdoor space!!

For me, it was kind of ironic, as earlier that day I was taking pictures of grapes (in my kitchen!)





I love fresh grapes. I try my best to buy fruits and vegetables in season. Seasonal Fruit & Vegetable Chart for MA! Learn about the nutrient density of grapes!

Happy healthy eating fresh fruit and healthy snacks! :)

Hiking Mt Chocorua

I have now hiked Mt. Chocorua twice- once last summer and once last weekend. I remember lasts summer's hike to be mild and on the easier side. Well, this year I was in for a big surprise.

To give you a little background, Mt. Chocura is located in the White Mountains in NH. It is at 35oo feet elevation and is about 3-3.5 miles to the top. I learned, after the fact, that the trail we took up to the mountain was called Brooke Trail. And boy was it a challenge. The latter half of the 3.5 miles includes almost a vertical climb. Although the picture below almost does the reality of the scene no justice, I was scaling flat rock practically in a vertical position! YIKES! (Ignore my friend in the picture; he's always getting in the way! ;))



Despite the challenge, it was well worth it. The accomplishment alone of reaching the top of a mountain is a great feeling. What tops that feeling is the breathtaking view.







If you're not an avid hiker, give it a try; it's worth it. And don't worry, all trails are rated. You can choose an easy, more flat trail! Happy hiking!

Food on the Cruise

Earlier this summer I went on my first cruise!! Many of my clients (and friends and family members) have shared with me detail after detail of the wonderfully delicious food upon the ship. So by the time the day arrived to actually board the big ship, I was very curious as to the types of food that would be available.

As expected there was a smorgasbord of food available all day everyday. On the last night there was a mid-night 'snack.' In reality, it was not a snack, it was a mid-night feast; there were tables and tables full of food!

Let me break it down for you.


Breakfast first!

On each of the mornings (four in total), I choose a similar breakfast that included a protein, a starch, and fruit. Of course, I was on vacation too and wanted to INdulge (read INdulge not overindulge!) Instead of my typical whole grain selection I settled for a few (literally a few) tator tots and a slice of raisin/nut bread. I ate scrambled or boiled eggs and/or yogurt or drank milk. YUM! I was content and satisfied.

Next course- Lunch!
Lunch was always quite variable. Two days included lunch on the ship and two days included food on the island. I didn't take any pictures of lunch because it wasn't anything to write home about; HOWEVER, my dear friend who I traveled with thought it would be 'hilarious' to take a picture of a dietitian with fried food and beers in the picture.


No I did not eat the entire plate of fried onion rings in front of me nor did I drink two beers! Oh to be a dietitian! Food jokes are always on us!! :)

Moving on...

Dinner

We ate on the ship every night for diner, which to my pleasant surprise was accompanied by fresh tiger lilies on the table!

As for the food, there was quite an array of choices. For the most part, the kitchen offered vegetarian options and catered to each individual's needs. (I wouldn't say it was the best vegetarian food ever, but I know my friends were happy when they ordered lamb one night and lobster the next!)

Luckily for me, there was always a wide variety of salads (and we all know I love fruits and vegetables.) A few of the many options include:

Cantaloupe and Honeydew Melon Salad
[Keep in mind the term 'salad' was used very loosely!]

?Garden Salad
I'm actually not really sure how this was considered a salad, but, hey, sometimes you just have to go with it!!

Fruit Salad
This dish was great. It included strawberries, leeche, mango, papaya, watermelon, and a spicy mint jello. The picture actually does not give this salad/dessert any justice!


Caesar Salad


The REAL Garden Salad
Okay moving on to the REAL deal (a.k.a dinner!)

Dinner options

Seafood


Pasta


Steak


The Healthy Menu
There was one set of menus that listed brief nutritional facts. You could see calories per meal. Although it's not how I would design it, it was refreshing to me to see some sort of caloric awareness!! :) (And of course the higher calorie meals listed zero nutritional facts! Surprise! Surprise!)

And last, but definitely not least...

Tasty Drinks!!!


But in reality the main beauty of the trip had nothing to do with food at all...



In the end, vacation can be enjoyable on all grounds. You can eat healthfully, indulge, and at the end of the day enjoy the simplicity of nature at it's best! :)