Vegan 'chicken' marsala (Gardein)

Gardein Chick'n Marsala with a side of steamed broccoli rabe.

While I thoroughly enjoyed all the rich and wonderful food at the Foodbuzz festival (and the eating out that occurred after the weekend) I was careful to be conscious of how much fat I was ingesting.

Of course, I had to guess for many of the meals but I did a fair job - my stomach held up well for the weekend and it has only been in the last day or so it has started to rebel.

Sigh, the joys of having a stomach sensitive to high levels of fats...

When I spotted this at the store:

I knew that this chick'n masala would be a great way to kick off the next week of low-fat eating.

I was also curious to try out some of the Alexia food products after enjoying them out at the Foodbuzz festival. 

Alexia did hand out $1 off coupons and while I did have one in my pocket when I went in the store - I completely forgot to use it. 

So, while I am down $1 at least I get out of putting in a disclaimer - score!


The Gardein package contained two chick'n breasts with sauce. What I really liked was that each chick'n breast was individually sealed with its sauce packet.

And if you are like me and never read package directions - make sure to NOT put this in the freezer (like I did) because the cooking instructions assumed a refrigerated product not a rock hard frozen one.

Live and learn.

About five discs of the frozen potatoes equals one serving  so they went into the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and came out creamy and warm.

The frozen chick'n patty took a while to cook - it being frozen and all - so I ended up with less sauce than I think is intended.

 
The texture was pretty darn good - I would not be fooled into thinking I was actually eating a chicken breast but it was pretty close.

I ended up drizzling some balsamic vinegar on top to make up for the lack of sauce.

So the fat gram total for my breakfast comes out to be:

Gardein Chick'n Marsala                        6g

One serving of Alexia mashed potatoes  6g

2 cups of steamed broccoli rabe            0g
 -------------------------------------------------------
Total:                                                   12g

Not too bad for a decent sized meal. 

I am shooting for around 20g of fat per day since this seems to be the fat level that calms my stomach.

Fun stuff, huh? 

But I figured if there are any readers who have a fat intolerant stomach like me - you might be interested in how I try to balance it so I can enjoy the occasional indulgent meal (or weekend).

I loved the Alexia mashed potatoes but they were almost too yummy - I think I would have an issue with portion control if I always had these in the freezer.

For the Gardein Chick'n masala - I am going to hold off on a definitive opinion until I try making it when it is unfrozen:-)

I hope everyone is having a nice relaxing weekend!

Delectable nibbles

Connor's welcome home meal of red potatoes, avocado, grass fed beef, smoked salmon on a bed of steamed broccoli rabe with a drizzle of yogurt sauce (yogurt+KyoGreen+ Udo's oil) and a smear of peanut butter.

When I busted the dogs out of the kennel this morning we were all delighted to see each other.

They settled down quickly for the usual routine - I cook them (and myself) a nice meal when we all get home.

And here is Abby's meal:

Abby's was heavier on the fish - just the way she likes it.

I spared myself the bizarre food combinations that the dogs love and went with something more traditional:

Grass fed beef with steamed broccoli rabe and a baked potato.

Whenever I return home from a trip the dogs are exhausted from their time in the doggie motel and I am bleary eyed from my excursion so we all have a good meal and just sack out.

Recaps of the Foodbuzz festival to come in the next two days - I just needed to get the beasties and myself rested and well fed before the next posting:-)

Savory mashed potato pancake

My non-stop craving for veggies seems to have abated a bit.

Thank goodness.


This morning I wanted pancakes.

Mashed potato pancake.

I will let you in on a secret. I have, in the past, been fairly obsessed with the mashed potatoes they make at Draeger's.

Their mashed potatoes (which can be picked up at the deli counter) are creamy and rich with a nice onion bite from a generous addition of green onions.

While I love those potatoes they do contain cream AND cream cheese (which is why they are so wonderful) but now a days they are, unfortunately, a little too rich for me. 

So I decided to make a mashed potato pancake using the ingredients (the ones I could remember) that make the Draeger's mashed potatoes so wonderful.

Mashed potato pancake with a side of sauteed broccoli rabe.

I threw some things together and ended up with a crispy pancake that was deliciously rich and creamy in the center. Wow! It was amazing!.

The recipe made a huge pancake and I only used one medium/small red potato.

Shallot, red potato, Tofutti cream cheese, Tofutti sour cream, broccoli rabe, green onion and eggs.

The pancake looked a bit lonely sitting on the plate so I topped it with a poached egg and added some broccoli rabe sauteed in some olive oil.

Then the egg looked a little too naked.

Black pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

And you can guess what happened next...

I enjoyed all this with a small espresso with soymilk.

The potato pancake is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. 

I also think this would also make a great dish to bring your significant other when you bring them breakfast in bed:-)

 Savory mashed potato pancake

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 medium red potato, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 of a green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp of fresh chopped parsley
1 egg white
1tsp of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp of Tofutti sour cream
1/2 tsp of Tofutti cream cheese
a pinch of salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of olive oil

Instructions:

Chop up the potato and place it in a steamer over med-high heat for 10 - 12 minutes. Obviously you can skip this step if you have some leftover mashed potatoes. I would suggest using about 1 cup of mashed potatoes.

When the potatoes are tender mash them with a fork and stir in the shallot, onion, parsley, egg white, flour, Tofutti sour cream, Tofutti cream cheese, salt and pepper. It will be a slightly sticky mixture.

Put a skillet on the stove on medium heat and add in the olive oil. Take the mixture and flatten it between the palms of your hand. You want a thick pancake at this point. Place the patty into the pan and use the back of a fork to gently press the mixture till it is approximately 1/4" thick.

Flip the pancake when you see the edges begin to brown. Flipping the pancake can be tricky if you went with one big pancake so make sure to have your largest spatula handy. Cook the pancake until the other side is brown.

Plate your delicious golden brown pancake and top with anything you like. 

Suggested toppings: a poached egg, a dollop of sour cream or if you are feeling very decadent a dollop of sour cream with a spoonful of caviar.

Note: You can easily substitute regular sour cream and cream cheese in this recipe.

Trying something new

Potatoes, carrots, broccoli rabe, onion, red pepper and mushrooms in a soy glaze.

Pretty much all I have been wanting lately is vegetables. This, in an of itself, is not a bad thing. But when you are trying to make sure you get enough protein everyday? 

The constant craving for tons of veggies is not really supporting my protein plan.

My breakfast was delicious. I set the potatoes, carrots and broccoli rabe into the steamer.  While they steamed I put a little olive oil and butter on low heat and tossed in some chopped onions to caramelize.

When the onions were just starting to caramelize I tossed in some chopped red pepper and some chopped mushrooms.

I let that simmer for a few minutes then I added the rest of the veggies from the steamer and splashed everything with some soy sauce and gave it a stir.

A very yummy (if lacking in protein) breakfast.

I will have to try and eat this a little later:

Here is a shot of Connor, the sweetie who is still recuperating, showing avid interest in my protein bar.

Why is he lusting after my protein bar?

You just can't keep that guy away from anything remotely related to peanut butter.

 I will have to make him a peanut butter treat later.

Oh, and the new thing I am trying today? Bodyrock.tv

I have seen people mentioning the workouts on their blogs and while I was not that impressed at first (the site is heavily geared towards being eye candy for guys IMO) when I stopped to actually check out the workouts I was fairly impressed.

And I like the idea of doing a short, intense workout as opposed to hours in the weight room.

Has anyone else tried the Bodyrock.tv workouts?

Morning appetite

Vegetable tofu scramble.

My appetite has finally returned since the pups are home safe and sound.

This morning I wanted a big plate of veggies and some fruit but, as you know, I am trying to eat protein on a more consistent basis. Cue the protein:

Locally made tofu.

I chopped two small rainbow carrots, 1/2 a small Yukon gold potato and two stalks of broccoli rabe and threw them into the steamer.

Most tofu scrambles use crumbly tofu and I personally hate that texture in the scramble. The tofu starts to break down and the bits of tofu feel like tiny pebbles. Ugh, not my favorite.

Instead, I sliced of long, fairly thick slices of tofu and put them into a hot pan with some peanut oil. 

A lot of recipes want you to marinate the tofu first but I find this makes it harder to get the tofu nice and crisp. Luckily this tofu had very little water in it so it crisped up very nicely.

I pulled the tofu out of the pan when both sides had browned. I cut it up into small squares and set it aside.

When the vegetables were nice and tender (you may want to pull them out earlier if you want more crunch to the veggies) and they went into the skillet.

Then I added:

1 Tbsp of vegetable broth
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp of white miso paste mixed with a little water

I covered the skillet and let this cook over low heat for a few minutes. 

The tofu went in at the end and everything was tossed together till well coated with the sauce.

Then I plated the tofu and vegetables and finished it with a drizzle of sesame oil.

The tofu was wonderful. It had a crisp and chewy texture like bacon or sausage. This texture is much more to my taste and it was delicious!

On the side I enjoyed one of my favorite instant espresso drinks.

This instant coffee is great to have on hand for making a quick cup of espresso or to use in recipes if you want a nice non-bitter coffee flavor.

Vegetable tofu scramble, a cup of espresso with soymilk and some juicy, ripe watermelon.

I do have to tell you that crispy tofu is a wonderful thing.

Connor was crying for the watermelon so both dogs enjoyed a nice, juicy chunk of the water filled fruit. 

No surprise there, I suppose, since going a day with limited water (because of the anesthesia) would make anyone lust after a slice of watermelon :-)

Greens in the morning

Brown rice with broccoli rabe, carrot and Miso Mayo with a topping of Udo's oil.

Lol, if you saw the post with just the picture - yeah, that was my big pre-caffeine mistake of the day:-)

And what you see in the first picture was not my breakfast. It was, in fact, the dogs treat.

They have been eating grass again so I figured they would enjoy some greens. They went crazy over this. And, yes, they ate all of the greens and came back into the kitchen trying to sniff out more.

My dogs are strange.

This was my breakfast:

Breakfast bowl with brown rice, black beans, carrots, broccoli rabe.

 I started with the rainbow carrots.

The carrots went into the steamer along with two stalks of broccoli rabe (chopped). 

When the vegetables were tender, I took the pan off the heat and assembled the dogs treat. 

I grabbed my leftover brown rice from the fridge and put a tsp of the rice on the dish, some broccoli rabe, a piece of carrot, a dollop of Miso Mayo and drizzled all with some Udo's oil.

A heavenly dog treat.

Then I went on with assembling my breakfast. I emptied the steamer pot of all but about 1 Tbsp of the steaming liquid. 

I tossed in 1/2 cup of brown rice into the pot along with the carrots and broccoli rabe. 

Then came the spices. A pinch of cumin, cayenne pepper, 1Tbsp of salsa and a pinch of salt. 

At this point I still wanted to boost the flavor so I chopped up one scallion and that went into the pot along with 1/2 cup of cooked black beans (rinsed).


I was liking the way this was coming together but I wanted to boost the protein a bit so I lightly beat one whole egg and stirred that into the pan.

I topped the bowl with more salsa and a bit of avocado.

The pot cooked on medium heat until the egg was cooked through. 

I have a lot of greens in my fridge. My game plan is to try to incorporate greens into every meal I eat this week.

Wish me luck!

The farm

The dogs came along for the car ride to the farm. They couldn't join me because normally the chickens are truly free range. The petite fowl are usually running around the farm munching on all sorts of earthy goodies. 

I think the dogs smell chicken!

The skies were overcast - rain is due this weekend so the ladies were snug in their home. 

But the greens were still gorgeous.

The beautiful bounty. 

From the top going clockwise: Collard greens, leeks, broccoli, broccoli rabe and in the center - splendiferous farm fresh eggs.

 But you need to see the incredibly cute color of that green egg. 

I am not hungry tonight - so no dinner picts. Of course the dogs got their usual dinner with an addition of parsley-turkey mini burgers. 

And finally, a pretty picture of flowers blooming on the farm.