Cleaning the Pantry

I'm moving to a new apartment in less than two weeks. Despite it only being 8 miles away, I still want to consume the foods that I have on hand so I don't have to rush perishables and frozen goods from here to there and worry about it going bad! (Maybe that's just an excuse to eat my kitchen clean, haha.)


So, for the past few weeks I've been food shopping very very little, only getting things like spinach or soy milk - things I go through quickly and eat regularly. Some stuff I still have yet to consume that I really need to are:

• Frozen veggies
• Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers (frozen, though I may try to pack those in a cooler because I doubt I can eat all 6 in the next week!)
• Tofu
• Carrots
• Eggs
• Carton of egg whites
• Soy milk
• Orange juice
• Tofurky sausages
• Greek yogurt

...and probably other stuff that I can't think of right now that's been sitting in my fridge/freezer for a while.


In an attempt to begin the pantry-purging, I made some vegetarian pot-pies earlier this week using some of the things from the aforementioned list (frozen veggies, tofu, soy milk).

Vegetarian Pot Pie

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition info here.

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 2/5 block of extra firm tofu
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk
• 1 package Bird's Eye Steamfresh Mixed Vegetables

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 4 ramekins with non-stick spray and set aside.

Cook Bird's Eye vegetables according to instructions. Cut tofu into small cubes and toss with paprika until coated. Add remaining veggies and remaining ingredients (except puff pastry) and mix until combined.

Evenly distribute the mixture into the ramekins. Cut puff pastry into quarters (4 squares) and top each ramekin with one square. Cut a few slits (be creative how they look!) into the top of each puff pastry. Brush some egg white on top of each puff pastry (this isn't shown in the nutrition info).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Now, I think I need to get back to cleaning and packing. Luckily my mom is arriving on Tuesday (my dad arrives on Saturday) to help me finish up my packing and cleaning and to provide much-needed assistance with the move itself! Maybe they'll help me eat my food, too...!

Feelin' Fancy?

I decided to try creating a fancy version of something basic: cornbread! I took a spin on the more common jalapeno-cheddar cornbread and made it with feta, basil, and a little bit of jalapeno instead. I also omitted all added oil and used grated zucchini instead. It was still incredibly moist, so you won't miss the oil at all, believe me!

Fancy Pants Cornbread

Makes 12 Muffins

Nutrition information is here.

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
3/4 cup grated zucchini (approx. 1 zucchini)
2 egg whites
4 basil leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1.5 jalapeno peppers, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tsp baking powder


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray.

Mix dry ingredients until combined. Add wet ingredients and mix. Pour equally into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until crowns are golden.


These were best served immediately. The next day they were good, but the feta when at room-temperature was kind of weird. Next time I think I'll omit the feta and stick with a more melt-able cheese! Otherwise, it was a great success... even my coworkers liked them!

Spring Roll Tutorial

Oh, spring rolls, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. They're so easy to make!
2. They're versatile: you can be creative and put nearly anything in them!
3. They're healthy (if you use the right ingredients and don't fry them, haha)!
4. They're fun to make!
5. And, of course, they're delicious!

So, here's how I do my egg-rollin':

Buy some rice paper. I'm pretty sure you can find this in the "international" aisle in your local major supermarket chain (Kroger, Safeway, Stop & Shop, Walmart, etc.) from a number of different brands. I got these at an international supermarket, though.

Choose some fillings. I'm all about well-balanced meals so I make sure I have some veggies and some protein; in this meal, I chose tofu sprinkled with paprika and chili powder, and some julienned carrots and zucchini. I've also used everything from tuna with spinach and avocado to shrimp with zucchini and arugula, and everything in between. Whatever you have on hand is just fine, believe me.

Add some pizzaz. Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, hot sauce, mustard... whatever you want. But, I must say this: I am absolutely in love with Trader Joe's Satay Peanut Sauce. Love love love love love! I can't say enough about this stuff. It is godly. I use it with rice noodles, stir fry, and even as a substitute for pizza sauce when making home-made pizzas! Obviously, I use it in spring rolls as well, haha. I also use some crushed red pepper flakes to add a bit more spiciness. :)

Ready... assemble! First, you need two plates: one with water, and one without water. The one with water is used to soak your rice paper. The sheets are very thin and look opaque when you first see them. They need to be thoroughly moistened to be useable.

I never soak more than 2 sheets at a time because they tend to get stuck together if you have too many in the water. I let them sit for about 2 or 3 minutes, or until it is very very flexible... it kind of feels like skin when it's ready to be used. I pick up the sheet and shake it off gently, just a little, to get the excess water off of it.

Place the sheet on the empty non-watered plate. I usually let it sit for about 30 seconds before using so that the starch in the paper comes out and allows it all to stick together later. From personal experience, working with wet rice paper makes it really hard to keep your filling contained, and the edges won't stay sealed.

Now, here's the fun part:

Add your ingredients (don't forget the sauce!) in the center of the rice paper like this. Fold the bottom of the sheet upwards.

Fold one side inward...

Fold the top downward...

Then roll!

I make bento lunches for work and spring rolls are very common in them!

There you go! Now, go forth and make spring rolls!

One Big Lesson Polenta Has Taught Me

I attempted making polenta for the first time tonight and learned a few things along the way.

I used a 4-to-1 water-to-cornmeal ratio that I found in my Joy Of Cooking book for making polenta, cutting it down to two 1/4-cup servings. Browned 3 tbsp minced garlic, wilted some baby spinach, then added 2 cups of water on top. Brought it to a boil, added 1/2 cup of cornmeal, stirred constantly until thickened, and stirred in some black pepper and dried basil.

My original goal was to bake it, so I poured the partially-cooked polenta in an 8x8 glass dish, topped it with 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, and put it in a 350 F preheated oven for 30 minutes. I cut it into quarters and sandwiched some pan-seared tofu that I crumbled and added to tomato sauce (a fake-"meat" sauce, I guess, haha) to make it like lasagna.

Believe me, this is not a success story! Here's the #1 thing I learned from this: Patience.

I started off good. Really, I did! I patiently stirred the polenta as it cooked in the boiling water for exactly 10 minutes. I patiently waited the full half hour for it to bake in the pan. I even waited for it to cool to room temperature before cutting. Go me! However, The polenta was still runny on the bottom when I cut it, so I put it in a 400-degree oven on the bottom rack for 5 minutes. I saw it sizzling and took it out... then I was impatient.

I cut it again and it looked, uh, better (I guess). I tried using a spatula to take the first 1/4 of it out and onto my plate. I basically slopped it on there and rearranged it into the square it once was. While moving it from the dish to my plate, it started dripping off the side of the spatula and, stupidly, I tried catching it. Because I was too impatient to wait for it to cool this time around, the molten mush burned a few of my fingers.

After assembling the layers of "meat" sauce and polenta (and taking the photos) I was so freaking starving that I shoveled the first bite into my mouth. You'd think the feeling of the semi-burned dots on my hand from the previous incident would have told me, "Hey, stupid! Blow on it, or just wait a second for it to cool down!"

Nope, I burned the hell out of the roof of my mouth. Fan-freaking-tastic! (Note the sarcasm...) This was a yummy dish, flavor-wise, but definitely needs some perfecting before I'm confident enough to share it with others!

Facelift Number Thirteen - [vegan!] Marble Cake

I love Starbucks. Yes, I'm one of "those people" who order complicated-sounding drinks and, yes, I even have a Starbucks Gold Rewards Card. It's about time that I try one of their baked goods!

Now, as a warning, I completely forgot to take photos during the cooking process. I am SO sorry! It's a really simple 6-ingredient recipe, so I think you guys can handle it, but after this one I will be back on track with the photo-taking!

Anyway, onto the facelift, to show you can still have your cake and be vegan, too!

BEFORE THE FACELIFT



INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Nasoya Silken Creations Dark Chocolate
1/2 cup Nasoya Silken Creations Vanilla
1/4 cup + 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp + 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
1.5 tsp + 1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup + 3/4 cup all-purpose unbleached enriched flour

LET'S COOK!

Basically, you're making two different cake batters, then layering them. Easy!

Chocolate batter = chocolate Nasoya + 1/4 cup brown sugar + 2 tbsp apple sauce + 1.5 tsp baking powder + 3/4 cup flour

Vanilla batter = vanilla Nasoya + 1/4 cup brown sugar + 2 tbsp apple sauce + 1.5 tsp baking powder + 3/4 cup flour

Pour in an greased 8x8 glass dish in any order you see fit (I put vanilla on the bottom and chocolate on top). Stick a knife in the batter and swirl around a bit to marble it -- the more you move it around, the more "marble-y" it'll look.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F. If you want to frost it, let it cool first!

FACELIFT RESULTS


238 fewer Calories (-68%)
13g less fat (-100%)
6g less saturated fat (-100%)
75mg less cholesterol (-100%)
28g less carbs (-53%)
4g less protein (-67%)
1g more fiber (from 0 to 1g!)
376mg less sodium (-74%)

Okay, again it seems I inadvertently reduced the protein. Despite this, if you were to eat 3 servings of the made-over marble cake, you'd get the same 6g of protein protein and still have less fat, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, and Calories!

Full recipe is HERE. Don't forget to keep sending e-mails and commenting... and now follow us on Twitter @FFFacelift!

Facelift Number Twelve - [vegan!] Calzone

As I said in my last post, I am challenging myself to eat a vegan diet (note: not a moral thing, just a dietary thing) so I've made over a huge-portioned dish from one of the largest pizza fast food chains: the P'Zone from Pizza Hut!

BEFORE THE FACELIFT



(click to view full-sized image)

And that's just half a calzone!

INGREDIENTS

1 bag Trader Joe's Whole Wheat PIzza Dough
2 oz Trader Joe's Soy Mozzarella Cheese
4 oz Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style
3 cup Spinach
.5 cup Tomato Paste (so salt added variety)
1 cup Zucchini, sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb
2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (more or less, to taste)
1 tsp olive oil
a bit of whole wheat flour (for dusting your work surface)








LET'S COOK!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.


Cook the spinach, zucchini, and Gimme Lean in a pan. (I cooked each separately, despite being shown together here.)


Lightly flour your working surface and flatten out half of the pizza dough into a circle, like a mini-pizza. Hopefully yours will be rounder than mine, haha.

Then top half of the round with half of each of the following ingredients...


garlic...


tomato paste & seasonings...


spinach...


zucchini...


Gimme Lean...


and cheese!


Fold the empty side of the dough over, roll the edges, and press with a fork to seal. Brush a little olive oil on top and repeat all of this with the other half of the ingredients.


Lightly flour a cookie sheet and put the calzones on it. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden. But... keep an eye on them! When I was baking them, about 10 minutes through I noticed they were browning really fast, so I put foil on top for the rest of the baking. I liked them when they looked nice and golden like this...


Of course, the best part is the inside...


Now, eat!!! This makes 4 servings (1/2 calzone per serving, just like Pizza Hut). Yum!

FACELIFT RESULTS

Though it varies on which P'Zone you compare it to, this vegan version has around half the Calories, 1/4 the fat, ZERO cholesterol, twice the fiber, and even though the sodium is much higher than I like to have even in two meals, it's still between 200 and 600mg less than Pizza Hut's P'Zone! There's a bit less protein, but when you're not eating a half-pound of Italian food, that should be a given! Think about it: ignoring the sodium, you could basically eat an entire vegan calzone (2 servings) and still be consuming less fat, Calories, cholesterol, and carbs as well as more than quadruple the fiber than Pizza Hut's!

You can find the full recipe HERE!

Enjoy, and continue sending me emails at FastFoodFacelift[at]gmail[dot]com and commenting in this blog!

Facelift Number Eleven - Sweet and Firey Tofu

Happy 2010, everyone! In celebration of a newer and healthier year for you all, I've answered a request I've gotten a few times from you guys: make a vegetarian version of a fast food dish.

I'm not much of a fan of Chinese food and never have been; however, it's hard to escape Panda Express when you go to a mall or airport. My boyfriend loves a lot of their food, so I decided to undertake their SunFire Chicken dish... but with a vegetarian twist.

BEFORE THE FACELIFT




INGREDIENTS

2/5 block Trader Joe's Extra Firm Organic Tofu
1 cup pineapple chunks in juice (not syrup), drained
1/4 medium red onion
1 tsp Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 fl oz orange juice
1 tbsp pineapple juice
1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp honey









LET'S COOK!


I cut up the tofu into die-sized pieces and blotted the excess moisture from them on a paper towel.


Toss the tofu pieces in orange juice until coated.


Put the tofu in a bag with the panko bread crumbs until the pieces are coated.


Bake at 425 degrees F until golden. Now, for the veggies and sauce...


Chop up onion into large pieces and put in a pan with the pineapple. Cook on medium heat until pineapple browns a bit and the onions are cooked yet still crunchy.


Mix the remaining ingredients together until combined. A little goes a long way!


Combine all of the components together until coated in sauce. Enjoy!

FACELIFT RESULTS

217 fewer Calories (-50.7%)
5g less fat (-72.2%)
4g less saturated fat (-100%)
0mg cholesterol (-100%)
22g less carbs (-41.3%)
5g less protein (-27.6%)
no difference in fiber
349mg less sodium (-94.4%)

I definitely didn't mean to decrease the protein, but if you add another 1/5 block per serving to this recipe, you'll only increase 100 Calories (per 1/5 block of tofu) while increasing the protein like crazy! Or, serve this on some quinoa for a great carb with tons of protein!

Full recipe HERE. Keep commenting and sending me e-mails as well!

Have a happy and healthy new year!

Facelift Number Ten - Easy Peasy Mocha Frappe

I guess I owe you all another apology since I did not post the facelift I had done last week until, well... now. So, I'm very sorry for waiting so long to do this!

If you are like me and millions of others around the world, coffee from Starbucks is quite the addiction, especially their frozen concoctions. Here is one of my old favorites, re-done for your enjoyment!

BEFORE THE FACELIFT




Note: Just for fun, I made this exactly how I'd order it -- Grande with no whipped cream.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup Edy's Fat Free Yogurt Blends, Vanilla
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 packet Truvia sweetener (optional)
ice cubes











LET'S COOK!

As the subject of this blog post says, this is very very easy!


Put all ingredients in a blender. (My blender is a really amazing single-serving one by Fit-N-Fresh. I own a lot of their products and they're awesome!) I started with 2 ice cubes, as I wasn't sure how the consistency would be with more.


Blend until smooth! If you like you're thicker, add more ice cubes and blend until it's to your liking.

See? I told you it was easy!

FACELIFT RESULTS

137 fewer Calories (-52.7%)
2g less fat (-54.3%)
1g less saturated fat (-55%)
23g less carbs (-43.1%)
no change in protein
5g more fiber (from 0 to 5!)
177mg less sodium (-77.1%)

This was a really delicious and extremely quick treat to make! You can always make it to your own liking. If you want to make it minty, add some peppermint extract. If you want it even more chocolatey, use chocolate frozen yogurt instead of vanilla. The nutrition change will be negligible!

Full recipe is HERE. As usual, shoot me an e-mail or leave me a comment (or two!) with suggestions, comments, ideas, etc.

I will not be posting another facelift until sometime in mid-January 2010 (wow, how time flies!) so I wish you all the happiest of holidays. Be safe and enjoy the time with family and friends!