Dinner/ Exercise/ Fitness

The BEST!

I’ve been starving all day! I think this time though it might be more hormone related than snack related because I’ve eaten balanced healthy meals/snacks all day long! I was so ready to eat dinner early tonight and glad I had an excuse to (I had to be at work at 6:30). The recipe I made tonight is one I have been wanting to try for almost 6 months now—ever since I bought the cookbook. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to try it because it was so easy! Seriously…earlier in the day I made the dressing then when dinner came all I had to do was cook the pasta and sear the tofu. Done! and it was PERFECT! So good and the tofu was crispy and firm….the sauce was spicy but not too spicy. I would make this again tomorrow if I had more ingredients! Def. a keeper! If you have never had tofu before, make this! But see my note on tofu at the bottom of the page to do it right! I also had a salad with bell peppers, steamed broccoli and low fat ginger dressing.

Otsu~from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking

Serves 1

Ginger-Sesame Dressing:

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp grated ginger

1/2 tsp honey

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

1 tbsp shoyu soy sauce

1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pasta:

2 ounces Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)

4 ounces extra firm tofu

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1/4 cucumber, peeled and chopped into small dice (i used 1/2 cucumber because i love them!)

1 green onion, chopped

To make the dressing combine the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne and salt in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar and shoyu and pulse to combine. Add the oils and pulse more until the dressing is smooth. Set aside.

Cook the soba noodles in salted boiling water. Drain then rinse under cold water. While the pasta is cooking, cut the tofu into rectangles about the size of your thumb. Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick skillet on med/high heat for a couple minutes on each side until golden and toasty.

In a bowl, combine the noodles, the cilantro, the green onion and the dressing. Toss well. Add the tofu and toss again, gently. Serve.

434 calories, 18 grams of fat

**A note on tofu:

I never used to like tofu…but then I had it cooked right! If you like firm tofu that you can cut with a knife and that doesn’t have the “slimy” texture of soft tofu then do this trick that I learned in college: buy 1 pound of tofu at the store. When you get home, drain it then cover it with paper towels and a clean dishcloth and set underneath the heaviest cookbook or book you own (I use the HUGE yellow gourmet cookbook that is about 800 pages). Leave it sitting underneath the cookbook for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cut the tofu into four servings and freeze each serving individually in a little plastic baggie. This will not only make it firm but make it more spongy so it can absorb other flavors of the dish you are making. When you want to use it, just defrost 1 servings of tofu in the fridge the night before and enjoy! Let me know if you have questions about this because it really does make all the difference in the world if you do it correctly!

cimg0442.jpg

Today I went to an advanced ashtanga yoga class that lasted 90 minutes. Yoga is something very special to me and I do it for much much more than just the “workout” (it is a GREAT workout though!) I find yoga to help me de-stress and center myself. Its just one of those things that I have no idea what I would do without. Last year in college I practiced 6 days a week and that’s all I did. No weight lifting, no cardiojust yoga and walking everyday (I walked probably for 1.5 hours everyday total because our house was about a 15 minute walk to campus and downtown–oh, how I miss Charleston!). I lost about 12 pounds just doing these 2 things…well, plus eating healthy of course! I lost the weight I had gained Freshman year from too many Friday nights at the bar ;). So, if you are trying to lose a few pounds or just want to live a happier, healthier life I would def. tell you to give yoga a try. It’s amazing–simply put. 🙂

Ok-headed to work now! Good thing I have the other half of my monster gingerbread cookie with me for a sweet later!

You Might Also Like