Protein Resources

As we, well now just I, move into month four of pescetarianism, I want to share some of the info that I have discovered about protein.  As many others who have decided to remove meats from their diets may also know, one of the first questions that people may ask is where you are going to get protein in your diet.  When eliminating a main aspect of a 'balanced' diet, of course, there are replacements that need to be made.  Meat is a very large ingredient in the American diet and fortunately there are tons of alternatives to obtaining protein..... and more than just beans, too!

First, here is a great intro article that has some good suggestions on various foods that you probably already have in your cupboard.  On Moving Toward Vegetarianism: Getting the Protein You Need

Next, this post has an awesome list of everyday foods such as beans, dairy, fish, and grains (it also includes poultry, but you can skip that part if you would like) and their respective calorie, protein, carbohydrate and fat levels.  High Protein Foods List with Protein Content

Finally, this post gives you a quick look into what may happen should you be ingesting too much protein from animals.  Protein Poisoning.  One of the best quotes from this article is "...diets are meant to be triangles."  So true!

None of these references are too overbearing so they are worth a quick glace to gain some valuable information about what options you have for non-animal based proteins in your diet.  These are also in no way complete and there is tons more information out there.  The same diets aren't always good for everyone, so always be sure to check with your health care professional to make sure you are eating for what your body needs.  Enjoy!

Chickpea Salad

 

I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.  I actually came up with a recipe all on my own.  We had purchased a grocery store brand chickpea salad a handful of times and after review the ingredients, I decided that I was pretty sure I could do the same myself for less money and with more pizazz.  Of course, after I decided what I was going to do, I searched online for some similar recipes just to confirm that my ideas weren't crazy. And voila! Jesi's Chickpea Salad.

This recipe requires no cooking and takes about 10 minutes, or less, to whip up.  You want to give it an hour or two in the fridge to chill together, but if you can't wait to be wowed, just go for it!  Its an excellent side dish, or can be paired with some other veggies (like grilled zucchini) to make a full meal out of it.  The flavors are amazing and after my first try making it, Dan requested that this be a staple in the house at all times.

Here's the recipe.

Chickpea Salad

• 2 15 oz cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - drained and rinsed
• 1 large cucumber - quartered and sliced
• 1 cup carrots - julienned / matchstick
• 2 clove garlic - minced
• 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Greek salad dressing
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.  Serve chilled.


Done!
Here are some tips, suggestions and additions you may like:
Optional are tomatoes (10 cherry, halved) and red onion (1/2 small, chopped) - Dan isn't a fan of raw onions and I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes so we skipped this.
I used garlic and herb flavored feta to sort of kick it up a notch.
Not a fan of Greek?  Try Italian dressing.  Adds a little more zest and is wonderful (I actually used Italian the first go round).
Not a fan of kalamata?  Try black olives.
Need some short cuts - by presliced or chopped olives and matchstick carrots in the bag.
Something else??  Mix it up however you want!  This is an awesome summer salad and definitely one that you can tweak to your own tastes.

I would love to hear alternatives or additions to this when you try it at home.
Enjoy!

Fried Tofu with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Here's a quick and easy recipe for a small-plates sort of dish.  I served it with some Birds Eye Steamfresh Asian Vegetables With Roasted Cashews.  I'll be completely honest that this one is all about the sauce, but the tofu turned out really great too.  Much better than the first time I did a fried tofu dish.  Dan enjoyed it too! 

Here's the recipe for you.  Let me know what you think!

 Fried Tofu with Sesame Dipping Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (I used the tamari)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon dark or toasted sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 package (14 oz) extra firm tofu, drained and mosture removed
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 egg
1 cup pank bread crumbs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

• For sauce:  Combine first six (6) ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside.
• Cut tofu crosswise into 4 slices, then each slice diagonally into triangles.
• Place each flour, eggs and panko in seperate bowls
• Dip each piece of tofu in flour to lightly coat all sides, then dip into egg, then into panko.  Repeat for all tofu pieces.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium.
• Add half of tofu in a single layer.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side or until golder brown.  Repeat with remaining tofu, adding more oil as needed.  Serve with dipping sauce.

And we're back....

Has it really been over a month since my last post?  Wow!  As some of you may know, I've been doing a bit of traveling for my job over the last month or so.  Since the second week of February I've been to Chicago, Charleston, SC, Las Vegas and Detroit all on separate trips.  Phew... its been a little crazy.  So to say the least, I haven't been cooking a whole lot at home and have left my poor husband to fend for himself. 

On that note, now will be a good time to admit that Dan has decided to go back to a carnivorous diet and is back on the meat.  I've decided to stick with the pescetarianism so we're doing a little coexisting in our house.  I decided to continue with veggies and fish because its fun and I feel great.  Dan is still going to be enjoying the pescetarian meals that I will create.  I'm considering trying to make some combo meals that are part veggie and part meaty, too.

I will be honest and say that I haven't been 100% over the last month.  Travel has some serious challenges for restricted diets.  I did really great in Chicago except for a little tiny bit of bacon.  I had some new foods in Vegas (courtesy of Chef Mario Batali - I was actually good and ordered the Penne ala Norma (penne w/ crispy eggplant), but couldn't resist trying a colleague's meatballs).  Charleston kept me on-point (it was only one day and one meal!).  Detroit, which is my hometown, lured me in with old favorites and I didn't do so well.  On top of all this, airport and convention center options aren't that great but I got by on cheese pizza, trail mix and tuna sandwiches.

Needless to say, I've also felt pretty unhealthy the last month or so.  Not planning and not cooking has led me to relying on prepacked, easy and crap foods.  No more!  Well, I'm sure there will be a little bit more, but going to try my best to get back into cooking and eating better and meat-free!


So welcome back and thanks for hanging in there with me.

Food Glamour Shots as Diary

Tomato and Olympus camera. Photo: Emily Farris.

Many of you that are visiting today may have arrived from a link on Facebook.  If that is the case, then more than likely you know me in real life and are familiar with my year in photos project that I just completed this month.  For those of you from other places on the internet, let me briefly explain:
I decided last year on my 30th birthday that I was  going to challenge myself.  I had just been provided with an iPhone from my company and decided to make the most of it's camera capabilities and instant Facebook publishing and then came Photo of the Day on Facebook.  Every day for a whole year (ended up being 366 photos), I posted a picture.  Sometimes funny stuff in everyday life like personalized license plates or silly signs.  Sometimes amazing views of the area I live or travels I took over the last 12 months.  Often times one of my four cats.  And very often times food.

It was really fun and made me look at every day life just a little closer.  I took time out to think about various images that were passing by my eyes.  I also tried to keep it interesting and a bit funny at times.  The self-assigned project actually led me to purchasing a nice D-SLR camera this year for Christmas and I'm working on teaching myself how to use it.  It also gave me a bit more confidence to create this blog. 

This leads me to a great little article I found a few weeks ago at Planet Green.  The article, Take a Photo, Lose Some Weight, really hit home with me.  Not only is it about taking pictures of food, but using those photos to your advantage.  A friend of mine also just told me about a book, Everything I Ate, that does this same thing (but I'm not sure for the same point).

The article suggest using photographs as a food diary.  I already, irregularly, log my food intake so moving up to photos sounds interesting.  Additionally, I can attest that this article is correct!  Ever since I started this blog at the beginning of the year, I've been photographing most everything that I've cooked as well as other items I have eaten as I'm never sure if something will be good enough to blog about so I don't want to miss the photo.  Taking the photo, especially when you know it will be published, really makes you take time to think.  Do I want to show 3 cups of pasta with a cup of cheese on top?  Will that huge bowl of soup look appetizing to others?  Maybe I need a few extra vegetables in this shot?  It is thought provoking and amazing.  The hard part is not putting more on the plate AFTER you take the photo!