I would like to try tofu but have no idea how to use it, anyone have a really easy recipe that won't break the budget? I am also going to be trying brown rice for the first time. I would love any ideas for low calorie meals or snacks with either of these.
I also am confused about the daily breakdown of protein, fat and carbs - what is the right balance?
I suggest a tofu stir fry over brown rice.
I don't cook with tofu, so I can't help you there, but I suspect that someone here has a good tofu stir fry recipe.
When I stir fry, I add a Tbsp or so of a black bean garlic sauce... you should be able to find a stir fry sauce (be sure to measure quantities and check the labels before you buy!!) to add a little flavor at the grocery store. Or you can make a sauce with some sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch.
Brown rice: cook it in boiling water with a dash of sesame oil added (1 c. rice, 2 c. water). Lower heat to simmer, cover and DON"T lift the lid--you don't want the steam to escape. Generally takes 30-35 minutes.
I like it as a grain with fat free refried beans and salsa. Or serve it cold, with vinaigrette and chopped veggies (scallions, celery, red cabbage, etc.). Also good to thicken a soup into a stew.
For tofu, I suggest trying www.allrecipes.com. I'll also try to dig up some of my "intro to tofu" recipes. I use it all the time--at least twice a week--either in a salad dressing or for a main course.
I make a faux-Indian dish with brown rice. You can substitute other types of rice like basmati if you wish. I cook by feel mainly so I can't give exact measurements.
You need:
2 chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
1 med tomato, chopped into chunks
Half of one white onion, chopped into big chunks
2 good sized carrots, chopped into coins
1/2 red sweet bell pepper
8 mushrooms, sliced thickly
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup of brown rice
1 tbls olive oil (or whatever type of oil you like to cook with)
2 tbls light or low fat plain yoghurt
2 cups of water
curry powder or curry paste
cumin
tumeric
cinnamon
red chile powder (omit if you don't like spicy food)
salt
black pepper
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Grill or stir fry chicken chunks in 1/2 tbsl of oil and curry paste (1/2 tbls, if you have it) until they are no longer pink on the outside. Set aside in a bowl. Don't worry about keeping them warm.
In a large pot fry onion and garlic on low-med heat in 1/2 tbls of oil for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Add carrots and mushrooms, fry for another two minutes, again stirring constantly.
Add the remaining vegetables, tomato, and yogurt and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Sprinkle in 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp chile powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper. I just season to taste, these are all approx. measurements!
Turn the heat up to high or med-high and add chicken chunks, brown rice, and water to the pot. Stir vigorously until the food begins to bubble and simmer.
Cover pot tightly and turn the heat down to low. Cook for about 30 minutes. Check it around 20 min in to make sure it's not all dry. If it's going a bit dry add a little bit of hot water and cover the pot again.
At 30 min taste the rice to see if it's done. If not, just cook for a little longer! Again, add a little water if it seems dry. If the rice is done but the food seems really liquidy, just let it sit in the covered pot for about 5 min to absorb the water.
Gosh, Smilla, that sounds delicious!! I printed it off to try. I'm always looking for new things to do with chicken, and I love Indian food - and best of all I have all the ingredients.
One trick I learned was to freeze tofu before you use it. Dice it up and put it in the freezer. Defrost before you use it. This will leach out a lot of the water which makes tofu a bit mushy, even the firm stuff, and give it a more "meatlike" texture. Another trick I learned from a Chinese lady I used to work with: She always cooked her tofu with a bit of meat, not a lot but just a bit because tofu will soak up any flavors you cook with it.
I make a fabulous spinach tofu pesto that has minimal fat and is very low calorie. Go to allrecipes.com and in the search box enter spinach pesto. I usually leave out the parmesan cheese and use turkey bacon or turkey pepperoni, but this can be made with out any meat and still tastes great. I think this is a good recipe to maybe give tofu a try for the first time.
Gosh, Smilla, that sounds delicious!! I printed it off to try. I'm always looking for new things to do with chicken, and I love Indian food - and best of all I have all the ingredients.
Let me know how you like it!
I forgot to mention cardamom . Throw 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom in there too if you have it!
New recipes?
. Throw 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom in there too if you have it!
and everyone stay safe!
