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De-Lite-Ful Tofu Pudding (Recipe)

This is a low-calorie, low-fat dessert that’s very voluminous. Unlike many of the low-calorie/fat/sugar options out there, this dish is completely natural and easy to make in your own home kitchen.

I used to be a big fan of the lite ice cream fad. Unfortunately those ice creams still have lots of sugar and if I have too much, I break out. And anyway, I’d prefer a McD’s cone over fake ice cream any day. But one day I was home and didn’t feel like running out for a cone, and didn’t want a sugary dessert, so I made this. It even has a decent amount of protein.

De-Lite-Ful Tofu Pudding AKA Vegan and No Sugar Tasti Delite!

Ingredients

  • 1 package light silken tofu
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals vanilla stevia drops (one dropperful)
  • 1/2 teaspoon NuNaturals cocoa bean extract (one dropperful)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
  • sesame seeds for topping (optional)

Directions

Blend all ingredients except sesame seeds in a (mini) food processor. Adjust extras to taste. Top with sesame seeds if you so desire!

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This is similar to some of my other dessert (pudding!) recipes… See also:

Have you ever made tofu pudding? Do you like tofu?

I’m not a huge tofu person, but I eat it occasionally.

P.S. I made that bowl the pudding is in.

P.P.S. I’m attending/participating in a Twitter party tonight with @SteviaInTheRaw – it’s tonight, Tuesday, May 24th at 8:00pm ET/ 5:00pm PT. Feel free to follow along if you want! Should be pretty fun. And if you’re not following me on Twitter, this is me: @TheSaladGirl. Maybe “see” you tonight 🙂

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Review: Sacred Chow Vegan Brunch (New York)

We’re back in New York (from our Miami trip)! More on that later though. The other day Bobby and I ended up going Sacred Chow, a vegan restaurant downtown.

Sacred Chow is organic, fair trade, sustainable, kosher, and vegan. And relatively inexpensive for what it offers. I cannot wait to go back. It’s located near NYU on Sullivan Street (between West 3rd and Bleecker). It’s right near Quantum Leap, Peanut Butter & Co., and probably a bunch of other cool places.

I was a salad girl and got the Tapa Salad ($12), which is their standard humongous salad (seasonal greens, shredded beets, shredded carrots, cucumbers) and a choice of any tapas dish. I got the honey mustard dressing, but it was just okay. I didn’t use much and instead used the dip that came with my side dish.

For my tapas side I chose the sauteed shiitake mushrooms, which were tender, juicy, and meaty. They came with a wonderful gluten-free South Indian Dip. I used all of it (for dipping and for my salad). So good.

Bobby got the Breakfast Sandwich ($12.75), which is a soy biscuit filled with tofu scramble (which spills out – there is so much) and tempeh bacon (actually yummy, even though I normally hate tempeh). It came with the largest side salad I have ever seen. The salad was a smaller version of mine.

Sure enough, after finishing (!) this, Bobby says, “Wow, I’m full.” Yes sweetie, that is what happens when you eat a salad. They honestly are filling. And not in that unpleasant too-many-carbs-filling way; salads fill you up in a comforting veggie-full way.

The scramble was the best scramble either of us had ever had, so we will definitely be going back. We also couldn’t get enough of my mushrooms. Next time I think we’ll get a few tapas (grilled western tofu, bbq seitan, root vegetable latkes, marinated raw kale) or maybe go for some of the other brunch selections (biscuits and gravy, omega-3 waffle).

Useful links:

Unfortunately we are currently laid up with the flu, so we are missing my coworker’s wedding. I’m getting better, but Bobby is now hitting the worst of it and is probably contagious. I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful wedding and they are so sweet. They’re honeymooning in Hawaii (just like us).

What’s your favorite vacation spot?

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What do you do…

What do you do when you get home from work? My night usually involves some yummy veggies from Gourmet Park downstairs.

What do you do on the weekends? I got brunch with Marina and Bobby at Counter downtown. At the server’s recommendation I got the “hearty” faro porridge, which was really just a small bowl of rice-like grains in milk. Fail. I dumped in some fake vegan butter to save it. Not worth $9 at all.

What do you do when food disappoints you? Eat something else of course. Marina ordered goodies for the table and these were actually really good. Also $9, but a slightly better deal.

Or you can eat your fiance’s food (only a few bites). (Tofu scramble with hash browns and toast, $13.)

What have YOU done recently?

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Souen Macrobiotic Restaurant: The Best Lunch Ever

This morning after meeting (3rd week in a row!) Bobby and I went to Souen, a macrobiotic restaurant, for brunch. You might remember that I experimented with macrobiotics last year (actually it was just over a year ago this month) and I really enjoyed it. I cultivated my love of kabocha and I learned a lot about how the food we eat impacts the way we feel. Here are some resources:

So today I wanted to try going back to macrobiotics again. I opted for “Brunch A” ($8.50 – well worth it!! Huge portions for me):

  • Kenchin-Tofu Drop Soup: tofu, shiitake, burdock, carrot and watercress in kombu kuzu broth.
  • Corn Bread or Spelt Bread (I got corn bread, duh – with miso tahini dressing)
  • Steamed Vegetables (carrot, daikon, squash and greens)

Bobby got “Brunch B” ($11 – oddly enough this was less food than Brunch A):

  • Yuba: steamed tofu “skin” marinated in kombu-shiitake broth.
  • Mixed Grain of the Day (basmati wild rice)
  • Goma-Ae: steamed special greens with black sesame sauce.
  • Goma Tofu: soy free, creamy and nutty sesame “tofu”.
  • Stewed Vegetables: cooked carrot, gobo, yam cake and lotus root in tamari broth.

I thought this was possibly the best lunch/brunch I have ever had. And there were flowers, soy sauce, and sesame seeds:

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My soup came first. Bobby and I actually swapped soups because we each liked the other’s better.

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The cornbread was really interesting (in a good way) – it was not very sweet at all and tasted healthy (again, in a good way). It came with miso tahini dressing (I finished this dressing and got more – so good). Two related recipes that I made before:

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My veggies came last. The kabocha was ripe and perfectly steamed. The carrots and daikon were also perfectly steamed. Even the kale was delicious! (Sometimes I think it’s boring.)

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Here was Bobby’s spread (clockwise from top left: spinach, rice, tofu skin thing, sesame tofu thing, and soup):

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I thought that Bobby’s gomae (steamed spinach with sesame sauce – I have a recipe here) was really yummy. He thought it tasted a little bit like dirt, but I honestly thought it was great. I also thought his goma tofu (tofu made with sesame) was good, but he didn’t like the texture much. Next time he is getting fish. We’re going to bring his mom here when his family visits in March (!). I think she would appreciate it.

Brunch dessert was a piece of Macasure chocolate. I saw it at Whole Foods yesterday and picked it up. Really good! Bobby liked it too.

macasure_chocolat_bar_angled

I’m gonna end with a mantra that I was contemplating this morning during my hour of silence:

May everyone be happy, well, and peaceful.

How was your weekend?

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Healthy Eats for a Busy Life

This week has been very very busy. I’m trying to get as much as I can out of this free Equinox pass (for the intenSati Warrior Challenge) and work is pretty crazy and I’m also trying to have a social life. Is that impossible? I wish I didn’t have to sleep.

I have eaten some very yummy things, though. These are steamed Japanese sweet potatoes:

jan 15 2010 001

I just cut up a humongous ‘tater and steamed it for about 6-7 minutes. The chunks were small enough that it cooked quickly. Tasted kind of like a ripe kabocha, but not quite as good. I miss kabocha squash – I should definitely make an effort to get some. I think I had this sweet potato with some maple syrup. Those are paint chips in the background.

AM New York (a free paper that I get going in to the subway) has had coupons recently for $5 off at Energy Kitchen. Energy kitchen is a fast food store that only sells dishes that are under 500 calories! I love it. I got this total tuna sandwich the other day:

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It has 290 calories. Obviously you can’t just have one dish from there, because it wouldn’t be much food – but if you get a sandwich and have something extra like an apple, it’s a really yummy, healthy, satisfying lunch. I wish I had pictures of the other things I’ve tried: the veggie egg wrap with broccoli and onions (274 calories), the ostrich (!) burger (271 calories), the steamed broccoli side (kind of boring), and the sauteed mushrooms and onions side (very good!). My coworker likes Energy Kitchen too – his new year’s resolutions had to do with being healthier and eating less meat, so we like similar stuff!

Last but not least is this great salad I had a few weeks ago when I was in NJ for new year’s:

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It’s called the Whole Earth Salad (named after the Whole Earth Center in Princeton, where my dad and sister got it). I wrote down what I think is in it so that I can try to recreate it: kale, almonds, rice/bulgar, cabbage, carrots, sesame seeds, marinated firm tofu, and a lemony dressing. It’s vegan (and vegetarian).

Off to snuggle. What are you doing this weekend?