Tempeh Sloppy Joes & House Updates

I haven't posted any life updates in a while, so today on the "post agenda" I have some house updates, then next week I will post some things I have learned thus far at my new job.


As some of you know Nick and I purchased our first home at the end of May. The house we purchased was (and still is) in need of some updates (we chose a really nice neighborhood, so in order to afford a house we had to purchase one that needed some work....). The last time you saw our bedroom it looked like this (Boring!).

My mom hired a decorator for us (love you mom) who has helped us pick out paint and a few other key decorations around the house (thanks Joyce!). Nick and I picked this comforter out ourselves, then Joyce (the decorator) picked out the paint.

Our bedroom is still a work in progress, as I would like to get a nice lamp and an area rug, and we still need to hang our giant mirror above the chest of drawers. Once we get that all finished I will provide a final picture of the room.

Before I started my new job I spent endless hours painting over this ugly green color in our living room.

Now we have yellow walls with a contrasting "clay" color on the back wall, which leads into our kitchen (painted the same color).

This room is also a work in progress, as we plan on moving the dining room table out, and putting it in our kitchen. Then we want to put a tv in the corner to make this the "hang out for friends", instead of the basement. We also need an area rug and a coffee table (Joyce suggested we get some decorative cubes instead of a coffee table. I love that idea!). We are also getting new wooden blinds next week, which we desperately need.

Ok, now it's food time.

Finally, a New Recipe!

Soy is a very healthy food for many reasons, but did you know it's good to consume soy about 2-3 weeks before your period?! Studies show it helps prevent PMS symptoms. Because of this, I often choose to buy tempeh during this time of my cycle (it's my favorite source of soy because it's not processed, and unlike tofu it doesn't give me foul gas). For the longest time I was simply marinating it in EVOO and low sodium soy sauce, then sauteeing it on the stove top. Then about a month ago I read Mari's blog and got the idea to make tempeh sloppy joe's!

I didn't follow her recipe exactly, but I still give her credit for the idea because I never would have thought to do this. I bought two blocks of tempeh and cut them into ~1 inch cubes. I added about 2 T canola oil to my pan and got the oil nice and hot before adding the tempeh.

After sauteeing the tempeh for about 10 minutes over medium heat, I started to break it up into even smaller pieces so it almost mimicked the look of ground beef. Once the tempeh was cooked I turned off the heat and waited for the pan to cool a bit before adding THIS:

SLOPPY JOE SAUCE!!

NOTE: This is not the healthiest sauce in the world, by any means, which is why I only used about 3/4 of the can. Can you spot the nutrient that really makes this unhealthy?

Sodium.

Ugh.

Oh well, despite the high sodium content, this sauce rocks. I added it to the chunks of tempeh and mixed it up so the sauce was integrated nicely with the tempeh.

Hellllllo goodness!

I served it on a plate with some melted cheese (for me, no bread), and on some whole wheat toast with cheese (for Nick). I was in heaven. Nick.....was in hell. He liked it, but the texture was too difficult for him to get past. Will I make this again? Heck yeah! I could eat this every single day.



Before I leave today I just wanted to thank all of my friends and family who have recently told me they read my blog. It means so much to me and I'm so glad you enjoy it!

Katie L.
Michelle S.
Addy (check out her blog; My Life As a Pastry Student)
Sarah C.
Claire K.
Amanda
Renee
Cathy
Cathy M.
Dasi
Kate
Annie

I love you guys!


Question: Do you eat tempeh? Tofu? How do you like to prepare them? If you want more tempeh, check out this tempeh-oatmeal meatloaf posted by my friend Amanda. Also check out Rachel's tempeh burgers!

Happy Friday everyone!

Big City, Small Kitchen

I’m excited to be a guest blogger on The Candid RD. Gina is one of my dearest friends. Not only did we go to high school together, but we lived together in college. One of the best things about living with a Dietetics major? I got to taste test all of her creations.

For me, one of the biggest challenges living in New York is to not eat out all of the time. There are so many good restaurants and everyone delivers, but that's certainly not the most healthy or economical way to eat. Another disadvantage of living in New York City -- I don’t get to see my favorite RD very often, but she continues to inspire me with her blog.

Here are two great recipes: Butternut Squash and Duxelles Casserole and Tempeh Meatloaf. Both recipes came from “Vegetarian Times”. Even though I’m not a vegetarian I love this magazine! It’s a great resource for healthy recipes and they always feature vegetables that are in season.

Butternut Squash and Duxelles* Casserole

*Duxelle is a paste of finely chopped mushrooms and shallots – who knew?

Ingredients

8 oz. Fresh mushrooms (I used white button)

2 shallots, coarsely chopped (1/4 cup)

1 ½ tsp. Butter

1 Tbs. Finely chopped parsley

¼ tsp. Ground black pepper

1 cup 1% low-fat milk

2 Tbs. All purpose flour

1 clove garlic, minced

¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese (3 oz.), divided

¼ tsp. Nutmeg

1 (2.5 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/8 inch slices

Directions

1. In food processor, pulse mushrooms 20 times or until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Place shallots in food processor and pulse 20 times or until finely chopped. Transfer to same bowl.

2. Melt butter in skillet. Add mushrooms and shallots. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and stir in parsley and pepper.



3. Preheat oven to 350 and coat baking dish with cooking spray.

4. Bring milk, flour and garlic to a simmer in saucepan. Whisk constantly. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce is thick enough to coat the pack of a spoon, whisking frequently. Whisk in 1/2 cup of cheese and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Spread 1/3 of squash in prepared dish. Top with 1/3 cup cheese sauce and 1/2 mushroom mixture. Repeat layers ending with cheese sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake 45 minutes or until squash is tender and top is brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.




Nutritional Facts per 1 cup serving: 134 cal.; 7 g protein; 5 g total fat (3 g sat fat); 19 g carb; 15 mg chol; 60 mg sod; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugars

Afterthoughts

This dish was amazing! It’s not hard to make, but there was a lot of prep. I’ll admit, I enlisted some help from my roommate, Kate, who made the Duxelle while I hacked away at the squash. Next time I make this dish, I'll make sure to do all of my chopping before I begin.

Tempeh-Oatmeal Meatloaf

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oats, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp), divided

1 bay leaf

1 small onion, chopped ( 1 cup)

1 Tbs. herbes de Provence

1 15-oz. Can chopped tomatoes

1 8-oz. Pkg. Tempeh

¾ tsp. vinegar

1/4 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat large loaf pan with olive oil cooking spray. Bring 1/2 cup oats, 1 tsp. garlic, bay leaf, and 1 cup water to a boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 10 minutes or until oatmeal is thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and set aside.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3-5 minutes or until translucent. Add Herbs de Provence and remaining 1 tsp. garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add chopped tomatoes and juice. Crumble tempeh into mixture and stir in vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.



3. Transfer tempeh mixture to food processor, add cooked oatmeal, and blend until combined. Add remaining 1 1/2 cup of oats and baking powder and pulse until combined. 4. Spread oat mixture in prepared loaf pan. Spray top with olive oil cooking spray and pour marinara sauce over top. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until top begins to brown.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 289 cal; 14 g protein; 10g total fat (2g sat fat); 38g carb; 1mg chol; 449 mg sod; 6g fiber; 10g sugars.

Afterthoughts

I really liked this recipe, but there was something missing, and I think it was a texture issue. I might add celery next time to give it a nice crunch, and although I’m not a big salt user, this could have definitely used a little more, but I never know how much to add when it says ‘to taste’! Finally, I'd make sure to get a nice and tasty prepared marinara sauce, it makes a difference.

I LOVE YOU GINA!