Oh Taste n See.....

I found this recipe in the South Beach Diet – ‘Quick and Easy Cookbook’. It really is a quick and easy – but also a delicious way to make and eat tofu. Its cheesy and yummy – which makes you feel like you’re eating a lasagna or a pizza and not diet food. If you are not someone who likes to eat tofu, this is a great way to start too.

Ingredients:
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 cups packed baby spinach leaves(Or coarsely chopped stem and leaves of spinach from a bunch)
1 (15-ounce) package firm tofu, sliced lengthwise into 8 pieces
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp sun dried tomato slivers packed in oil, drained(I buy from Costco)
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
non-stick cooking spray

Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a wide pan over medium high heat. Let the oil come to a smoking point and gently place the tofu pieces in the pan. The tofu should sear, so make sure the pan is not crowded. Do not touch or move the tofu for atleast 2-3 minutes – until it becomes golden brown. Flip the tofu and let cook on the other side. While the tofu cooks, spray a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Place the browned tofu in it.

Add another tsp of oil to the saute pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes(if using). Let cook over medium heat until garlic has softened and the pepper has infused the oil. Add the spinach and cook until wilted and tender, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle salt to taste. Switch off the stove.

Sprinkle the tofu evenly with the Italian seasoning. Top it with the sauteed spinach, to cover the entire surface of the tofu. Now gently scatter the drained sun dried tomato slivers. Top this with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Place in the preheated oven and bake until cheeses are melted, about 15 minutes.

Pair with a side salad to make a complete meal, Enjoy!

Serves: 4
Nutritional Information:
190 calories
12 total fat(3.5 g sat)
6 g carbohydrate
19 g protein
3 g fiber
280 mg sodium

Verdict: I loved this cheesy baked dish and enjoyed it for dinner as well as made a great packed lunch. Eat a side of vegetables or a salad and it makes a pretty filling meal too. The only change I would make for next time, is to marinate the tofu in some kind of a Italian marinade prior to the searing, coss I felt the tofu layer to be kind of bland. But nutrition wise an awesome protein packed dish.

Here is the lifestyle change I had mentioned in my last post. I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes when I had my son, and almost 3 years down the line, I had learnt that my A1C levels are elevated, and that I am predisposed to Type 2 Diabetes. I am not diabetic per se, but am very much at risk to be. This had triggered in me to look for and adopt a change in the way I eat. Now, I have to say that I was not an unhealthy eater. Being a vegetarian, I ate a lot of vegetables, but they were always clubbed with heavy amount of carbohydrates, to reap any benefits. After a fair amount of research I made up my mind to do the South Beach diet.

I had a few criteria on which I made this choice, which I am sharing with you. First off, I wanted the diet to be vegetarian friendly. I do eat eggs, but a high-protein diet like the Atkins diet will not work for me. I also didn’t want to count or measure calories or points as I really don’t have the time for calculations. I didn’t want to starve – for I have a full time job, plus take care of my 2 1/2 year old son. The other criteria is more relevant to this blog. I wanted a diet that allowed me to cook my own food – and not rely on prepackaged items. And speaking of cooking, I wanted something that offered recipes and cookbooks. Based on all of these, I narrowed in on the SBD. And the last and final criteria is that I wanted the diet to be sustainable – so that I can stay on it for a long time.

A quick two liner on the diet is that it has 3 Phases. The first phase restricts all grain, all fruit and limits dairy to low fat/non-fat options – limited to 2 cups a day. I am on day 11 of the diet now, and have lost about 6 pounds. Phase 1 encourages you to eat breakfast, two snacks a day, lunch, dinner and an optional dessert. I am going to be posting SBD friendly recipes and some of my meal plans for reference.

So, if you ask – Hows it going?

Here is my experience so far:

The first 3 days of phase 1 are really tough. This is the part where you tackle your cravings and really get your body used to your new eating style. I had a lot of headaches on the first 3 days.
By the fourth day your body gets used to the routine of meals, snacks etc.
The SBD requires a lot of cooking. If you plan on doing it, start a day ahead – by preparing few meals and stocking up your fridge.
The diet is a bit expensive. Buying cheese/produce to suit a healthy lifestyle – I am seeing a difference in my grocery bills. I do buy organic salad greens- since I eat them raw.
This diet encourages you to eat atleast 2 cups of non fat greek yogurt a day and also up to 2 cups of beans/legumes a day. I think this feature really helps someone of Indian origin to adjust to this diet.

What have I been eating?

Phase1 Sample Menu

Breakfast: Green chilly Egg muffins from Kalyn’s kitchen( I replaced half the eggs called for here with egg whites, and it tasted awesome)
I have made several variations of these egg muffins and had them for breakfast so far. Will post a couple of varieties too.

Lunch: Mostly soups and salads. I take lunch to work everyday, but if I do eat out, I buy salad with dressing on the side. Use sparingly. Chickpea Veggie Salad from Potbelly

Snack 1(3 PM): Celery sticks with 2 tbsp store bought Hummus. This is become my favorite and I absolutely love this combo. It is very filling too. I bought the Sabra brand Sundried tomato hummus from Costco.

Snack 2(6 PM): Cheese stick OR 15 dry roasted almonds OR 1/4 cup Dry roasted soy nuts

Dinner: Dry poriyal with non fat greek yogurt + Salad or Soup

What next?

Although the Phase 1 of SBD is mandated for atleast 2 weeks, I plan on taking it a bit further to atleast 3-4 weeks, mostly because I have become more comfortable eating the South Beach Way. If you are planning to, or have already been on the diet, do leave a comment so that we can share ideas/recipes. Hooray for Healthy Eating!

The collage you see above is a glimpse of SBD diet dishes that I have been making and eating over the past week. Stay tuned for individual posts on those.

This is my first post for the year. Although its late – Happy new year everyone! Hope this year has been great for you all..I know I have been gone for a couple of months at least now. Life has been crazy after our vacation in India – from everything to family being sick, getting caught up with work, snowstorms in Seattle and the likes. While blogging has always been in the back of my mind, I could never get to it. I’ve been wanting to do a post to share with you my ‘MLLA Winnings‘ and thank Susan for the wonderful items I received from her, not to mention the package from Hurst beans.

When I returned from India, jetlagged, tired and hungry…I was welcomed by two little packages and the doorstep. I had no clue as to what it was, too tired to probably read the package labels, but then I went ahead and opened them. They were the MLLA prizes I had won. It brought a great big smile and was my perfect comeback present.

Here is the list of goodies I recieved:

1. Food Lovers Companion - this book is a wonderful encyclopedia about everything you need to know about cooking. From ingredients to cooking techniques, this is a great reference to have on hand. Its like a foodie dictionary.

2. Field Guide to Herbs and Spices - is not only a wonderful guide to everything herbs and spices..but I love the way it is organized. There is a recipe given to try out a herb or a spice and although I haven’t gotten to trying anything yet, I have bookmarked several that you will see show in the very near future on OhTastenSee.

3. Microfiber Wonder Cloths - this was a surprise gift from Susan. She commented that she found them so useful and are great to use. I love the pretty pastel colors they came in. I don’t know if I will use them for cleaning though, it may be used as a pretty prop in some of my phtoos. Maybe..

4. The Hurst bean box – with 6 packs of different types of beans.

The Hurst Bean box contained:

1. Pinto Beans

2. Cajun 15 bean soup

3. Chili 15 bean soup

4. Yellow eye beans

5. Confetti Lentil Supreme

6. Vegetarian 15 bean soup

7. Coconut flavored Pink lentils

You don’t see all of them in the picture because I had used up the Coconut flavored pink lentils and had shard the Vegetarian 15 bean soup with my best friend Krithi of KrithisKitchen.

Once again a big ‘Thank you’ Susan…

OhTastenSee is going to be back in business. I am going to try to post as consistently as I can, especially on a new change of lifestyle I have undertaken, which has altered my cooking style. It still means yummy cooking though. Stay tuned for more info.

‘ServeIt’ - the event series that Krithi and I co-host is temporarily on hold, since Krithi and I have both been busy. We hope to resurrect it – and we will make the announcement on the theme for March very soon. Stay tuned for updates on that as well.