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.

No related posts.

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.

No related posts.

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.

Related posts:

1. Back with Mooli Thepla

A Very Happy New Year to all of you! May 2012 bring you the very best in life! A lot of  you may be wondering about the long hiatus in posts at OhTastenSee. That is because I am currently on vacation in India. We had just moved to the new house – and just when the great job of unpacking was done, we had to start packing for our trip to India. I had very little time to capture the dishes I was making, and hence blogging sort of had to take a step back. I am enjoying my short vacation(only 4 weeks) with a lot of food and love. I decided to totally abstain from browsing and checking email – and truly be on vacation. However, I couldnt resist doing a New Years Post on OhTastenSee.

So here goes….This is a recipe I had bookmarked a long time back, and I had baked this cake just before I left for India – for a get together with friends. It was a super moist cake that was loved by everyone so much. One of my friends even said, that they would totally pay for a piece of this cake, if I sold it by the piece. It was so lovely. I had made changes to the original recipe  by substituting part of the dates with some dried cherries. You can substitute any dried fruits you have, I think it would still work the same. Here is the recipe I had adapted from here:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates, halved
1 cup dried cherries
1-1/2 cups water
2 tsps instant coffee powder
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the pan
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Preapare a 9-inch round cake pan by greasing it with butter.

Place the water in a kettle or a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Pour the hot water in a bowl and add the instant coffee powder. You can warm leftover coffee and use it as well. Chop the dates and cherries into bite sized pieces and put it in the hot coffee. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 15-20 minutes during which time you can prep the rest of the ingredients and the dry fruits absorb all the coffee and come to room temperature.

Start by sieving together the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until it gets fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract.

The dates and cherries should have absorbed most of the coffee by now. Place the plumped up fruits along with any leftover coffee in a blender or food processor and puree this mixture completely.

Gently add one third of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar. Alternate this with half the date puree. Add another portion of the dry and the remaining date puree. Finish it off with the remaining dry mixture. Do not over beat. Instead use a spatula to make the batter uniform. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with chcolate chips.

Place it in the preheated oven and bake for an hour or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, then gently turn the cake out onto the rack to cool further. Serve warm or at room temperature, as is or sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cover leftover cake with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Verdict: This cake is the moistest chocolate cake I have ever had. The flavor of the chocolate was beautifully complimented by the coffee and the vanilla. The cake in itself is not sweet by itself, the chocolate chip topping renders the required sweetness to the cake. If you choose to omit the chocolate chips, I would suggest increasing the brown sugar to a half cup. Again, it could depend on the type of dates used. I used California dates, if using Medjool dates, you wouldn’t need the extra sugar. You can also spread the molten chocolate chips – when the cake is just out of the oven to form a chocolate icing. This cake is a nice way to add some healthy nutrition to an otherwise sinful dessert.

Related posts:

1. 200th Post – 2 min Microwave Chocolate Cake
2. Steamed Banana Pudding Cake in Chocolate Sauce
3. Beurre Noisette Pound Cake(Brown Butter Pound Cake)

Carrot Cake is one of my favorite cakes – and it is something I had discovered only after coming here to the US. I especially love the cream cheese frosted – carrot cake cupcakes. One of my other all time favorites is cheesecake – the sinfully silky cheesecake is something I cannot resist. While browsing food blogs one day – I found a recipe that combined both my favorite recipes in one amazing dessert: Carrot cake cheesecake bars. I totally loved the idea and decided to try it.

This is a super easy recipe, as it uses carrot cake cake mix for the crust of the cheesecake, thus incorporating the carrot cake flavors into the cheesecake. Baking cheesecakes or other custards normally require a water bath, to provide the gentle heat – and often times this is seen as a difficult step in baking a cheesecake, but this recipe doesn’t require complicated steps. It is super easy and is done in no time.

Ingredients:
1 box of Carrot Cake Mix(I used Betty Crocker)
1 stick butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the pan
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
small pieces of carrot/mint leaves for garnish.

Method:
Grease a 9 X 13 inch rectangular pan with butter and set aside. I didn’t have a 9 X 13 pan and used by 9 X 9 square pan instead, the layers of crust and cake are a bit thicker, but the taste doesn’t differ.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix, the stick of butter and 1 egg until the mixture comes together in a dough. Gently press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press with your fingers to compact the mixture – such that it forms a crust when it bakes. In the same mixing bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese and the sugar. Gently add the eggs one by one and incorporate into the mixture. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour this mixture over the cake mix crust and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 35 -40 minutes. Let cool in the pan and cut into squares.

Cut small carrots wedges and a few small mint leaves, sprinkle them with sugar and garnish on top of each of the cheesecake bars.

Verdict: This cheesecake was awesome – smooth and creamy and sinfully delicious. Makes a perfect dish to make for a party – as it is does not involve too much effort on your part, but makes for an elegant dessert. The carrot cake flavor was spot on, but I found it was a little too sweet – to be a crust. Note to self, to either add in some powdered walnuts to cut the flavor of substitute the crust with another cake mix.

Related posts:

1. Carrot Pineapple Prune Cake
2. Christmas Cookies III – Chocolate Almond Coconut Bars
3. Beurre Noisette Pound Cake(Brown Butter Pound Cake)

Here are the guidelines for the event:
1. You may send in any entry that is only baked in the conventional oven and is savory. Only sweet entries are allowed like cakes/cookies/pies etc.
2. Only Vegetarian entries are allowed. Eggs are allowed.
3. Please link back to this announcement page and also to Krithi’s page.
4. New entries are appreciated, however if you are sending archived entries, please re-post as latest (with a date in December 2011) and update with both the links to the announcement page and logo.
5. Usage of links and logo is mandatory.
6. Last date for submission of your entries is December 31 2011, however you can link until Jan 1st.
7. To send in your entries, just link your entries using the below linky tool.
8. Non-bloggers also can send their entries with a picture to the below email-id.
9. If you have a problem in linking email us your problem to serveit[dot]series[at]gmail[dot]com. We will try to resolve it.
Please note that if the entries are inappropriate to the theme we would have to remove the entries from the linky sans notification. If there are other issues like link or logo missing we would definitely notify through email.

Related posts:

1. Announcing Serve it Series – Savory Baked
2. Announcing Serve it series & Serve – it: Chilled
3. Announcing Serve it – Festival Potluck