Tag: avocado

Chipotle tempeh tacos with kohlrabi slaw

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Our CSA pickup is one of my favorite things about summer. Due to some scheduling issues with the pickup time, we made a switch this year to First Root Farm, and we’ve been really happy with the quality and variety so far. After years of participating in a CSA, I’ve discovered that our vegetable intake is much higher when we have it than when we don’t, and it also pushes me to be more creative with meal planning.

With this recipe, I was able to use kohlrabi, beets, carrots, and cilantro from the CSA share, and a chili pepper from my garden. The fresh, cool slaw nicely offsets the savory, spicy tempeh, and let me tell you, this tempeh is SPICY. If your tolerance for spice is in the non-masochistic category, you can dial back on the heat by removing the seeds from the chili pepper in the slaw, and by using chipotle powder in place of canned chipotle chilis.

Chipotle tempeh tacos with kohlrabi slaw

Makes 4-6 tacos

The slaw

2 small kohlrabi bulbs, peeled

1 medium beet, peeled

2 carrots, peeled

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 serrano chili pepper, finely diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Salt, to taste

The tempeh

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 tsp vegetable oil

14.5 oz can tomato sauce (plain)

2-3 chipotle chili peppers in Adobo sauce

2 tbsp white vinegar

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey), add more to taste

1 package tempeh

Other

Whole wheat tortillas (taco or fajita-sized)

Fresh avocado or guacamole

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 scallion, sliced

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Prepare the slaw by shredding the kohlrabi, beet, and carrots. If you have a food processor with a shredding disc, this goes very quickly. If you only have a box grater, you may want to delegate to a friend or family member while you get started on the tempeh. Once everything is shredded, place into a large bowl, add the chili, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Toss to combine, and set aside.

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Look how gorgeous it is!

Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, add the shallots, and saute until they begin to brown. Stir in the tomato sauce, chipotles, vinegar, lime juice, garlic powder, and maple syrup. Taste, and add an additional 1-2 tbsp maple syrup if needed. Cook for 2 minutes to combine flavors. Chop the tempeh into cubes, and add to the sauce. Bring to a boil very briefly, then lower the heat to medium-low, and cook until sauce has thickened (about 10 minutes).

Assemble by filling the tortillas with tempeh, slaw, fresh avocado or guacamole, and garnish with some sliced scallion and cilantro leaves. If you try this recipe, feel free to leave me a comment with feedback!

*Note: Your tempeh should look a bit saucier than what is pictured below. I made some tweaks to the recipe, but didn’t get a good picture.

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Edamame-avocado toast with blistered garlicky tomatoes and spicy sauteed greens

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One of the reasons that I was initially drawn to a career in nutrition is because I enjoyed creating meals that were delicious while still being relatively healthy, and I wanted to inspire others to do the same. Ironically, this was one of the first things to go when life got crazy with nutrition school and my job as a personal trainer. Now that I have finished my dietetic internship and found myself unexpectedly unemployed, I am finding my cooking spark again.

Last week, I made avocado toast with an egg on top, and while it was delicious, the richness of it screamed out for some acidity and freshness. This time around, I blended the avocado with edamame for a protein boost, and topped it with sautéed greens and tomatoes for fiber, micronutrient variety, and flavor. A blood orange on the side added sweetness to my meal, and a sunny side up egg was perfect to round out each bite, and to increase the protein content of the meal. I prioritize protein at every meal because:

  1. As a vegetarian, it is too easy to be protein-deficient and carb-excessive. Vegetarian protein sources typically aren’t as simple to make or as protein-dense as meat sources. Adequate protein intake for many vegetarians requires some intention.
  2. Satiety: A meal that is lacking in protein will set me up to feel hungry all day long. Protein is essential to not overdoing it on other foods.
  3. I want a bigger deadlift.

Edamame-avocado toast with blistered garlicky tomatoes and spicy sautéed greens:

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1 avocado

1 cup frozen shelled edamame

1/4 cup cilantro

Juice of 1 lemon

 

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 pint tiny tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc.)

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

5 cups greens of your choice (I used baby spinach and arugula)

Water (as needed)

Red pepper flakes (to taste)

6-8 slices of your favorite bread (I used When Pigs Fly sliced sourdough)

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Instructions:

Cook edamame according to package instructions. Transfer into a food processor, add lemon juice and cilantro, and pulse until desired texture is achieved. Transfer to a medium bowl. Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop the flesh into the bowl. Use a potato masher or fork to blend together the avocado and edamame mixture *(see note). Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside. You should have 1.5-2 cups of mixture.

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Slice tomatoes into halves, and thinly slice the garlic cloves. Add tomatoes and garlic to the skillet and cook until tomatoes start to brown, tossing frequently. This should only take a couple of minutes. Remove tomatoes and garlic to a plate.

Prepare your greens as needed. I use pre-washed baby greens to reduce prep time. Add the greens to the skillet, add a bit of water to help them cook down, and cook over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes as desired, toss greens, and remove from heat when the greens are wilted. The amount of water needed and total cook time will depend on the greens that you use, so keep an eye on it.IMG_0424

*Note: Alternately, you can reduce the number of steps by adding the avocado to the food processor with the edamame. I like a bit of texture, so I prefer to hand-mash when possible.

Assembly:

  1. Toast your slices of bread. Spread about 1/4 cup edamame-avocado mixture on each slice.

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2. Arrange the greens on top of the edamame-avocado mixture.

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3. Top with tomatoes and garlic.

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4. Add a cooked egg or other protein source, and a side of fruit for a complete meal.

5. Enjoy!

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

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Sometimes I eat chocolate chips for lunch.

Sometimes after a period of eating random bits and pieces of food-that-isn’t-really-food for lunch, my personal trainer/aspiring dietitian self decides that I should act like a grownup and actually plan, prep, and cook food to have on hand all week for lunches. Planning is key for me to stay on track.

Some of my challenges:

1. It needs to be portable and not require heating in the event that I am spending the day studying somewhere, or going between the gym and home throughout the day.

2. It needs to be delicious. I get bored easily.

3. It needs to have a substantial amount of nutrients (protein, healthy carbs, healthy fat, vitamins). A basic salad is going to leave me hungry and make it harder to resist treats. Like chocolate chips.

4. The prepping and cooking needs to be simple enough that I will actually do it.

Solution: Quinoa and black bean salad, baby spinach, hard-boiled eggs, and avocado.

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Here is the salad recipe from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. I am posting it in its original form, but I also added zucchini to mine because I had some left in the fridge. This is a good way to use up veggies that you have on hand.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1/3 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 tsp olive oil

4 tsp fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp minced scallions

1 15-oz can black beans (or 1.5 cups cooked)

1 large can of diced tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh)

1 cup diced bell peppers (I used a mixture of red and green)

2 tsp minced green chiles

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the quinoa in a sieve. Using a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil, add quinoa, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. All of the water should be absorbed. Allow to cool.

Combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro, and scallions in a small bowl. This is important so that the spices are distributed evenly. Add the beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, chiles, cooled quinoa, and salt and pepper.

I had this salad on its own, in the larger salad that you see above, and as part of a breakfast burrito. While I like the recipe overall, I think that it could use a little boost. I would recommend increasing the spice amounts if you are someone who likes a lot of flavor.

Enjoy!

Hearty Salad: 3 Ways

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Oh hi. How’s it going?

Here’s a little update on me, for those who don’t already know. The last day of July was also the last day of my former career. You know, the one that I’ve been trying to change for the past 9 years. Since then, I finished my summer anatomy and physiology class (a year’s worth in 12 weeks), finished an online statistics course, pushed through some serious anxiety to attempt some networking, got my NASM personal training certification, started a food science class, started new workouts, achieved my goal of 205lb deadlifts, and got the personal training process started. It has been a complete lifestyle overhaul, which has simultaneously been both terrifying and wonderful. One of the perks is that I’m often home to experiment with lunch ideas.

I’ve never understood the people who say, “Oh, I’ll just have a salad for lunch,” meaning one of those lettuce-tomato-cucumber-and-nothing-else salads. How do they not spend all afternoon with their stomachs growling? To me it’s like eating air. So anyway, when I think about lunch, my mind immediately goes to some kind of sandwich or wrap. I have no problem consuming enough carbs from other sources, so I try to avoid bread when I feel like it’s not worth it. My lunch solution lately has been to convert my sandwich idea to a salad. A delicious, hearty, satisfying salad, with protein and healthy fat! Ooh, exciting!

Salad #1: Morningstar black bean veggie burger, salsa, 1/4 avocado, fried egg, and salad greens.

Black bean veggie burger, egg, avocado, salsa, and greens.

Black bean veggie burger, egg, avocado, salsa, and greens.

Salad #2: Buffalo Chik’n Salad. I cooked a Quorn Naked Cutlet in Frank’s RedHot Original sauce, then sliced it and added it to a bed of baby spinach with crumbled feta cheese and avocado. I will use blue cheese next time. It also would be good over massaged kale instead of spinach.

Quorn cutlet, Frank's RedHot, avocado, feta, and baby spinach.

Quorn cutlet, Frank’s RedHot, avocado, feta, and baby spinach.

Salad #3: Fall Celebration Salad! We picked 32 pounds of apples. We obviously had to have brie on hand to go with our apples and freshly made apple butter. This combination obviously needed to go into a salad. So, I sauteed a serving of Gardein mandarin orange crispy chik’n (but without the orange sauce), and then added about 1 tbsp of apple butter to it. This went over a bed of baby arugula, chopped apple, brie, and hazelnuts. Not the healthiest choice, but sooooo good!

Apple butter chik'n, brie, apple, hazelnuts, and baby arugula.

Apple butter chik’n, brie, apple, hazelnuts, and baby arugula.

So, the lesson learned today is that salads do not have to be boring and unsatisfying.

Enjoy!