Peanut Butter Tofu Lo Mien

:-( High fat, high sodium
:-) High protein, low sugar

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic TAMARI
2 Big blocks very firm TOFU
2 lg cloves GARLIC or to taste
8 oz whole wheat LINGUINE NOODLES
1 tbsp ALMOND OIL
2 tbsp SESAME OIL
1 bunch SCALLIONS
1 cup smooth low fat PEANUT BUTTER
1 cup WATER
1/4 cup SOY SAUCE
1 tsp THAI CHILI PASTE or to taste
2 healthy handfuls fresh SNOW PEAS, clip ends and pull the fibrous spines out.
1 cup unsalted PEANUTS

Dice the TOFU into 1" cubes, place into a container with a cover along with the tamari. I usually coat the tofu by putting the top on and gently overturning the container a couple of times. You will want to marinate the tofu for at least a half hour, an hour would be good.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and brush a very thin layer of almond oil over the surface of a cookie sheet. While waiting for the oven, put a pot of water on to boil for the lo mien noodles.


Spread the marinated tofu cubes out on the cookie sheet, spray the tops with Pam, and put into the oven to bake.  Watch them carefully, you want them to brown to a golden hue but if they start puffing up you have the oven too hot. Keep watching and turning them as you follow the rest of the steps. Don't forget every time you turn them to spray them with Pam.


While the tofu is cooking and you're waiting for the water to boil, slice up the scallions, crush and dice the garlic and mince the peanuts. Set them out to the ready. 


When the water is ready, cook the noodles until almost but not quite done, according to the the package instructions. These types of noodles cook very fast, so be vigilant. When they are done, pour into a colander and rinse with cold water.


Set the cup of water to the ready in a small saucepan, and get the soy sauce and peanut butter ready to go. 


In a wok or large non-stick saute pan add the snow peas and noodles to the sesame oil and saute on medium high until nicely golden in places. 

Start the small pot of water to boil.

Back to the saute, add the garlic and scallions, saute a little longer. Turn heat down to low.


Take the boiling water off the heat, immediately add the peanut butter, whisk until smooth. You will want a smooth thick yet spoon-able sauce but if it seems not rich enough, add more peanut butter a couple of TBSP at a time. Whisk in the soy sauce.


Gently toss the tofu and the peanut sauce into the saute mixture and when coated divide out onto four plates, sprinkle with a a generous amount of minced peanuts and serve immediately.


If this is allowed to set long before serving, the peanut butter will thicken and spoil the texture. 


Makes for good left-overs, cold as well as heated.


Nutrition information: Calories: 387, fat: 22.63, saturated fat: 4.5g, cholesterol: 14.29mg, sodium: 281.5mg, total carbs: 27.75g, dietary fiber: 5.61g, sugars: 4.82g, protein: 13.49g.

Gimmee an Egg Pie

High protein, moderately high in fat and cholesterol. Serves 4, see nutritional information below.

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg reduced fat Pillsbury or generic CRESCENT ROLLS, intact
1/2 cup sliced or diced ONION.
2 Tbsp OLIVE OIL.
4 oz GIMMEE LEAN! SAUSAGE style
4 EGGS, whipped up for scrambling
2 slices SWISS CHEESE
PAM spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam.

Using as little oil as possible, fry up the sausage, then add the onions and eggs and cook til done.

Open the crescent rolls, DO NOT break them apart. Unroll them into one long rectangle. Cut into 8 squares. Spoon out the sausage and egg mixture onto four of the squares, trying hard to keep the very edges of the square clean. Place a half slice of cheese over each, breaking up if needed to keep edges clean.

Of the remaining four squares, gently flatten them out a little larger than the first squares. Then lay those squares over the filled ones. Try to squish the edges closed together, it will crack on the center in at least on place. That's OK.

Put in oven, it will not take long to cook so watch carefully. The top will get lightly golden just like regular crescent rolls. Pull out, let sit a couple of minutes and serve.

Nutritional info: calories: 338, total fat: 18.8g, saturated fat: 7.8 g. Cholesterol: 122.5mg. Total carbs: 30.4g, dietary fiber: 1.8g, sugars 5.3g. Protein: 15.2g.