Tofu with Chickpeas and Spinach

This recipe is a family favorite in my house and the recipe that introduced me to tofu several years ago.  It is quite filling, is a quick and easy recipe and my girls love it.

Ingredients:
2- 3 Tbsp.oil for cooking
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes
8-10 oz. baby spinach ( washed and stems trimmed)
1 can chickpeas (washed and drained)
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Drain the tofu, then place between two paper towels and press to soak up excess water.  Heat wok to med. high heat.  Add oil.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.  Add chick peas, spinach, and tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through. Add soy sauce  and cilantro and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Indian Spiced Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:
1 large potato, peeled and diced (I used two red potatoes)
1/2 cup small cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup diced green onions
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp. onion granules
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt (if you don't use unsalted cashews, omit this salt)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Cook potato in boiling water until very soft, about 15 min.  Drain and cool slightly.  Cook cauliflower in boiling water until very soft, about 6 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place cashews in food processor or blender and pulse until finely ground. In a large bowl, combine potato, cauliflower, cashews and remaining ingredients.  Use your hands to break up the chunks of potato and cauliflower, and press the ingredients until they hold together.  With damp hands, form into patties.  Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then flip burgers and continue to bake until lighlty browned on the other side, about 15 more minutes.

For a less messy method of forming burgers dampen the inside of a 1/2 cup measuring cup and pack with burger mixture.  Turn the cup over and gently shake to release mixture. I then pressed gently on the burger to flatten it somewhat more.

I also cooked the burgers on my skillet and it worked just fine. Enjoy!

The picture doens't do it justice...these burgers were delicious!

Recipe courtesy of Whole Foods.

Friday's Workout

Sorry everyone. I had one of those crazy evenings with my kids and after finally getting them into bed, the last thing on my mind was blogging.  So here is the workout. Better late then never.

You have 5 stations in each round.  1 minute per exercise then switch quickly to the next exercise.  After you complete each round you get 1 minute rest before you begin the next round. You only have 5 minutes of hard work in each round so try to push as hard as you can.

Do Three Rounds of:
Burpees
Squat Thrusters with weights
Box Jump (if you don't have a box to jump on use a step in your house or curb outside)
Push-ups
Reverse Fly (stand with feet about shoulder distance apart, knees slightly bent.  bend slightly forward from the waist and extend arms out to the side squeezing the shoulder blades together.) Sorry no video demo this time. My camera crew is out today so hope the picture helps.
         

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use rolled oats)
1/4 cup minced yellow bell pepper
2 Tbsp. minced onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 egg (I use flaxmeal as an egg substitute)
3 Tbsp. Olive oil

Bring the quinoa and water to boil in a saucepan.  Reduce heat to med. low, cover and let simmer until the quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, about 15-20 min.

Roughly mash the black beans with a fork, leaving some whole black beans in a paste like mixture.
Mix the quinoa, bread crumbs, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, hot pepper sauce, and egg into the black beans using your hands. Form the black bean mixture into 5 patties.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the patties in the oil until heated through, 2-3 minutes per side.

Top with your favorite toppings. Tomato, lettuce, guacamole, etc.

Wednesday's Workout

Active Warm up (refer back to older post)

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 30 min.
20 squat thrusters w/weights
15 box jumps (jump with both feet and use a stair to jump on if u don't have a box)
10 push ups

Do all three exercises then repeat, do as many rounds as you can in 30 minutes. When complete jog for 2 minutes and then start right into the following:

5 rounds of 30 second sprint, 30 second rest (you should do 5 sprints and 5- 30 sec. rests)

Cool down- run for 4-5 minutes and stretch

Lentils

Lentils are a part of the legume family.  They come in a variety of colors, are easy to cook and readily absorb flavors. About 30% of their calories come from protein.  Lentils are loaded with fiber, folate, iron, protein, and other vitamins and minerals.  To find out some more of the wonderful health benefits of lentils click here .

Burpee's Again! (Monday's Workout)

Warm up- Run 1/2 mile to 1 mile for warm-up

50 Burpees
40 Dip Toe Touches
30 Cheerleader Jacks (air jacks)
20 Push up Rows with weights (modification on knees)
10 Plyo lunges

Run 400 meters (or 2 min.)

50 Squats
40 Grasshoppers
30 Burpees
20 Alternating Lunges
10 Walk-outs

Run 800 meters (or 4 min.)

50 V-ups
40 Squat Thrusters
30 Hand Release Push-ups
20 Tuck Jumps
10 Burpees

Run 400 meters (or 2min.)

Stretch

exercise demo