Skinny Jeans Blog

Baked Balsamic Tempeh Recipe

Tempeh is a staple of many a vegan diet, however it isn't exactly the most edible delicious thing.  I've tried it many ways and have usually ended up just eating it out of obligation instead of "omg this is so good!".  In the past I had pan fried them in a bit of olive oil, however anybody who has worked with tempeh knows that it acts like a sponge so "a little oil" can quickly become alot of oil without you noticing.  I recently purchased two tempeh packages from Trader Joes and decided to spice things up a bit in terms of preparation.  I did some interweb research and found a great way to infuse flavor into tempeh by marinating it. 

The first step is to cut and boil the tempeh in water for 10 minutes.  This softens the tempeh up and allows it to absorb the marinade much easier, releasing its "sponge-like" properties if you will.  After patting dry with a towel, I put the tempeh in a bowl and added about 2 tbs of my favorite salad dressing, Annie's Organic Balsamic, I covered the bowl with tin foil and then left for my run, giving the tempeh about ~2 hours of marinating time.  When I uncovered the tempeh I found that it had in fact absorbed a majority of the dressing, good sign so far!  I then sprayed an aluminum foil coated baking sheet with just a little bit of cooking spray (about 1 seconds worth of spray).  I then laid out the tempeh in a single layer and cooked in a 400 degree preheated oven.  After 10 minutes I turned the tempeh over and put it back in the oven for another 13 minutes.  I took it out, let it cool and then put it in my salad, delish! This would also be great in a wrap with some hummus and veggies.

Sliced Tempeh post-boiling 

Absorbing the marinade
 
 Finished Product!

Food Face-Off: Clif Bar v. Almonds

  

MensHealth.com has a little food face-off up on their website which takes two foods and lists the pros and cons of each one before deciding on a winner.  In the "weight loss" category was two of my favorites, Clif Bars and almonds.  I thought right off the bat that almonds would win out over the Clif Bar, and according to the stats at the site, they should.  However the Clif Bar came out the winner based upon the following reason: Almonds are powerful superfoods that can keep you full, but portion control's the name of the game: It's easy to keep munching on almonds, racking up hundreds of calories. For those of us lacking ultimate willpower, the Clif Bar's built-in portion is better.

Clearly this news makes me ecstatic as I would eat Clif bars all day every day if I could get away with it.  However in the back of my mind I do know that they are basically a glorified candy bar, a healthycandy bar, but at the end of the day most Clif bars have the same grams of sugar as a Kit-Kat, yikes!! 

Not Cool McDonalds

First it was Subway with the HFCS in their bread and now it is McDonalds who is refusing to use cage-free eggs for their sandwiches!  According to a recent New York Times article, McDonalds has decided against using cage-free eggs for their breakfast sandwiches claiming that the current "battery cages" used by most of their egg providers are sufficiently humane.  According to McDonalds:

As we have examined this issue over the years, we have deter­mined that there is no agreement in the global scientific com­munity about how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of laying hen housing systems.

The proposition to move towards cage-free eggs was initiated by the Humane Society who argue that the 72 square inches of cage provided to the hens is inhumane, as it doesn't leave them enough room to spread their wings.  Interestingly enough, McDonalds European operations are planning on moving towards 100% cage-free eggs by 2012 which will fall in line with a law banning the use of battery cages that same year.  Click here to check out the full article.

Coffee Challenge Too?

Good Morning! I so wish today was Friday!  It has been beautiful out lately and I really hate being confined inside all day.  As you may knowI have started a sugar challenge, where I haven't been eating anything with more than 9g of sugar per serving.  I'm on day three of that challenge and still going strong.  I also stopped drinking coffee at the same time as I started my sugar challenge, mainly to help prevent any possible sugar cravings but also to see if it helps my energy level.  Well I am also on day three of the no coffee thing and I don't know how much longer I'm going to make it!  Mainly I just love the ritual of coming into work, getting my coffee, slowly sipping it as I get started with my morning.  I definitely miss it!  I may have to get some on Saturday morning because my Wawa coffee on a sunny Saturday morning is my idea of heaven! 

I Need These.... NOW!

So every morning I have two slices of toasted Ezekial bread and oatmeal, each topped off with a Justin's Peanut Butter Squeeze Pack.  Recently Justin's has expanded their line of squeeze packs to include chocolate, which are LIFESAVERS if you are anything like me and can't stop yourself from endlessly eating out of an open jar of peanut butter, and I am dying to try them!  The website says they are available for purchase March 30, yet it is now a week into April and they are nowhere to be seen, what gives?!

The stats on these are amazing!  None of the chocolate varieties is over 200 calories and the sugars are all at 7g, which fits into my sugar challenge!  I can't wait to try these on everythingin oatmeal and the chocolate hazelnut would be a perfect replacement for all you Nutella fanatics out there!  So yeah, basically I need this in my life yesterday!