Happy weekend everyone! I tweeted yesterday asking everyone what their plans for this weekend entailed. My folks and baby brother are visiting us in sunny Florida this weekend. My family arrived yesterday after I got off work so we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
I am not frugal by nature. Did somebody say filet mignon? I don't clip coupons often, but I do buy in bulk at Costco. I stock up during sales and buy most of my dry pantry staples for much cheaper prices online than at the grocer. We eat a lot of protein and have a serving of protein no matter if it is a snack or meal. We even have protein with breakfast everyday. I've been looking for ways to find cheaper protein sources. It is so costly to have lean organic chicken breast or grass-fed lean ground beef with every meal. I stumbled upon this recipe for White Bean Szechuan Burgers on the Spunky Coconut. I was inspired to create my own white bean burger recipe.
You may have heard about this research study from Stanford University a few weeks ago that revealed that organic produce is no more nutritious than conventional produce. After all an apple is an apple and an orange is an orange. What this study doesn't reveal is what is really on that apple or what toxins that orange was exposed to on its journey from the orchard onto your plate.
Rich and I rented What to Expect When You're Expecting last night. It was such a hilarious movie! For the record nobody looks like Cameron Diaz's character Jules when they are pregnant. The movie brought back a lot of memories from my pregnancy. I remember the constant nausea. Feeling tired after sleeping for 9 hours at night, how uncomfortable those last three months were, and the most precious moment when I first held my daughter.
When I was pregnant tomato was the word. I craved tomato products in all its various forms. Pasta, pizza, marinara sauce, ketchup, and my favorite Panera Bread's Tomato Soup. Alas, I've tried to eat at Panera since going gluten free, but I inevitably end up sick. So I've tried my hand at coming up with my favorite tomato soup. It is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan too.
Tomato Tofu Bisque
17.6 ox Pomi Tomato Sauce
12 oz of Silken Tofu ( I use Nori-Nu)
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of garlic crushed
1 tsp of minced fresh basil
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a sauce pot and heat on medium low whisking until near boil. Serve in bowls and garnish with basil. Serves 3-4.
Stay strong and carry on!
Brooklynn
If you've been around the blog you will notice I don't blog a lot of salads. Though I eat do a lot of greens. In fact I probably have one salad as a main meal or as a side daily. I just don't post salad recipes because it is so "diet-like." This is not a diet blog. No sir. It is a healthy eating and living blog. It took me a LONG time to come up with my blog name and even longer to start writing. At first it was simply The Lean Gourmet. I wasn't referring to myself as " the lean gourmet," but rather the recipes. However, that's how it came across so the blog became The Lean Gourmet Kitchen. I am posting this recipe because it is SO SO SO good. Just look at that picture. I know you want to pick up the fork and dig in don't you? Just look at the juicy tomato, the yummy BBQ chicken, and oh look at those pears with grill lines and all! Ok enough of my shananigans and onto the recipe.
I don't buy boxed cereal often. It is just SO pricey and gluten free cereal selection is limited compared to the conventional options. I do shop sales and use coupons when I can. However, the way we eat there just aren't coupons for things like lean ground turkey meat and coconut oil. So I save where and when I can and in other ways. When is the last time you saw some wholesome gluten free granola on sale and with a coupon at your local grocer? Me neither! Often store bought granola is loaded with sugar which is a no-no for this mama. I have taken a liking to making my own homemade granola. I posted my Simple Crunchy Granola recipe two months ago here. I had this idea to create a chocolate granola for the last two weeks. I didn't have it in me to batch cook this past Sunday after working all weekend, but I mustered enough energy to come up with a new chocolate granola recipe which I think you will enjoy as much as we do! Its chocolaty goodness harkens childhood memories of dare I say Coco Puffs or Count Chocula? All those kids went coo-coo for Coco Puffs because of all the refined sugar and God knows what else in that cereal.
I more often than not make a mess when I cook. I use lots of pots and pans and we run the dishwasher at least once a day. We eat well and often. All fresh and homemade goodness. Sometimes when I work a longer shift, but I still arrive home in time for dinner I just don't have the energy for meal preparation that takes more than 20-30 minutes. This recipe is easy, fast and supper yummy! All three of us enjoyed it even my 2 year old!
