Sunny Side Up Nutrition

A cooking, nutrition and family feeding blog to simplify your life

Weeknight Meals

Easy Weeknight Tofu Veggie Stir-Fry

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Easy weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll know this shows up on my weekly meal plan often. I’ve been making this easy, weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry a lot recently so I thought I’d share it with you. When I was growing up, stir-fry was in our meal line up, too, and I always loved it. There’s something so satisfying about quickly cooked, crisp veggies in a quick sauce over warm, tender rice. YUM!

Make a big batch so you have leftovers

Lately I’ve been making a BIG batch of stir-fry along with a big batch of rice. I serve the leftovers for dinner a second night or lunch a number of times during the week depending on how much is leftover. It works well reheated and in a thermos for lunches.

No recipe needed

Easy weeknight tofu veggie stir-fry

One of the nice things about stir-fry is you can use any combination of veggies and protein you’d like. You don’t really even need a recipe. I tend to use carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, sugar snap peas, edamame and bok choy (or baby bok choy), along with those canned baby corn. You can buy cut broccoli and sliced mushrooms, as well as chopped ginger. So, this dish really doesn’t take long to make. Then, all you have to do is peel and cut the carrots and mix the ingredients for the sauce.

I go through phases where I use skirt steak in my stir-fry. Shrimp or chicken works well too! But these days we’re trending tofu. I used to just drain press the tofu for about 30 minutes, cut it into cubes and add it to the veggies and sauce. But, I much prefer it this way because the texture is nice and firm and there’s some additional flavor to the tofu with the soy sauce and olive oil.  (I got the idea for baked tofu here).

I tend to change up what kind of rice I serve it over.  Sometimes, I serve this over rice cooked in coconut milk. Sometimes, it’s white rice and sometimes it’s brown rice.  Most of the time I use Lundberg rice and cook it in a pan on the stove.

Don’t give up

Dishes like this stir-fry can work well with young ones and more selective eaters because you (or they) can separate out the items, if having everything together is overwhelming.

When my oldest child (now 15) was young, she didn’t care for many of the ingredients in my stir fry. She’d eat the carrots, broccoli, rice and whatever protein was in the combo. Lately though, she’s been eating the dish as is. She recently told me how much she loves mushrooms and noted that she used to hate them.  I’ve been cooking stir-fry (veggie sauté) for a LOOOOONG time. I share this because it’s a good example of the importance of continuing to offer foods even when children won’t eat them.

Easy weeknight tofu veggie stirfry

The order I use to get tofu veggie stir-fry on the table

  • Pre heat the oven
  • Put rice on to cook
  • Drain and press the tofu
  • While the tofu is draining, gather together your ingredients for the rest of the stir-fry.
  • Make the sauce
  • Chop the ginger
  • Rinse and chop the veggies (or open the bags and containers of pre-sliced and pre-cut veggies)
  • Cube the tofu, toss it with the soy sauce, cornstarch and oil
  • Bake the tofu
  • Stir-fry the veggies!
  • Add the baked tofu to the stir-fry
  • Serve over cooked rice
  • Enjoy!

If you’re looking for more quick and easy recipes check out previous “go-to” meals posts here and here.

Let us know if you make the easy, weeknight tofu, veggie stir-fry. We’d love to hear from you!

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Weeknight Tofu Veggie Stir-Fry

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

The amounts here can be adjusted to your taste and needs.  This makes a big batch.

Scale

Ingredients

1 container, extra firm tofu, baked (recipe below)

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS minced, fresh ginger

4-6 carrots peeled and sliced

1 large bunch of broccoli, rinsed and cut into small florets (slice the stem too and add it)

1 8 ounce container sliced mushrooms

2 cups (or 1 small bag) sugar snap peas

1 1/2 cups thawed, shelled edamame

1 bunch bok choy or 2–3 bunches baby bok choy, chopped and rinsed

1 can of baby corn, drained

Sauce

3 TBS Hoisoin sauce

3 TBS. rice vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and water and set aside.
  2. Add the olive oil and ginger to a 5 quart sauté pan.  Turn heat to medium – high.
  3. Once the ginger begins to sizzle, add the mushrooms and carrots and cook while stirring for a couple of minutes.  
  4. Next add the broccoli and snap peas. Cook while stirring for another few minutes until they begin to turn bright green.
  5. This is where I add the sauce.  
  6. Then add the thawed edamame, bok choy and baby corn and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
  7. Last, add the baked tofu. Remove from heat.
  8. Serve over cooked rice.

Notes

Feel free to cook the veggies longer if you like them more tender.

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Baked Tofu

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

Tossing extra firm tofu with cornstarch, soy sauce and olive oil and baking it creates a tofu with a nice flavor and firm, almost crisp texture.

Scale

Ingredients

1 box extra firm tofu, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Remove the tofu from the packaging
  2. You’ll need 2 paper towels each folded in half lengthwise.  Place one on a plate, then place the tofu on top of the paper towel.  Place the second paper towel on top of the tofu. Then place a pan on top of that to squeeze out the moisture.
  3. Let sit for 10 – 30 minutes.
  4. Remove the tofu from under the pan and discard the paper towels.
  5. Cut into cubes and toss with olive oil, soy sauce and cornstarch.  
  6. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  
  7. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from over and add to the stir-fry.

 

Meal Prep: Without a Side of Diet Culture – Part 2

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By: Jessica Long, Nutrition Masters Student

Guest Post Writer

As promised in my previous post, I’m sharing my favorite meals for anyone with a busy schedule! On days or weeks where you have more prep time available, opt for the ‘make ahead’ recipes. For nights where you need to whip something up quick, look for the ‘time crunch’ recipes. You’ll find ideas for breakfasts and dinners, as I almost always use leftovers for lunches.

In seasons of extreme busyness and a demanding schedule, I find that it can be easier to miss certain hunger and satiety cues, leaving me ravenous or with a headache. This is why it’s SO important to try to plan ahead and fuel ourselves properly when we are “go go go”; tackling a long to-do list is so much easier on a satisfied stomach!

To that end, I try to incorporate protein + fat + carbohydrate + fiber in most meals in order for them to be both satisfying and nourishing. However, there is great flexibility in this! We never want to create rigidity in our meal planning, and every single body has different needs and different combinations that best nourish it.

BREAKFAST

Make Ahead

  • French toast bake: Whenever artisan bread from my grocery store’s bakery is on sale, I grab an extra loaf or two (enough to fill an 8×8 inch baking pan). I whisk 3 eggs, ~2/3 C milk, a splash of vanilla, sprinkle of cinnamon, and a few teaspoonfuls of sugar. Arrange bread in greased 8×8, pour milk mixture on top, and top with a handful of walnuts. I put foil on top, then pop in my fridge overnight. I’ll throw it in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 F (or until it’s to your liking!) while I get ready for the day. I love to drizzle maple syrup on top and add scrambled eggs on the side for some extra protein.
  • Muffins: My favorite blueberry muffin recipe can be found HERE.
  • Pancakes are one of my favorite things to whip up on a Sunday afternoon and reheat each day during the week. My go-to recipe for years can be found HERE. They’re made even better by adding blueberries or chocolate chips.

Time Crunch

  • Oatmeal: Combine 1/2 C rolled oats, 1/2 C of whole milk, and 1/2 apple (diced) in a bowl and pop in the microwave for 2 minutes. Top with brown sugar and nuts! Try swapping banana for the apple or adding chocolate chips!
  • Egg scramble: Scramble eggs with whatever you have on hand and pair with PB&J toast. My favorite combination is eggs + cheese + sausage.
  • Yogurt parfait: Top whole milk yogurt with granola (or your favorite cereal!), fruit, and nuts.

DINNER

Make Ahead

  • Baked potato bar: I love to put 5-6 potatoes in the oven to bake while I study on a Sunday. I’m partial to russets, but pick your favorite kind! Possible toppings include cheese, avocado, sour cream, sautéd spinach, ground beef, or bacon. With the potatoes already prepped, browning the beef and sautéing the spinach makes for a speedy weeknight dinner.
  • Chicken fajitas: Place 1.5-2 lbs raw chicken tenders (I cut chicken breasts into tenderloins to save money!), 3 sliced peppers, 1 sliced onion, 1/2 C olive oil, and a packet of fajita seasoning into a gallon baggie. Place in fridge for up to 3 hours. Pour into a 9×13 pan. Cook at 400 F for 20 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. Serve in warm tortillas or on top of brown rice! The leftovers make an excellent burrito filling.  
  • White chicken chili. Everyone’s family has their go-to recipe for white chicken chili. This is my mom’s tried and true recipe: in a crockpot, combine 2-3 chicken breasts, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of great northern beans, 1 can of corn, 1 envelope taco seasoning, 1 can chicken broth, and 1 can of green chilies. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. (I’ve forgotten to add cream of chicken soup and green chilies at times, and it’s still good!). Before serving, stir in 1/2 C of sour cream.

Time Crunch

  • Pizza: I highly suggest Trader Joe’s pizza dough; it is reasonably priced and freezes well. My favorite recipe for quick pizza dough can be found HERE. My favorite toppings are olive oil, garlic, mozzarella, and ricotta.
  • Pork chops: Thinly sliced pork chops are an affordable cut of meat, and they cook up very quickly in a cast iron skillet. Pair with red potatoes (roasted at 400 F for 20 minutes after tossing in olive oil + spices of your choosing) and a vegetable.
  • 5 ingredient green curry: I have used red curry paste instead of green, and the recipe is absolutely delicious. If you aren’t a tofu fan, add a can of chickpeas near the end of cooking. Recipe is HERE.

Jessica Long is a graduate student at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. She is an avid reader of research, and her interests include eating disorders, intuitive eating, and approaching medical nutrition therapy (MNT) from a weight-neutral lens. She is especially intrigued by the intersection of diabetes and weight neutral care, having experience working with patients with diabetes in a primary care setting. She is currently spearheading a research project investigating intuitive eating in minority undergraduate populations. Jessica can be reached via email at jlong@email.meredith.edu or on Instagram at @jessicalongrd.  

“Go To Meals” – Part 2

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Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

Hi!  Elizabeth here.  I’m calling this post “Go-To Meals” Part 2.  Anna shared her family’s “go-to meals” in her post last week.  Read it here.  I’m definitely adopting their yearly tradition–Anna, Dan and their children spend some time on their car trip home from visiting Dan’s parents for New Years to talk about what meals they’ve been eating during the year.   Anna writes down the list so she can refer to it during the year. I just love this idea! I also love the way Anna and Dan divided the list into categories that made complete sense to me. Some of my “Go-To Meals” might fall into Anna and Dan’s Standard Meals.  A good example that everyone’s meals and how they approach food are different.

My family’s current “go-to meals”  

There are definitely some that have fallen off the list over the years.  I plan to bring them back into our rotation and share them with you in a future post.

Meals don’t have to be complicated to be nourishing or to provide an opportunity to gather together to eat.

What does this list tell me?  That I rely A LOT on broccoli and salad as sides.  Perhaps it’s time to branch out a bit!? I’m going to refer to Anna’s post here on simple sides when I’m planning meals over the coming weeks.

One of My Family’s “Go-To Meals”: Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

Everyone in my house likes a version of this soup.

My 11 year old, Ellie, only likes the broth.  The bowl she serves herself is often mostly broth with just a few beans.  Caroline, my 14 year old, loves this soup except for the kale. The bowl she serves herself is typically the complete opposite of Ellie’s bowl.  Caroline loves the beans and prefers less broth. I don’t worry that neither likes the kale. The kale cooks in the broth, so some of the nutrients from the kale find their way into the tasty, parmesan infused broth.  And eventually, they might end up trying the kale again.

I’ve made this soup for years.  It’s inspired by/adapted from a pasta recipe, Orecchiette with Shell Beans, Proscuitto, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in Alfred Portale Simple Pleasures: Home Cooking from the Gotham Bar and Grill’s Acclaimed Chef.

It’s quick and easy.  And I typically have the ingredients on hand.  It can truly be made in 30 minutes!

Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

At some point, I decided to change the recipe up a bit.  I began adding a lot more broth, a hunk of parmesan cheese (this gives the broth a lovely rich flavor), and black eyed peas.  

And it slowly transformed into soup, rather than a sauce for pasta.

Sometimes, I serve this over polenta–not as a “go-to meal” though!  Served over polenta is a great option for a nice dinner and it’s great for a crowd, too.   During a few Christmases at Chad’s parents (there’s always a crowd), I made a big batch of the soup and served it over polenta along with a salad. Then we used the leftovers as soup for lunches.  

Here it is served over pasta.  I love serving it over orecchiette (which means little ears) pasta because the broth pools in the “little ear” shape.  I alternate between the three because we have one person in our foursome who doesn’t like polenta and one who prefers it as the stand-alone soup.    

If you’d like to make this without the bacon, I’d suggest adding fresh basil or a couple of tablespoons of pesto to the soup just before serving.

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Easy Bacon, Black Eyed Pea and Kale Soup

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

A great weeknight soup that doubles as a tasty ragu over pasta or polenta.  Serve it over polenta for a nice weekend or special occasion meal.

Scale

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon cut into small strips

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

3 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 2 x 3 inch hunk of parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 cups kale, washed and torn

1 ½ teaspoon salt

pepper

Instructions

  1. Stack the 4 slices of bacon and cut into strips crosswise.  Place the bacon in a large pot over medium-medium low heat. Cook the bacon until it is crisped–about 10 minutes.
  2. While the bacon is cooking, peel and chop the garlic; drain and rinse the beans in a colander, and rinse and tear the kale; and cut off a piece of parmesan cheese.
  3. Once the bacon is crisp, add the chopped garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Next add the beans, stock, water, parmesan hunk and salt and pepper.
  4. Bring to a boil.  Then turn the heat down to medium and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes.  Next add the peas and kale and cook for about 5 more minutes.
  5. Serve as a soup or serve over pasta for a quick and easy tasty weeknight meal.  

 

Notes

For a weekend meal or for a large group, I sometimes serve it over polenta.

 

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts – Our Holiday Tradition

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Just before Thanksgiving, Anna and I shared some of our family holiday traditions. These Brussels sprouts are part of our Thanksgiving AND Christmas meal traditions. The process of removing the cores and seperating the leaves takes awhile. But it’s well worth it! And Chad and I enjoy the time together. Sometimes people help with the process and sometimes it’s just us. Either way, we enjoy making this dish.

If you’d prefer not to core and leaf the Brussels sprouts, you can simply feed them through your food processor using the shredder attachment. It’s not the exact same dish, but still works well and tastes great! Either way you decide to prepare them, cook them until they are bright green and some of them just being to brown.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport
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Description

Even Brussels sprout naysayers will like these tender, sauteed Brussels.

Scale

Ingredients

2 bags (or 1 branch) of Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the end off the Brussels sprouts.  Then, using a sharp paring knife, carefully carve out the core.  Once you’ve cored all the Brussels sprouts you can begin separating the leaves into a large bowl.  (You can do this a day or two ahead and cover the bowl and leave it in the refrigerator until ready to saute them).

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large saute pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the Brussels sprout leaves and salt and pepper to taste.  Saute for about 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Keep it Simple! 3 Quick and Easy Meals

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I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! I love this time of year. We’re looking forward to getting together with family and friends as always. However, life gets so busy during this season. There’s shopping for gifts, parties, activities, travel and holiday shows – It’s all so much fun, but it can all feel overwhelming if I don’t take the time to plan and keep meals simple. We don’t want to eat out most nights, which is what happens if I try to wing it. Plus, making dinners allows for leftovers for at least a couple of lunches each week.  

At the end of the day, as Anna highlighted in her most recent post what you eat for dinner isn’t what’s most important.  It’s the meaningful time you spend connecting with your family.  

Here are 3 quick and easy meal ideas you can rely on through the holiday season. I’m also going to use Anna’s printable meal planning template (sign up at the top of our blog to receive it) along with a couple of other go-to meals I wrote about last spring to simplify meals.  

Sausage (vegetarian or meat) with sweet potato fries and sautéed brussel sprouts

30 minute meal

I tend to buy this Neiman Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage. All four of us really like it. If it’s a vegetarian option you’re after, the Field and Stream sausages are quite good.  Shaved or shredded Brussels sprouts are a favorite in our house.  Everyone loves them, there’s no prep work and they cook in less than 10 minutes!  When I can’t find shredded Brussels sprouts, I buy them whole and run them through my food processor with the grater blade.  If I know I don’t have time for that extra step, I’ll cook a frozen vegetable I have on hand.

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Peel N’ Eat Shrimp – A Family Beach Trip Tradition

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Peel N' Eat Shrimp

Anna and I both happened to be at the beach last week (different beaches).  Relaxing at the beach took me back to the food we ate during our annual trip to Emerald Isle, NC with dear family friends.  We had some sort of fresh seafood most nights, and my mom often made peel n’ eat shrimp.  That’s one of Anna’s family beach trip traditions too!  

As I watched my children and their cousins laughing and diving and jumping waves, I found myself reflecting on Anna’s most recent post  An Open Letter to My Daughter’s Camp Counselor.  When we focus on what not to eat or what we think we are supposed to eat, or weight loss; we miss out on life.  Instead of enjoying connecting with friends and family, we are distracted.  Food provides opportunities to create meaningful connections, traditions and memories.

Peel N' Eat Shrimp

Peel N’ Eat Shrimp

Anna and I each make peel n’ eat shrimp a little differently. I make it the way my mom did: by seasoning the water with some veggies, salt and lemon.  Anna’s family cooks the shrimp in unseasoned water.  I love this!  It doesn’t get any easier!! We had cocktail sauce my mom made by mixing horseradish into ketchup.  I think we also had plain ketchup for those who didn’t want any spice.  Anna’s family sets out horseraddish and ketchup to allow everyone to make their sauce as spicy or mild as they like.

I’m so glad I made peel n’ eat shrimp when I was at the beach!  WHY don’t I make this for dinner at home sometimes??? It’s SO EASY!  And the smell of the water as it came to a boil with plenty of salt, celery, carrot, onion and some fresh, flat leaf parsley took me back to heart warming memories of our yearly trips to Emerald Isle.  

Another method is to roast it in the oven instead of boiling it. I’m definitely going to try that soon! 

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Black Bean Taco Soup

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Black Bean Taco Soup Recipe

Hi!  Elizabeth here.  Thanks for stopping by!  I’ve been thinking a lot about Anna’s post about food rules  from last week.  So many of our clients come to us with a lifetime of unhelpful, rigid rules around food.  A big part of our work is guiding them to establish new, flexible, useful rules or guidelines.  Like Anna, I had similar, unrealistic rules about food when my girls were very young. Those rules about organic, local, in-season, etc, etc were impossible to follow without feeling like my head was going to spin off!  Thankfully, I have greatly relaxed those rules.

One guideline I use now is that I don’t have to make everything we eat.  I love to cook, and most food cooked at home tastes better than what you buy at the store. But we can’t live with me trying to cook everything!  I remind myself and my clients that it’s completely fine to buy pre-made, pre-packaged foods.  All meals aren’t meant to be made from scratch with a LOOOOONG list of ingredients.  I encourage clients to ask themselves, “what can I fix to eat that isn’t complicated and that will meet my (or my family’s) nutritional needs?”   Life is often hectic and we need guidelines to help us find balance in our lives – including with food….

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White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup for a Wintery Spring Day

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White Bean Sausage and Kale Soup

I hadn’t planned on sharing a soup recipe this week.  But the weather has been so up and down, I found myself really craving a nice warm, hearty soup.  The weather experts had us expecting a “wintery mix” here in the DC Metro Saturday.  Thankfully, the forecast has changed, but it’s still going to be a good weekend for soup.  

Ellie and our Scottie, Nessie enjoying the snow a few weeks ago on the first day of spring.  

White Bean Sausage and Kale Soup

What do you love about soup?  I love soup for so many reasons.  It’s quick, easy and economical to make.  You can make a soup with pretty much any ingredients you like.  It’s also wonderful because you can easily make a big batch and have enough leftovers to use for lunches and still freeze some for those nights you need a ready-made meal.  And most of all, it’s warm and comforting. …

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Favorite Everyday Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

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Everyday Salad

Anna and I were recently brainstorming topics to share with our readers.  She mentioned her clients often ask her how to make a good salad and suggested I write a post about salads.  So, I thought I’d go ahead and share my family’s Favorite Everyday Salad.

We all love salad in our house!  But that hasn’t always been the case.  It’s one of those examples of food I kept serving even though the girls didn’t touch it for years.  They’d eat apples dipped in mustard vinaigrette or cucumbers and carrots dipped in dressing, but no salad. I followed (and still do) the Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility that Anna talks about in Family Feeding – The Long Haul.  Letting kids decide what and how much they’ll eat of what’s offered allows kids to use their internal and intuitive cues….

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Two Simple 20 Minute Meals

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Hi!  Elizabeth here.  I hope everyone stayed safe during the storm on Friday and Saturday!   I planned on finishing this post on simple 20 minute meals on Friday during the nor’easter.  Kept finding myself wondering if our power would hold out so I could finish this post.  Well, our power never went out,  BUT a neighbor’s tree fell on part of our house.  It sounded and felt like an earthquake! 

Simple 20 minute meals

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Simple 20 minute meals

I’m grateful to our neighbor for finding a tree removal service that was able to come out Saturday afternoon.   

Simple 20 minute meals

Next step is to schedule the repairs.  Since we’ll be coordinating those this week (hopefully!), I’ll definitely make these super simple 20 minute meals: 

  1. Trader Joes’ Mandarin Chicken with rice and green beans

  2. Spaghetti and Meatballs with broccoli

Both these meals are so quick and easy, you might worry they don’t count as real meals.  They both only take 20 minutes to make.  As I mentioned in my last post, meals don’t have to be perfect to be “real.”  As much as I love to cook, opening packages, jars, boxes, and heating up food and putting it on a plate counts as cooking.  Just like with life it’s not black and white.  Cooking also falls on a spectrum.  There are times someone else cooks your food.  Sometimes you cook frozen meals from a bag.  Other times you have a sandwich and sometimes you make a 3 course meal.  Well, you likely only do that if you like to cook and definitely not on a weeknight!    …

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