TVP Tuna

I figure until I get it together recipe-wise (and believe me I have a bunch of freshly tested stuff to share...I just have to make it and photo it!), I'll continue to give you a glace at my real-eating perspective.

So here's another lunch!

Today's fare: TVP tuna on flat slices of Granny Smith apple. Salty, sweet, crunchy, GOOD!

I don't know that I've ever put my TVP tuna recipe in one post so here goes:

Nik's TVP Tuna

Ingredients:

4 oz. tuna in can, liquids reserved
1/4 c. textured vegetable protein (if you're going "what's that?" click here)
1 tbsp. whatever mayo you feel comfortable using (I do low-fat but NEVER fat free)
2 tbsp. Greek yogurt
1 tsp. (not tbsp) Dijon mustard (I know this seems like a lot of wet stuff but trust me...it works out)
1 tbsp. finely diced onions
a dash each of: garlic powder, salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine tuna, liquid, seasonings and TVP in a bowl and mix well. Allow the TVP to soak up the liquids.

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, yogurt and mustard. Mix well.

Combine the the tuna mixture with the mayo mixture, add the onions and mix again!

Serving this on the apple slices makes a nice alternative to crackers and something about the combo of tart apples and onions really does it for me (I am weird like that).

Anyhoo...you may now return to your regularly scheduled afternoon!

Nik's "Magic" Meatballs

What's in a meatball? When you make Nik's...a whole lot!

I know a lot of you buy your meatballs at the grocery store. It's convenient, I know. There are many brands that have turkey and lean beef and they are quite tasty. I don't tend to buy pre-packaged meatballs, though. Why?

(Broken record in 5, 4, 3, 2...) Well first off, because I like my cooking better! Secondly, because meatballs are something we only eat when we're in the mood for them. And sometimes there's a stretch between when the mood hits us. And while the food industry has gotten really good at improving their packaging, somehow I can't seem to escape freezer fuzz with my meatballs!

Besides the fact that my recipe comes out cheaper than store bought meatballs (thanks Aldi!). Oh, yeah, and there's the magic part. Yes, they are magic meatballs. What makes them magical? Well, to me, good magic is very unassuming. It's a surprise where you never expected it to be. Something that looks like nothing but is really something.

Such is the case with my meatballs. They look like regular meatballs with regular meatball stats. But then you eat one and not only is there a surprise inside, but there's a surprise in the stats. So...without further adieu...I present...

Nik's Magic Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb. lean meat (turkey, beef, whatever...)
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 c. Textured Vegetable Protein (if you're going, "what's that?" click here)
2 light mozzarella string cheese sticks, cut into 6 equal pieces
1 extra large egg, beaten

Ok...so that's not a lot of ingredients right? Let's make the magic happen. First off...string cheese? Yep, string cheese! Who wants to take a crack at what that means? It means my meatballs are STUFFED.

I saw on some Bobby Flay cooking show (he has a million of 'em) a recipe for stuffed hamburgers. Well me and hamburgers don't get along so I decided to try to stuff something else. For me, the choice was clear. I was stuffing my meatball. So here's how it goes down.

In a bowl you combine the meat and the TVP and let it sit for a minute or two. The TVP will soak up excess moisture in the meat. If you use super lean meat, add a litte milk to the mixture to keep some moisture. I usually go for a nice 85/15 ratio myself.

After that add the onion soup mix and the egg and mix it very thoroughly. Now...here comes the fun part. Scoop up a bit of meat in your hand and form into a little half moon shape and then stick a piece of the cheese in the middle and surround it with meat, like so:

Make sure there are no gaping holes or you will lose your cheese in the cooking process! So keep doing that until you've got about 12 meatballs. As you roll them, you're placing them on a sprayed baking sheet of course. Here's mine all lined up. Don't laugh at the ancient baking sheet. It belonged to my granpa!

I should also say that if your kids are old enough, this is a TOTALLY interactive meal prep. My 8 year old was a meatball rolling fool for this blog post.

S'anyway, you stick them in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. You see above how they come out. On the outside it looks like a regular meatball but on the inside...mmmm...warm cheesiness. Now...what to do with your meatballs. You can put them in any sauce you like. Back in the day, I liked the cream of mushroom type sauce. My kids, however, like to make mini-meatball subs by putting three of these in a hot dog bun. Check out the pic la petite diva took of her meal that night:



Awww...my little budding photog! As you can see I serve this with a side salad. It's on a dinner sized plate (somehow all my salad sized ones have gone missing) and the salad is devoid of the tomatoes I made her add five seconds later.

Ok, so let's talk stats here. My whole recipe comes out to 1040 calories (without sauce), 134g protein. If you make 12 meatballs that would come out to about 86 calories, 11g protein per meatball. So even if you only ate one...you are WAY ahead of the game!

So, try them. Let us know what you think. They are a favorite in my household and I'm sure you'll find a way to make them one in yours too!



Meatless Fridays: Spicy Cajun Tuna Burgers

I have noticed that since I committed to doing meatless Fridays in Lent that I have been eating a LOT more fish/seafood. Interesting.


One of my favorite things to make when I don’t want to fuss in the kitchen is tuna burgers. They come together easily (seriously…they take like 5 minutes to mix up a batch), are simple to cook and the only limit to the flavors is your own imagination.

I personally can’t do hamburgers (not even turkey…something about the coming together of ground meat seems to offend my pouch). I can do bites of a hamburger but even if I make a teeny one it doesn’t go so well. Tuna burgers give me the opportunity to sandwich something between two pieces of (low-carb, whole-grain) bread and eat it.

So for my offering today I present:

Nikki’s Spicy Cajun Tuna Burger

1 can of tuna (do not drain)

¼ cup textured vegetable protein (TVP), dry (if you are saying to yourself, “what is TVP?” click here)

1 egg white

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tbsp Cajun spice blend

Optional: chopped onions or scallions
Directions:

1. Empty the contents of tuna can into a bowl and add TVP. Mix well and let stand for a few minutes so that the TVP can soak up the excess moisture
2. Add all spices and mix well again.
3. Add egg whites and mix again. If mixture seems too wet, add a tablespoon or so more TVP and mix
4. Heat a sprayed skillet. Take up some of your tuna mixture and form a patty. There will be some excess liquid and the mixture will be somewhat loose, Trust me, it’ll hold together.
5. Place the patty in the skillet and cook about 2 minutes or so. GENTLY flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from pan and serve!

I eat mine on a whole-wheat Arnold Sandwich Thin with shredded cheese of some sort (sort of a tuna melt type deal) but it is also good as a wrap and you can also make tuna “meatballs” if you are newer post-op and can’t eat a whole patty. I think it’d also be fun to do tuna sliders…but that’s because I’m weird like that.

Meatless Fridays: Vegetarian Breakfast Tostada

Ah...Lent...it brings out the vegetarian in me for sure! I notice, though, that lately I've not eaten a lot of meat on any day of the week. Dairy? Yes. Meat? Not so much. That could have something to do with the fact that I have an extremely high maintenance pouch. Meat has to be cooked just right or it gets rejected y'all. The other day my mom made the most indulgent looking meatloaf. Three bites in I could tell it wasn't going to work. Ah well...I guess I was made for meatless Fridays.

I made an awesome discovery at Aldi's the other day. Fit and Active Multi-Grain wraps. These things are yummy, have good stats and they beat the cost of Flat-Out wraps hands down! Good news for this bitch on a budget! (I have been trying to work that term into a sentence FOREVER! Yay!)

So this breakfast tostada is quite wonderful. I will be eating it on meatless Friday atop a Fit and Active wrap. Not sure how much of it I will be able to eat although the wonders of the wonder pouch never cease.

Nik's Vegetarian Breakfast Tostada

1 low-carb tortilla (I like La Tortilla Factory's the best for stats - 50 calories and 3 net grams of carbs! You can't beat that! Be sure to get the taco sized thought)

1/4 c. fat-free refried beans

1/4 c. textured vegetable protein  (if you are saying to yourself, "what's that?" click here), reconstituted in water mixed with 1 tbsp taco spice

1/4 c. low-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese

2 tablespoons unflavored Greek style yogurt

2 tablespoons medium salsa

Directions:

Lay your tortilla out on a sprayed cookie sheet. Spread on an even layer of beans, then add the TVP, then add the cheese. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes or until the tortilla is browned at the edges and the cheese is all melty. Top with yogurt and salsa.

This get the Nik "hell yeah" seal of approval. Two yums from the divas and an emphatic "woof" from the puppy. So I am confident in telling you it is good!

Enjoy!