Jaqx Food Crave- Mango Ginger Chutney and Agave Baked Tofu

I have another great food post to share with all of you!

I combined my Trader Joe’s Mango Ginger Chutney, and a little Agave Nectar in a marinade for my sliced extra firm tofu. I let the tofu sit in the marinade for about an hour although if I was more patient, I would have let it sit overnight before baking. Add some fresh ground pepper and then cranked up my oven to 450 degrees and baked it for approx 20 minutes on one side and 8 minutes on the other side (oven temps and cooking time may differ). I like my tofu a little crunchy and very well cooked, I hate mushy tofu! You could also grill or cook the tofu in a saute pan or panini press as well. The end result was delicious! I enjoyed it with one cup of Black Bean Soup ( a sprinkle of low fat cheddar cheese) and ended up getting over 25 grams of protein for lunch. Yummmm. I am also going to try to make a cranberry-orange chutney glazed tofu, and a apricot marmalade tofu blog post later in the week.

Jaqx Food Crave-Quinoa, Berries, and Mint Salad

I pretty much live on fruits and vegetables and I'm always experimenting with new healthy recipes that have a bit of vegetarian protein in it for my family and a I. I've made quinoa in a hot dish before, but decided to prepare it a different way this past week. Here is a super simple recipe for a cold, fresh, super healthy quinoa salad. It's so pretty when it's dished as well, perfect to bring to a party too. Here is what you will need:

Strawberries- Dice into small bite sizes

Blueberries- keep whole

Chopped Walnuts

Lemon- use half for fresh juice and the keep the peel to zest with

Quinoa

Olive Oil- 1/2 tablespoon if cooking 1 cup of Quinoa- just enough to keep separated

Agave Nectar- 1 tablespoon to lightly sweeten

Fresh Mint- Chopped

- I prefer to roast my chopped walnuts for 5 minutes in the oven whenever I use them in a recipe because I feel the flavor comes out even more. Cook the Quinoa as directed on box- usually it is 1 cup Quinoa with 2 cups water (bring to a boil…then simmer for 10-15 minutes). Let the Quinoa cool off till at least room temp and toss with a tiny bit of Olive Oil. Add strawberries, blueberries, lemon zest, chopped mint, fresh lemon juice, agave, and then fold in the chopped walnuts. After everything is mixed together well and cool off in the fridge. I made enough to snack on for the next 2-3 days. This is super delicious and a super healthy. Hope you like it!

Jaqx Food Crave- Healthy High Fiber Granola Breakfast

One of my favorite quotes from a dietician is: 'Eat like a king at breakfast, like a prince at lunch, and like a pauper for dinner."

Basically stating that your richest meal should be in the morning, and your smallest meal and calorie intake should be at night. I'm a big believer in large breakfasts and make it a regular habit to incorporate protein (as a vegetarian I opt for eggs, low sodium fat free cottage cheese and another dairy source), fruit, fiber and some other vegetable or bean. It's like taking a daily vitamin in the a.m. but choosing to get your vitamins from whole foods and juice instead of a lab made product.

Here are a few shots of some of my breakfast options over the past week:

1. Strawberries, flax seed, granola, Greek yogurt and almond milk
2. Pomegranate seeds, granola, berry yogurt
3. High fiber cereal, bananas, blackberries, flax seed, almonds and almond milk.
4. An omelette with black beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, spinach and low fat shredded cheese
5. Beet and purple carrot juice from trader joes

Trader Joes is my go-to grocery store, I absolutely love their locally grown fresh produce and all organic products. Hope you have a happy day and healthy breakfast!

Jaqx Guilt Free Food Crave-Spiced Baked Chickpeas (Luchtime Snack)

Sometimes I crave something sweet and/or spicy with a crunch! Store bought chips and snacks are filled with so many preservatives and chemicals, and have tons of sodium. For the most part, unless I can pronounce and understand what each ingredient on the label is, I don't buy it. I usually opt for shopping at Trader Joes which has great organic snacks, but I still feel better when I make my own from scratch.

Here is a quick lunchtime snack I made today, it took less than 10 minutes to prep and put in the oven. If you make larger batches of the spice mixes and store it in an airtight container, it would take you 5 minutes to make a batch every other time you make it. No excuses! For a smaller snack- cut the recipe in half (these aren't as great the 2nd or 3rd day, so I recommend only making what you would eat for one day)

1. Preheat the oven for 425 degrees (oven temp and cooking time may vary based on your brand)

2. Grab 2 cans (low sodium) chickpeas

3. Rinse chickpeas well under water and dry with paper towels. Some of the top layers of the chickpeas will come off, that's fine...just discard that (or put in your compost). Get the chickpeas as dry as possible.

4. Toss chickpeas with a light drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and spread out on baking sheet

5. Mix the following spices together in a small bowl (2 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp cinnamon). Note: I forgot to add cinnamon to my picture.

6. Lightly and evenly sprinkle the chickpeas with the spice mixture.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, tossing the mixture half way through- since oven times my vary, you may want to check for the right consistency before removing from the oven. Should be lightly crunchy. Remove from oven and enjoy! I usually wait till they are fool before eating.