I woke up yesterday and wanted yogurt. Yes, it’s just started to get cooler and yes, I ate piping-hot oatmeal all through the summer months… but for some reason, cold breakfasts are just as comforting as hot ones.
Besides, I had to try out the Galaxy Granola I won from Caroline a few weeks ago!
Galaxy Granola’s motto is “Fruit Not Fat,” because it’s baked with fruit juice instead of butter and oil. A lot of people tend to stay away from granola because they think it’s fattening; I wouldn’t pour a heaping bowl of it every day, but a moderate-sized portion when you feel like it isn’t going to kill you. In any event, Galaxy’s 1/4 cup serving has about half the calories and fat as many other granolas.
I diced an apple, tossed it with cinnamon, and microwaved it for one minute. This tenderizes the apple and brings out its natural sweetness, making it lovely to stir into yogurt and oats. Then I topped the mixture with plain yogurt and 1/4 cup Vanilla Almond Galaxy Granola.
The granola got a two thumbs up from me! It was just sweet enough, and had a good amount of almonds mixed in. Ari tried the Maple Pecan Quinoa granola, and really enjoyed that one as well.
Unfortunately, two short hours later my hunger kicked in again. Luckily, we had a lot of beautiful produce from the farmers market to choose from! Lunch was made delicious by three key elements:
1. Boston lettuce. This lettuce doesn’t get enough credit! It’s light and fluffy, buttery-smooth, and has just enough crunch. It has a mild flavor, and won’t overwhelm the taste of your salad.
2. Baked Tofu. It’s been a long time since I’ve baked up a big batch of tofu, but it’s so handy to have around! This recipe is really simple to make, but packs a lot of flavor.
Simple Baked Tofu
Makes 4-5 servings
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 T low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 T lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Remove tofu from package and wrap in a paper towel. Put on plate and weigh down with a heavy book or bowl (something that won’t fall over). Depending on how much time you have, drain tofu for up to 20 minutes. I pressed it for about 5, and still saw beautiful results.
In the meantime, combine garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice in a small bowl. Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Discard paper towel and slice tofu, widthwise, into 10. Cut each piece into two on the diagonal so you end up with triangles (see above). Dip both sides of each piece of tofu in sauce and place on tray. Bake for 35 minutes or until tofu is golden brown. Enjoy!
3. Aged balsamic vinegar. I got this for my birthday last year, and it truly heightens the flavor of every ingredient in my salad!
With the last of the roasted vegetables and a little macadamia nut oil, it made for one great lunch! I had an errand to run, so I took I packed the salad into a portable container and ate it on the go.
Again, just one hour later, I was hungry! So as soon as I got home, I sliced up a Macintosh apple and ate it with a little Nuttzo. I then proceeded to lick the plate clean. This Nuttzo taps into my animal instincts!
Right before I left for the gym, I grabbed a dried pear and a couple cashews to tide myself over.
One sweaty hour later (30 minutes on the CrossRamp, 30 minutes of upper body weights), I felt like I was ready for a Thanksgiving feast. What was up?! I made myself a bowl of plain yogurt with a little Autumn Millet and cinnamon. Thankfully, this held me through dinner 
We had the pleasure of eating dinner as a foursome. While I got dinner ready, I sipped on a little Devonian wine from the Anthony Road winery, which we picked up at the farmers market on Sunday. The wine doesn’t have a vintage because the Devonian is a combination of all of the leftover wine they have at the end of the year. It was garnet-red in color, and had a nice light, slightly tangy taste.
For dinner, I made Kath’s Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato + Kale Soup. I made this a while ago when I was in college and remembered loving it, so I thought it would be a hit.
I made a few adjustments:
- 1 tsp vanilla to 1/2 tsp vanilla: I remembered finding the vanilla flavor a little overwhelming when I first made it, but it was just right when I reduced it by half
- 1 cup 2% milk to 1 cup almond milk
- peanut + coconut garnish to baked tofu garnish for a little extra protein
Served with a slice of Nature’s Pride toast, smeared with Brummel & Brown:
Terrific Fall meal, which would not have been complete without a square of 85% dark chocolate. I like the really dark stuff
When you’re in “bottomless pit” mode, what tends to fill you up?
I find that a big yogurt mess in a bowl tends to fill me up, but I usually eat it as a dessert to the main meal. I have days like that sometimes too, and it takes a lot of food to curb my appetite.
YUM. the baked tofu looks greaT! when i’ min bottomless pit mode, something that ALWAYS satisfies me is a casein protein shake orrrrrr sometimes it’s gotta be something like a bowl of brown rice
That is a lot of tofu!! I need to start baking them in big amounts like that– I always find myself wanting baked tofu, but not having any around!
Unfortunately, I never have a “bottomless pit” mode – it’s a chore for me to eat adequately
I bought some pre-baked teriyaki tofu and am planning on using it tonight in an eggplant, noodle, black beans sauce dish.
The Sweet Potato and Kale soup looks so good–it reminds me of one of my favorite recipes for Sweet Potato-Peanut Stew (from the Moosewood)…I haven’t made it since last winter, but I guess it’s getting to be that time again, isn’t it?!
When I’m having a bottomless pit day, nothing tides me over like nut butter on a piece of fruit–heavy on the nut butter
mmmm i’ve been in SUCH a dark dark dark chocolate kick lately! it’s weird bc i never used to like chocolate and now it just can’t get dark enough hahaha weird.
i’ve been having them b-pit days a lot lately too! i’ve just been rolling with it and finding myself craving the weirrrrrdest things on those days!
i LOVE a good balsamic!
WOW, that tofu recipe sounds so good and easy! I’m not a huuuge fan, but that’s something I might actually try. And I did the same thing this summer…ate hot oatmeal nonstop and now I’m on a cold cereal kick!
I don’t know what weirds me out more—”bottomless pit” days or days when I have almost no appetite. Hearty soup seems to do it for me when I know I need to fill up. That and some crusty bread and a side salad is one of my favorite go-tos. Mixing textures seems to be the for me! Haha but who am I kidding? It’s probably got to do with insoluble fiber or something!
Sweet Potato and Kale soup sounds awesome for a fall day! When I’m having a bottomless pit day I usually need lots and lots of carbs!
I went for a two hour loooong run on saturday and the hunger monster really caught up with me by late saturday and all day sunday. Luckily, I had a big batch of chilli (heavy on the tomatoes, beans and jalepenos!, light on the lean ground beef) to tide me over. Beans, tomatoes, and spice is a good pit filler! I also dined on quite a few macintosh apples from the farmers market.
Oatmeal fills my gap like no other! Of course, it could just be the protein powder, nut butter and fruit I put in it too…
I keep wanting to try the Galaxy Granola. I have a bit of a Granola obsession. Yeah, it may be a problem!
Kath’s soup is one of my favorite!! Now I’m craving it.
Yay! So glad you got your granola.
When I have BPS (what I call Bottomless Pit Syndrome) I make a ginormous smoothie with protein and nut butter or Greek yogurt with apple & wheat germ. Yummage.
bottomless pit mode? hmmm…protein I guess. I dunno carbs? Sugar? I have no idea..I just graze til i find The Thing. lol
the tofu looks awesome, love the triangles, very Whole Foods-ish! I have been doing strips,need to do triangles!
That soup looks lovely! Bottomless pit mode…yogurt? Fruit? Depends. Love the Lindt 85% – I love the 90%!
Bottomless pit days are hard for me, but I think it’s important to eat more food if I truly feel hungry. You have to differentiate if it’s truly hunger and not boredom/stress/emotional but if the body needs it, give it! That being said I think you should fuel up at times like that with nutritional food, so I think oatmeal or anything with protein powder and nut butter is a good bet.
never seen Galaxy Granola before. liking the ingredient list!
The tofu looked so awesome I had to try it. Well, I at least attempted to. It’s my first experience making tofu and it just fell apart into a huge mess. Help! What can I do with it now? and how do I prevent that from happening again?