A Nutritionist Eats » frozen meals

easy weeknight curry

anutritionisteats — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:00:25 +0000

I love curry. I love Thai curry, Indian curry and everything in between. Whenever we get Thai food (usually take-out from a few blocks away) I always get red curry vegetables and “add extra broccoli and cauliflower please!” Sometimes they listen to my request and sometimes….well, not so much

Curry has been an easy weeknight stand-by dinner that doesn’t require any fresh ingredients and is a flash to put together. I have to be honest though, it doesn’t taste as good as the take-out…anyone have any ideas for me?

Whisk together 1 can coconut milk (I use Lite) and 2 Tbsp red curry paste in a large pan. Add a splash of fish sauce and salt & pepper.

Throw in frozen veggies and shrimp if desired, I usually use a bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and then another 1/2 bag of broccoli. This last time I used raw, peeled shrimp which I actually liked because I think that cooking it in the liquid added some flavor to the shrimp instead of just adding cooked shrimp at the last minute. Simmer until shrimp are thoroughly cooked and serve over brown rice.

And because that wasn’t enough curry the taster found some curried sweet potatoes at Whole Foods so we baked those and had them on the side. They were ok, but nothing too special.

Do you have a weeknight stand-by dinner?

Helen's Kitchen BBQ Tofu Steaks

anutritionisteats — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:04 +0000

I really love good tofu. Some may gawk at that but it really is true. I don’t eat much soy, but my favorite way comes in the form of edamame (preferably alongside some fabulous sushi) and tofu. Unfortunately I have not yet mastered the tofu. For some reason it is never crispy enough, chewy enough and the list goes on. Basically it is slimy and yuck.

When I saw Helen’s Kitchen BBQ tofu I grabbed it immediately. I haven’t found a Helen’s item that I didn’t like so I figured I would also be a fan of this one.

I had the taster grill one with his steak. Tofu steaks and cow steaks. Nothing wrong with that! (Sorry taster, I will admit, I did kind of try to hide the meat, but I swear that is just because it never looks very pretty!!)

I thought they were great, they were really chewy and not at ALL slimy and had a great BBQ flavor. I did serve mine with some Annie’s Organic BBQ sauce on the side, because, well, I love my sauces.

Hmmm…..how should I have my next tofu steaks? Any great ideas for me??

Operation Clean-Out

anutritionisteats — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

No, I do not have 8+ children a la Jon & Kate. (And no, I don’t have the famous hair either) All of this food is for 2 people. So I decided that another eating experiment was in store for me and my fridge. Could I not go to the store for over a week and a half???

I stocked up at Whole Foods last Sunday and the taster got a bunch of veggies from the farmer’s market (sometimes I wish I worked in a HUGE office that had their own farmer’s market…) but anyway, we have a full freezer as well. Should be easy, right?

Note to self: Do NOT send the taster to the meat counter at Whole Foods when trying to follow a budget…It never ends well.

So I’m thinking fresh pesto with pasta, shrimp & bread (freezer), peanut-sauce stir-fry, Amy’s frozen goodnesses, Sunshine burgers, etc.

Confession: I might have to hit the store for lettuce however…I don’t think I can go that long without some greens in my life…

I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

PS. I think we’ll have plenty of condiments as well…

Friday Nights & Frozen Pizzas

anutritionisteats — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Sometimes a girl’s just got to have frozen pizza. A Nutritionist eating frozen pizza? I think so!

This however, was not your average frozen pizza. This was a Mushroom & Truffle Pizza from Trader Joe’s – oh so enjoyable with some wine and a Friday night at home. Does it get any better than pizza and wine?

What is your idea of the perfect night at home? Mine always seems to change depending on mood – sometimes cooking a fabulous meal, sometimes as easy as putting a pizza in the oven!

Asian Sundays: Made-Over

anutritionisteats — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

The taster loves to have Asian Sundays and order Chinese take-out. Don’t get me wrong, I love the take-out too, but lately I have been thinking that I could do our own Asian Sunday meal with a lot less grease and guilt but that tastes just as good. I’m certainly not saying this is the healthiest of meals but it is certainly a huge step-up from take-out.

I found some egg rolls and Thai Chicken Goyzas from Trader Joe’s that I made with some Shrimp & Veggie stir-fry. It was a quick and easy meal that satisfied the Chinese craving and left me feeling good, not stuffed.

Do you have a meal that you have made-over or needs to be made-over?

Amy's Organic Brown Rice Bowl

anutritionisteats — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I had this Organic Brown Rice, Black Eyed Peas & Veggies Bowl from Amy’s in my freezer for a while and I will never let another sit in the freezer for that long again. It had great Asian flavors and the ginger tasted like it came from real ginger, not powder – the sauce was delicious and the black eyed peas made for a filling meal – the only thing that I would change if I was having it for lunch would be to supplement it with some more broccoli or other veggies. This vegan meal had 290 calories, 8 g of fiber and 11 g of protein. Perfect for an easy lunch at work and much healthier than take-out! Another great meal by the folks at Amy’s.

Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

anutritionisteats — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Sometimes frozen meals are lacking flavor and need extra salt on top of the usually large amount of sodium already – not this one. It only has 380 mg of sodium, and for a meal (and a frozen one at that) I was pretty impressed!

This meal goes far beyond your frozen lasagna. It contains plantains, black beans, sweet potato and kale with a spicy (perfectly spiced) ancho sauce over the Kashi 7 whole grain pilaf, amaranth and polenta.

This vegan meal with the sweetness of plantains and sweet potato, spiciness of the ancho chiles and crunch of pepitas was so good I didn’t want it to end.

Not to mention that it has 8 g of fiber per meal.

Helen's Kitchen Frozen Meals

anutritionisteats — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

A flavorful, preservative-free, frozen meal can be hard to come by but Helen’s Kitchen has got it down. I tried the Indian Curry with Tofu Steaks over Rice – it is perfectly flavored and tastes like it came straight from the Indian take-out restaurant. It is Certified Organic, Vegan, a good source of Calcium, high in Iron & Vitamins A & C, and Gluten, MSG & GMO free. My only complaint is that they don’t use brown rice but even that won’t stop me from trying other varieties. Keep your eye’s out for their new products coming out soon – I sampled some at the Natural Products Expo West and was very impressed.