I decided I needed a night off from the kitchen. I typically make three meals a day in my kitchen, so I don’t usually have a hard time justifying letting someone else wear the chef’s hat! I’d planned on having us dine out once this week, so that we could experience the vegetarian side of a menu for once. I also wanted to try tofu for the first time tonight. All of these needs were satisfied at P.F. Chang’s. Watch to hear how vegetarian day five went.
- Breakfast – veggie egg white omelet. Just a quick shot of cooking spray, chopped spinach, red peppers, mushrooms and grape tomatoes, mixed with three egg whites and served with a slice of whole grain toast. My favorite way to start the day!
- Lunch – cheese and fruit. I wasn’t in the mood for a full lunch today, but knew I needed to eat something if I was going to make it to our late dinner. I had one serving of light havarti cheese with whole grain crackers, a bunch of red grapes and half a sliced apple.
- Dinner – P.F. Chang’s. We let someone else cook tonight and I gave tofu a try. Tofu will probably not be my favorite take away from this vegetarian week. Our selections from PF Chang’s vegetarian menu included the vegetarian lettuce wraps (tofu instead of chicken), wok seared mushrooms, Buddha’s Feast (stir-fry tofu with mixed vegetables) and brown rice.
- Snacks – no snack today, but we did share P.F. Chang’s mini dessert (Great Wall of Chocolate) after dinner!
Tofu is more of something I tolerate than enjoy, but two incarnations of it that are to die for: General Tso’s tofu (lots of chinese takeout places are adding this to their menu, and it’s awesome!) and in a good curry. If it is cut into triangles and fried, it gets texture (because you know it’s squishy and rather unsatisfying in its natural state) and then in a curry, the sauce is thick so it coats the tofu and makes it delicious.
The best simple meat alternative (and by that I mean…not processed heavily), try Seitan. It is made out of wheat gluten, and it is chewy and sort of stringy like meat is. It can be made into pretty much anything, one of my favorite things being Primal Strips Jerky in Thai Peanut. Tasty, filled with protein, and Vegan!