Tag Archives: tofu

Meatless Monday – Udon Miso Noodle Soup

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Happy Meatless Monday! Can’t believe October is almost ending and before we know 2017 is going to end and I am playing catch up with game plan recipes that we made this year to date.

On my New Year’s Day – Sunday Game Plan post there were a list of good luck foods to consume during the New Year.  One of these lucky foods is buckwheat noodles especially soba noodles.  Unfortunately, I ended up getting udon noodles, which also contains buckwheat.  In Japan, people consume long buckwheat noodles to signify good fortune.    Confession, I did not end my making the Udon Miso Noodle Soup until well after New Years due to leftovers and lack of room in my refrigerator.

Udon Noodles – introduced in the 9th century by the Buddhist priest Kudai is made up of buckwheat, which is considered a type of complex carbohydrates, which is documented to help with weight loss and prevent diabetes & heart disease.  They are also:

  • low in calories
  • easily digested – udon dissolves faster than regular pasta & three times faster than beef
  • due to its easy digestion and dissolving properties, it helps retain heat in the extremities during winter because blood is not rushing to the stomach.
  • contains four kinds of vitamin B:
    • Thiamine (Vitamin B1): plays a huge role in metabolism preventing headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, nerve damage, brain disorders, especially Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), and memory disorders e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, stress, inflammation and vision problems e.g. glaucoma.
    • Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): prevents cancers, migraines and hair/skin damage
    • Niacin (Vitamin B3): plays a role in improving cholesterol levels, lowering heart disease risks, joint pain, treating diabetes, preventing acne, headaches, migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, memory loss, depression, motion sickness, insomnia, muscle weakness, digestive problems, alcohol dependence and erectile dysfunction.
    • Folate (Vitamin B9): plays a critical role in healthy pregnancy by preventing neural tube defects, which causes spina bifida, anencephaly, malformations of the limbs and heart complications, prevents cancers, anemia, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

So finally, here’s my recipe for Udon Miso Noodle Soup:

Obviously, I did not provide a calorie count for each of the ingredients because I cooked this dish in bulk (Serves 4 people).

2.5 cups of water

Left over mushrooms and kale (part of the spinach & greens family) (Mushrooms were 0.69 per package at Aldi, and kale was 0.99/lb on sale at local supermarket)

3 tablespoons of Yamajirushi Awase Miso ($4 lasts about a year)

1 package of Sunrise Extra Firm Tofu, cubed ($1.50 at Good Fortune Asian Supermarket)

1 red onion, sliced ($1.49 a bag at Good Fortune Asian Supermarket)

1 package of udon noodle (approximately  $3 or less if on sale for a pack at any Asian Supermarket)

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Sunday Game Plan – Ultimate Vegetarian Meal Plan under $10. 

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Happy Sunday! As I aggressively push myself to lose the remaining twenty pounds, this was a great opportunity for me to resume calorie counting and making entries on MyFitnessPal. So I began burning calories walking to various supermarket checking for deals. As a result I ended going to three Asian markets and spent less than $10 on the star ingredients for this game plan. 

For this game plan, the star ingredients were: zucchini, plantains, cauliflower, tofu, eggplants, peppers and carrots. 

I am so excited to create these dishes. Stay tuned! 

Week One Semi Paleo/Clean Eating Diet and The Final 15-20 Update

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Hello everybody, as Labor Day approaches which unofficially means that summer has ended.  So in my last diet game plan post,  I took ideas from the a diet published by the authors of Physique 57 Solution   The good news is that I followed the classic workout outlined in the book, it definitely took longer than 57 minutes because I kept taking breaks.  However, I struggled with the diet as unfortunately I have cheated numerous times with ice cream, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, flour and alcohol.  I improved my water intake and slept according to schedule for the most part.  Consequently I did not lose the weight.

I am not giving up and still hope to lose the last 15-20 before the year’s end.  I began doing research again on devising another diet plan and for the next two weeks I am going into the plan that is semi paleo and semi clean.

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It is obvious that I have stocked up on spinach, onions, eggs along with my own pantry of oils and spices.  My goal is to track the number of calorie consumption and calories burned throughout the day.   I do plan on having lots of left overs so hopefully by the end of next week I can feel skinnier.   Stay tuned.