This is pretty much my ideal meal for a chilly winter day. Brothy soup? Love. Crispy tofu? Love. Dumplings? What’s NOT to love?!

You can easily make this soup vegetarian by omitting the shrimp, using vegetarian dumplings, and using vegetable broth instead of chicken.

You’ll need (makes 4-6 servings):

• 2 large boxes organic, free-range chicken broth
• 3-4 heads bok choy, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 package extra firm tofu, cubed
• 12-15 dumplings of your choice. We used Trader Joe’s gyozas, but the best dumplings come from Chinese grocery stores.
• 12-15 shrimp
• 1 T chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
• 1 T black bean paste (or to taste)
• 2-3 T soy sauce (or to taste)
• 2-3 T sesame oil
• 1 t sriracha (or to taste)
• Crumbled dry ramen noodles and/or diced green onion to garnish. We didn’t have either of these on hand, but I’ve used them in the past.

Preparation:

• Saute tofu in a tablespoon of sesame oil until brown and crispy on all sides.
• While the tofu cooks, begin simmering the chicken broth, chili garlic sauce, black bea paste, soy sauce, sriracha (obviously more sriracha = spicier), and about a tablespoon of sesame oil in a separate large pot.
• Remove tofu from pan. Add another tablespoon of sesame oil and dumplings. Saute until golden brown.
• Add tofu and dumplings to pot with chicken broth.
• Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add more seasoning/spice if necessary (use more soy sauce if the broth needs salt).
• Add bok choy and simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp are cooked, another 3-5 minutes (shrimp overcook easily, so watch out).
• Serve immediately. Garnish with green onion and a sprinkle of dry ramen noodles for crunch.

Hello, gorgeous.

I <3 pizza…

maryrambin:

—By Nutritionista

Let’s get one thing straight: I love pizza. It’s by far my favorite less-than-healthy food. But like most traditionally “junky” (and nutritionally void) foods, the good news is that it doesn’t HAVE to be unhealthy at all. Example A: the mini pizzas we made tonight…

If you make it yourself, a few simple swaps will have you feeling like you’re running your own healthy pizzeria in no time:

• Use whole wheat crust. Trader Joe’s sells a good premade version, or you can use Jenna’s “best pizza dough” recipe, which combines whole wheat and regular flour. The whole grains in the dough add just a bit more fiber to your pizza. I actually like how whole wheat gives the crust more texture. I couldn’t use whole wheat in the pizzas above because I had to get gluten-free crust. It was meh.
• Use chicken sausage or other lean protein instead of pepperoni or regular sausage. There are lots of delicious chicken sausage flavors out there. For the pizzas above, we used sweet basil pesto sausages. We only had to use one for both pizzas. I also think a spicy Italian chicken sausage would be amazing on a DIY pizza. For vegetarians, there’s no reason you couldn’t throw some black beans or tofu crispies on your pizza.
• Add lots o’ veggies. When you’re making it yourself, there’s no reason to skimp. Throw on whichever veggies float your boat. To the above pizzas, we added multi-colored bell peppers and baby spinach (I meant to throw on some onion but forgot!). You can go crazy with eggplant, broccoli, zucchini, even sweet potato! Vegetables not only add lots of texture and flavor, but they make for pizzas full of nutrients.
• Get creative with nutritious ingredients. Pesto? Yes. Sun-dried tomatoes? Yes. Leftover salmon or turkey meatloaf? Sure, why not. It’s hard to mess up pizza, you know?
• Go light on the cheese. This one’s kind of obvious, but seriously, a little cheese goes a long way. Too much cheese masks the flavor of the other ingredients anyway.
• Get a simple red sauce. No need for anything fancy (especially nothing with added cheese, etc.). If you’re going for premade, look for something with a short list of ingredients. Ours had tomato puree, diced tomatoes, salt, soybean oil (not a huge fan, but okay), chopped garlic & onions, tomato flakes, basil, and oregano.
• Season with spices! Go for classic Italian herbs and spices like basil, thyme, oregano, etc. Don’t forget the crushed red pepper if you like it spicy! Fresh basil would also be especially delicious on your DIY pizza.

Last night, I headed to my boyfriend’s house for our weekly date night (which usually consists of dinner and Top Chef). He doesn’t always have groceries on hand to cook with, but I wanted to cook a dinner that would be quick/easy and make for great leftovers. I gave him a short grocery list, and soon after, our dinner of spicy turkey chili was served.

You’ll need (makes 8-10 servings):

• 1-2 lbs lean ground turkey (if possible, get turkey that was raised sustainably!)
• 2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (I always use fire-roasted)
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 medium green bell peppers
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 large onion
• lots o’ spices (see below)
• olive oil
• SECRET INGREDIENT (see below!)

Preparation:

Roughly chop the onion and peppers, and begin sauteeing the turkey with a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large soup pot with salt and pepper. My boy thinks that “only white people” cook the raw turkey WITH the vegetables (despite the fact that everything is going to be cooked fully together anyway!), so he cooked it separately. I love the colors of the veggies. Sorry for the bad photos… I had to use my phone.

After the turkey is mostly cooked, add the veggies and let them saute until they begin to soften.

Let that mixture cook for another 5-10 minutes. Then, add the rest of the ingredients.

My favorite kind of diced tomatoes: Muir Glen organic fire-roasted. They lend a slightly smoky flavor to the dish, which I like. They also seem to be slightly less acidic than un-roasted tomatoes.

The spices I use: cumin, paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, cayenne. I probably use about a teaspoon of each. That gives the chili a little bit of a kick, so back off if you’re sensitive.

The secret ingredient! I added about 1/2 C Harvest Moon pumpkin ale. I would usually use red wine, but we didn’t have any opened. I think adding some sort of alcohol (make sure it’s one you’d actually want to drink!) really gives chili more depth and complexity. It’s subtle, of course, but it’s there. This meant I added a bit of gluten to my chili, but I figured such a small amount would be okay.

Let everything simmer together for about 30 minutes to let some of the liquid steam off. If you’re in a rush, just let it simmer for as long as you can.

This is such an easy dinner, and makes a ton of leftovers. I usually add a bit of shredded sharp cheddar or plain Greek yogurt for a finishing touch. Winter Shape Uppers, definitely give this one a try!

Nutrition Stats (for 8 servings):

Before I give you my sister’s recipe for tofu chili, check out this GINORMOUS avocado:

Can you tell how big it is? It was about quadruple the size of a normal avocado. My mama brought it back from a farmers’ market in Miami for me. Thanks, mama!

Next up, Tofu Chili a la Sister

You’ll need:

• 2 28 oz. cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• small can tomato paste (if desired; I don’t like the taste of it as much)
• 14 oz. can black beans
• 14 oz. can chick peas
• 14 oz. can corn
• block extra firm tofu, cubed
• medium onion
• green bell pepper
• cumin
• cayenne
• chili powder

Make it:

• In a large sauce pan, saute onion and pepper.
• Once the onion and pepper are mostly done, add the tofu.
• After the tofu gets slightly crisp, add all the canned ingredients and spices to taste (you can use more to make it spicier, less to make it less spicy).
• Simmer for 30-60 minutes (or as much time as you have! The longer, the better).
• I always add a splash of red wine to chili, so feel free to add some if you have it.

The chili was served with Greek yogurt and a salad of baby spinach, cucumber, hearts of palm (SO GOOD!), and part of that huuuge avocado. Oh, and my Popchips came, so I had to taste-test them! I <3 Popchips.