Product Review

Hey everyone, today I am going to talk about two of my favorite packaged foods. I hope i can give you some good information on the products, and maybe you will even want to go check them out and give them a try!

HOUSE FOODS TOFU SHIRATAKI FETTUCCINE NOODLES

Serving Size: 4oz
Servings Per Container: 2
Calories: 20
Fat Cal: 5
Total Fat: 0.5g
Sat, Trans, Poly and Mono fats: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 15mg
Total Carb: 3g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 1g

Ingredient List: Water, Tofu, Yam Flower and Calcium Hydroxide

I absolutely LOVE this stuff. The entire bag (8oz) is only 40 calories, 30mg of sodium and 6g of carbs! If you tried to eat the same amount of regular whole wheat Alfredo noodles, your looking at 150-200 calories, and 41g of carbs! These tofu noodles are a great substitute and I really do eat them all the time.
When you open the package you are going to be a little weirded out by the smell... the package refers to it as its "authentic aroma"... whatever... it smells funky. Just make sure you follow the directions on the package for preparation (rise thoroughly with cold water, and par boil for 2-3 minutes, or microwave for a minute). I always microwave mine, then drain them again because they will let out some moisture, and i don't want to water down my pasta sauce when i mix them together.
My favorite way to eat them is by sauteing up baby spinach and sliced mushrooms, and adding in Classico brand Light Alfredo Sauce, heating it thoroughly then adding in my microwaved and strained tofu noodles.
Some people don't like them because of their texture, because obviously they aren't going to taste or have the mouth feel of regular pasta, but I don't mind it.
You can find this product in your grocery stores health section with the tofu!


EZEKIEL 4:9 ORGANIC LOW SODIUM BREAD

Serving Size: 1 slice
Servings Per Container: 20
Calories: 80
Calories from Fat: 5
Calories from Saturated Fat: 0
Total Fat: 0.5g
Sat, Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 0g
Potassium: 75mg
Total Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 4g

Ingredients: Organic Sprouted 100% Whole Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Barley, Prganic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soy Beans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten

I freakin' LOVE this bread. You know why i love this bread so much? Because of the ingredient list. Look at it!! You can pronounce EVERYTHING. There are no preservatives, no additives, NOTHING. It is entirely organic.
You have to keep this bread in the freezer, due to the fact that it has no preservatives/additives to keep it from going bad like all those other breads you see at the food store.
I know what your thinking, "melissa, it is 80 calories a slice! that's 160 calories just in bread for my sandwhich". Stop thinking that way! I know there are a lot of "Light Breads" out there that are 45 calories a slice, believe me, i use to eat those too. But have you looked at the ingredient list on those bad boys!? High Fructose Corn Syrup?? And a whole list of additives that a chemist can only pronounce? No Thanks! You have to pick your battles when it comes to what you eat, and this is where I picked mine. I LOVE this bread and i will never eat any other kind now.
When i first tasted it, i was a little confused by it, because i was so use to that soft, overly processed, preservative filled bread that we are all accustom to eating. It's much more heartier than the bread your use too. It feels like you eating something substantial and good for you. It tastes i think, the way bread is SUPPOSE to taste.
The company has a huge line of different organic breads, but i have only tried the Low Sodium one. And as you can see on the nutritional info (and the ingredients list), low sodium means NO SODIUM. i freakin' LOVE that!
You can find this product, or other Ezekiel 4:9 products in your grocery stores health food freezer section!!

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I hope you all enjoyed that, and i was able to give you all some new information and idea's on things to look for in the grocery store! I will be doing many more product reviews, and I even plan on doing health book reviews.

Love & Best of Health to you all!
Melissa

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes
Yeilds 5 Servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup onions, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1/2 small zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup "no salt added" tomato sauce (i used Francesco Rinaldi brand)
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
pepper
red pepper flakes
paprika
chili powder
parsley

Procedure:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook lentils about 20-25 minutes (until tender).
2. Mean while, in a large skillet cook onions, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini and garlic until tender.
3. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard and worcestershire sauce it vegetable mixture.
4. Season to taste with the above listed seasonings.
5. Let vegetable and tomato sauce mixture simmer on low heat until lentils are done. If mixture looks too think add in some of the lentil cooking water. (I used about 3-4 tablespoons).
6. Drain the lentils and add them to the vegetable mixture. Cook for a few more minutes for the flavors to combine and ENJOY!!

Makes 5 Servings
Serving size = 1/2 cup

Nutritional Info
82 Calories
18 Carbs
1g Fat
109mg of Potassium
5g Fiber
112mg of Sodium

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes
Yeilds 5 Servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup onions, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1/2 small zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup "no salt added" tomato sauce (i used Francesco Rinaldi brand)
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
pepper
red pepper flakes
paprika
chili powder
parsley

Procedure:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook lentils about 20-25 minutes (until tender).
2. Mean while, in a large skillet cook onions, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini and garlic until tender.
3. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard and worcestershire sauce it vegetable mixture.
4. Season to taste with the above listed seasonings.
5. Let vegetable and tomato sauce mixture simmer on low heat until lentils are done. If mixture looks too think add in some of the lentil cooking water. (I used about 3-4 tablespoons).
6. Drain the lentils and add them to the vegetable mixture. Cook for a few more minutes for the flavors to combine and ENJOY!!

Makes 5 Servings
Serving size = 1/2 cup

Nutritional Info
82 Calories
18 Carbs
1g Fat
109mg of Potassium
5g Fiber
112mg of Sodium

Zucchini Pasta

Zucchini Pasta
Serves 1




Ingredients:
1 medium Zucchini
1/4 cup light Alfredo Sauce (i use Classico brand)
1 roasted tomato for garnish (optional)

Procedure:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Slice the zucchini long ways (i used my mandelin slicer, but you can of course do it by hand) so they look like noodles.
3. Toss the zucchini into the boiling water, and let cook for 3 minutes, or until they are tender. Don't over cook them, it doesn't take long.
4. Strain the zucchini, and return it to the same pot with your alfredo sauce (or whatever sauce you prefer) and toss to combine and heat through.
5. Top with chopped roasted tomatoes. Enjoy.


ROASTING TOMATOES:

Ingredients:
Tomatos
Pepper
Salt (optional)
Italian Seasoning

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut the stem out of the tomatoes, and cut them in half.
3. Scoop out the seeds and place them cut side UP on a baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle with pepper, salt (optional) and italian seasoning.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes. They will shrivel up and the natural sugars will caramelize.

Zucchini & Potato Hashbrowns

ZUCCHINI & POTATO HASH-BROWNS

YIELDS 6



I made this recipe for breakfast one morning because I had a random zucchini in my refrigerator and I wanted to find something to do with it. So why not make hash-browns!? Stroke of genius, I'm tellin' ya.

INGREDIENTS:
1 russet potato
1 small zucchini
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup liquid egg whites
1/4 cup onion, diced
pepper
salt (optional, I don't cook with salt)

PROCEDURE:
1. Grate the potato and zucchini on the largest holes on your box grater.
2. Put them into a clean towel and strain out as much liquid as you can. You will be surprised how much liquid comes out.
3. Put the grated veggies into a mixing bowl and add the egg whites, garlic, onion and pepper and mix to combine.
4. Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
5. Measure out a 1/4 of a cup of the mixture and put it into your skillet and squish it down to make it somewhat flat. I could fit two at a time in the skillet I used.
6. Have your oven pre-heated at a low temperature so when your first batch of hash-browns are done, you can put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven to keep them warm!
7. Fry up the rest of you hash-browns and enjoy! I served mine with a side of eggs and fruit!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:
for one hash-brown
30 calories
6g carbs
0g fat
192mg potassium
1g fiber
19g sodium