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Meatless Monday: Baby Bok Choy and Tofu in Bourbon Sauce

 Baby Bok Choy Tofu Bourbon Sauce

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Meatless Monday post. Frankly, they’re a bit of a challenge since I usually cook around some sort of animal protein I can find in my freezer like venison or fish. Even so, it’s not much of a challenge for anyone to substitute slices of firm tofu instead of chicken, especially since tofu’s perfect for soaking up the flavors of anything you cook it in like Sun-Bird’s Bourbon Chicken Seasoning Mix. Add some baby bok choy and you have a quick, Asian inspired Meatless Monday dish.

Meatless Monday: Baby Bok Choy and Tofu in Bourbon Sauce

Baby Bok Choy and Tofu in Bourbon Sauce

To reduce sodium use a low sodium soy sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 19-20 ounce block extra firm or firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch thick squares.
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 6 baby bok choy
  • 1 packet Sun-Bird Bourbon Chicken Seasoning Mix
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons powdered stevia, like Stevia in the Raw
  • 1 cup water

Directions

  1. Prepare the baby bok choy by filling your clean sink with cold water.
  2. Slice the baby bok choy lengthwise in half keeping the leaves attached.
  3. Soak the cut bok choy in the cold water to remove any trapped dirt.
  4. Combine seasoning from the Sun-Bird packet, soy sauce, stevia and water in a bowl and set aside.
  5. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil.
  6. Lift the bok choy out of the soaking water and lay it, still wet, into the frying pan in an even layer. Cook each side until the leaves have wilted, but the core and stems remain slightly firm.
  7. Remove from pan and place in an oven safe dish. Keep cooked bok choy in a warm oven.
  8. Heat frying pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil.
  9. Add tofu squares and gently saute until slightly golden brown.
  10. Stir in seasoning mixture and bring to a boil.
  11. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes until sauce has thickened.
  12. Add in cooked baby bok choy and gently stir to combine. Serve.
Nutrition Grade A- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7
Servings: Serves 4
  • Calories: 353
  • Calories from Fat: 136
  • Total Fat: 15.1g
  • Saturated fat: 2.0g
  • Unsaturated fat: 13.1g
  • Sodium: 1353mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 37.2g
  • Sugar: 15.8g
  • Fiber: 13.9g
  • Protein: 30.3g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

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Disclosure: Guenther, the parent company of Sun-Bird, provided compensation for this post. All opinions and experiences are my own

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Posted on February 20, 2012 in Featured,Recipes and tagged as , ,

Thanksgiving leftovers: Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

shrimp fried riceAre you still dealing with Thanksgiving leftovers? Fried rice may be the perfect way to use up those last bits of ham or turkey from your holiday meal.

Recently, I had some leftover peas, rice, eggs and shrimp in my refrigerator. So I created Easy Shrimp Fried Rice with a little help from a packet of Fried Rice Seasoning Mix from Sun-Bird Seasonings.

I just followed the recipe on the back of the packet with a few substitutions like diced onion for green onions and gluten free tamari sauce instead of soy sauce. I healthed up the recipe a bit by using 1/3 egg whites for one of the egg and cutting back on the oil. I also used more shrimp and peas than the recipe called for since I wanted to use up my leftovers.

You can make this even healthier by using brown rice instead of white rice and adding more veggies. (Edamame or frozen mini lima beans would be a great substitute for the peas!)

Sun Bird Fried Rice

Sun-Bird Seasonings are a great way to make a quick, healthy meal from leftovers and whatever you have on hand in your refrigerator, freezer or pantry. What’s your favorite way to use up leftovers?

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Disclosure: Guenther, the parent company of Sun-Bird, provided compensation for this post. All opinions and experiences are my own

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Posted on November 30, 2011 in Recipes and tagged as , ,

Make your week less hectic with Sun-Bird Seasonings’ $50 gift card giveaway

busy family Yesterday, we had one of those crazy afternoons that so many parents have. My daughter, Lucie, had too much homework to do, so I didn’t take her and her brother to their three-hour-plus karate class. I didn’t have time to take them home though, so they came along with me to my private Pilates session and bounced around the studio on therapy balls for an hour. By the time we got home, everyone was starving and I had nothing prepared.

That’s what’s so great about Sun-Bird Seasonings. They provide a quick and easy solution to those crazy days when you and your family are busy with afterschool activities, want a healthy and flavorful meal, and don’t have much time to prepare it.

Make your week less hectic with Sun-Bird Seasonings

In the spirit of helping out busy parents – or anyone who has a hectic schedule – Sun-Bird Seasonings has given me a $50 gift card to help make your week a little easier. All you need to do is share what you’d do with the money to provide some stress relief to your busy life in the comments below.

Maybe it’s using the money to load up your Kindle with some great books to read during your daughter’s volleyball practice. Or maybe you’ll treat yourself to a massage in that hour you have to yourself before picking up the kids from band practice.

This giveaway is not just for parents either! If you’re a busy single or married-with-no-kids, I’d like to hear you’d use the gift card to help you unwind after a busy work week, too!

Here’s how to enter:

Giveaway closed. Congrats to Betty D.

  1. Share what you’d do with the gift card in the comments below.
  2. Sign up for This Mama Cooks! Review’s RSS feed for ONE additional entry.
  3. Sign up for my enewsletter for ONE additional entry.
  4. Spread the word about this giveaway by submitting a link to this post on Twitter for ONE additional entry. You must leave a link to your tweet in your comment so I can check.
  5. Follow @amnichols on Twitter for ONE additional entry.
  6. Post about the giveaway on your blog for ONE additional entry.
  7. If you have done any of these additional activities you MUST come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!
  8. Maximum amount of entries at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet is SIX.
  9. You have until midnight MST on Friday, November 4, 2011 to enter.

ONE winner will be chosen at random. You must be willing to send me your full name, mailing address and phone number so I pass your info on to Sun-Bird’s PR team so they can mail out your gift card. I’ll announce the winner on this blog. I won't share your mailing info with the public, just your name. If you have a blog, I’ll link back to it when I announce the winner.

The giveaway is valued at $50 and is only open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Odds of winning based on number of entries. Up to SIX entries per person. ONE $50 gift card will be given away. Void where prohibited by law.

By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

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Disclosure: Guenther, the parent company of Sun-Bird, provided compensation for this post. All opinions and experiences are my own.

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Posted on October 28, 2011 in Contests and Giveaways and tagged as

Mongolian Tofu with Sun-Bird Seasoning Mix

Mongolian Tofu

After my husband, Paul, got laid off last June, we stopped eating out to cut back on expenses. Even going out to our local (and reasonably priced) Asian restaurant was out of the question. I missed having my favorite Chinese, Vietnamese and Tai dishes, especially knowing how hard it was to replicate those dishes at home. I’ve tried to before and was never successful. (Though I do have to admit that Paul’s one hell of a home sushi chef and Pad Thai cook.)

When I signed up as a Sun-Bird Seasonings blogger, I hoped that I’d be able to make healthy, inexpensive and authentic tasting dishes at home with their seasoning mixes. So far I’ve tried two that I’ve loved: Stir Fry Seasoning Mix and Mongolian Beef Seasoning Mix. Both Sun-Bird Seasonings mixes were easy to make, especially with things I had on hand, like frozen vegetables. Best of all, they were delicious and just as good as any thing I had out at Chinese restaurants by my home – and without the pricy bill and tip!

Healthing up Sun-Bird Seasoning Mixes

Now I’ll be honest. The mixes aren’t perfect. They contain things like sugar, whey (which I have a food sensitivity to), corn syrup, and even MSG. Some of their mixes are better than others, so read the labels.

Luckily, there are ways to health things up. For example, if the label directions have you add sugar, you could use powdered stevia instead. Or if you’re supposed to add soy sauce, you could use a low-sodium or gluten free soy sauce.

I’ve also noticed that the packets create a lot of very thick sauce. To thin it, add more water. This way you can add more food, especially healthy stir fry vegetables. Believe me, a little sauce goes a long way, especially with the spicy mixes.

Finally, serve your dishes with whole grain brown rice.

Mongolian Tofu

When I made Mongolian Beef for my family, there wasn’t quite enough to go around as I knew my husband and son would want more than the usual serving. So I decided to cook up some tofu for myself. Here’s how:

Mongolian Beef mix directions

  1. Cook up the beef as directed on the back of the packet. (I added 1/2 a onion to the beef when I browned it.)
  2. After dishing up the beef, deglaze the skillet with water, broth or maybe a little white wine. (I used water.) Add just enough liquid (1/2 to 1 cup) to thin out the sauce and get the cooked bits off the skillet. Don’t cook to reduce the sauce. (You’ll do that later with the tofu.) Instead, pour the resulting broth into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Heat the skillet over medium to medium high heat. While it’s heating, slice a block of very firm tofu into 1/2 inch slices.
  4. Add a little cooking oil or cooking spray to the pan and lay the tofu slices in the pan.
  5. Cook each side of the tofu until medium brown. Remove from skillet and place in a dish or plate, if necessary, to make room for more slices. Keep warm.
  6. Cook all slices of the tofu and return them all to the skillet, loosely layered.
  7. Add deglazing broth back to pan to cover tofu. Heat until broth thickens.
  8. Remove skillet from heat and serve with stir fry vegetables.

I used another packet of Mongolian Beef mix to stir fry a huge portion of frozen stir fry vegetables – enough for the beef AND the tofu. I then served the Mongolian Beef with vegetables and rice, but just had vegetables with the Mongolian Tofu.

Just a note of warning, this is a spicy dish. My spice-loving husband and son thought it was too spicy! This shocked me, because I loved it – and I’m not into spicy food. Well, I do like spicy Asian food that is sweet, and Mongolian Tofu at home with Sun-Bird Seasoning Mix fit the bill.

What’s your favorite Asian dish to eat out or make at home?

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Disclosure: Guenther, the parent company of Sun-Bird, provided compensation for this post. All opinions and experiences are my own.

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Posted on October 12, 2011 in Featured,Food Reviews,Recipes and tagged as ,

Enter the Sun-Bird Break-the-Routine Cuisine Sweepstakes on Facebook

Sun-Bird Vietnamese Chicken and Veg If your kids are anything like mine, as long as something healthy is covered in a yummy sauce, they’ll eat it.

That’s why I love Sun-Bird authentic Asian seasoning mixes and sauce mixes. Sun-Bird makes it simple for families to enjoy Asian cooking from rice, to soups, to stir fry. Their mixes are an especially delicious way to get more veggies and lean meats into your family’s dinner time eating.

Take a break with Sun-Bird – deliciously

Take a break with Sun-Bird Sun-Bird knows how hectic life can be, whether you’re a hard working single person or a harried parents.

Their products can help you get out of your weekday dining rut by helping you “break the routine cuisine” – deliciously – by adding some spice into bland, boring cuisine and making dinner prep a snap.

That’s why they’re running a “Break-The-Routine Cuisine” sweepstakes where two lucky winners will be granted a spa package of their choice to relax, renew and recharge.

To enter, just check out the Sun-Bird Facebook page, “like” them, and enter your info in the online form. You can enter once a day until October 11, 2011.

For complete Official Rules click here.

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Disclosure: Guenther, the parent company of Sun-Bird, provided compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

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Posted on September 10, 2011 in Contests and Giveaways and tagged as