Avocado, Cod, Tofu & Kale!

 I've made a ton of food this week that I wanted to share with you.  In effort to eat healthier, I planned my meals around 4 main food items: Avocado, Cod, Tofu and Kale.  But before I talk about dinner, I want to show you the most amazing breakfast!!!  For Hanukkah, my mom got me a mini-loaf pan.  Have you seen these?  They are awesome!

 I did a take on my Baked Banana Oatmeal only I used some of this mix: Granola Pancake and Waffle Mix from Williams Sonoma.

 I got this mix as a gift and I love it!  Especially when I mix it with some other favorites.  This is what I did (this is an approximation, I did not measure anything)
Baked Banana Pancake Loafs
Ingredients:
1 Cup of Granola Pancake Mix from Williams Sonoma
1 Egg
1/2 Cup of Skim Milk (or Almond Milk)
1-2 Mashed Bananas
1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice (or Nutmeg and Cinnamon)
1/4 Cup of Oatmeal
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Instructions: 

Preheat Oven to 350. Spray Loaf Pan with cooking spray. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and pour about 3/4 full.  Cook for 15-25 minutes.

I loved these mini-loafs!  Perfect fuel for after a workout in the morning!  I also bring 5 of these to work on Monday morning and keep them in the fridge.  After a workout, a microwave 1 for a minute and they are perfect!

Monday I made a take on Lauren's Southwest Pizza.  Only I baked everything at once instead of cooking the crust first.  And I didn't use any meat.  It was really tasty.  Avocado as a sauce rocks!

 

Avocado Pizza:
Inspired by Healthy Food for Living
Ingredients for the guacamole sauce:
1 large ripe avocado
1 seeded and minced jalapeno chile pepper
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients for the pizza assembly:
1 – 1 lb ball pizza dough, whole wheat or regular, store-bought or homemade
1/2 cup frozen and thawed (or fresh) corn kernels (I had to use frozen- I miss summer corn!)
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
1 medium-sized yellow bell pepper, cut into slices
A couple dashes of cayenne on top
Directions:
Heat oven to 450°F. Place avocado in a food processor and process with remaining ingredients. Roll out pizza dough and place on pizza pan and spread the guacamole sauce evenly over the top. 

Add the corn, cheesefollowed by the red onions, and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottom of your pizza is slightly brown.

 I served this with Kale Chips (shocking right?)  The same night I made the Pizza, I also made Bianca's Tofu Nuggets. I knew I was going to the treadmill class on Tuesday night so I wanted to have dinner ready for Dave (what a good wife I am).  Unfortunately, I just told him "dinner is in the fridge" and didn't voice to leave me any.  So I didn't get to try them.  I used Stonewall Kitchens Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce with Sricha!

 This was pretty simple.  Drain tofu, dice it, marinate it, bake it.

On the snowday, while my husband was snowblowing, I was researching recipes in the new magazines I've gotten.  I decided to make a lunch inspired by a Succotash I saw in Bon Appetit.  Of course I totally switched it up based on what I had in the pantry and fridge, but I loved this dish. The coconut made it sweet, but the addition of cayenne made it quite spicy!

 Caribbean Succotash
Inspired by Bon Appetit
Ingredients:
1 Can of Chickpeas (supposed to be Fava Beans), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
3/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (this is what I was supposed to use, but I used 2 tablespoons of Cream of Coconut because that's what I had)
3 large pinches of cayenne pepper
5 ounces of Cod
1 cup of Brown Rice
1/2 Avocado, diced
 Instructions:

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion,  diced bell pepper,  garlic cloves. Sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add corn, chickpeas, unsweetened coconut milk, cayenne pepper. Stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Saute Cod in another skillet until cooked, 3-5 minutes and add to the succotash. Season succotash to taste with salt and pepper. Add sliced avocado and serve over brown rice.

Last night I was supposed to make Cara's Spicy West African Braised Kale and Tofu but my train got in late and we went out instead.  So tonite, I'm making this dish.  I hope mine looks as delicious as Cara's!

With all my train commuting lately, I've already planned my Menu for next week!  I have a lot of blog events this week but I still hope to get in the kitchen.  Seriously, this week, I'm going to 4 different blog get-togethers!  Tomorrow, I finally get to meet Becky and Lauren as well as some other local running bloggers.  Sunday, I'm hanging out Theo, who is in town for the weekend, and one of my fav exercise bloggers, Sarah.  And Monday is Boston Bloggers Event at Gallows.  I hope to meet several more bloggers then!  Add in my Challah Making Class on Wednesday and my Blogger Cookie Swap next Saturday and it's a full week of meeting new people and hanging out with others who share the same passions and interests as me. Can't wait!

So my plans are to cook at some point next week:
Sauteed Scallops with a Pea Puree (Daisy, finally making scallops!)
Brown Rice Pasta with Kale Pesto (NY Times)
Butternut Squash Quinoa Bake
Pumpkin Curry with Tofu (Mama Pea)

Be back this weekend with a recap of my blog events, my long run on Sunday and my weekly workouts!  Have a great weekend!