Colorful Fettucine Alfredo with Perfect Tofu

It's a rainy, stormy Monday here in Stephanie-land...so I thought I'd brighten things up with a COLORFUL dinner! :) I hope everyone had a great weekend! I got to spend time with my "other" family (Richard's side). Because of the wedding, we had spent so much time with my family and practically none with his...so it was nice to just spend time with everyone. We also made a trip to Whole Foods to restock our pantry and I left my heart there, as always. More on that later...onto the creamy goodness!

There are several parts to this dish. I had all four burners going, making four parts of the dish simultaneously. I felt like an Iron chef! But, the timing of each step fell nicely into the others so it wasn't nearly as hard as it sounds. 

I got this colorful baby on clearance :) Use your favorite fettucine pasta and put a giant pot of salted water on a back burner to bring to a boil. I boiled 4 oz, 2 oz each (follow package directions). and then moved onto the perfect tofu.

The Perfect Tofu

from Emily at The Front Burner

Serves 2

• 1/2 block firm or extra firmTofu
• 1 tsp olive oil (or cooking spray)
• salt & pepper

I always use Organic tofu to avoid GMOs and I prefer extra firm but that's a personal preference. Simply cut slits in the top of the container around the edges and drain out all of the liquid.

Cut the block in half. Place the other half in a container and cover with water. This will last in the fridge up to 7 days, replacing the water every 2-3 days. Another option is to freeze it...but we had bad results with that one so I won't be doing that again.

Cut the remaining half in half. Cut each half in half. You should have four long sections. 

Arrange the slabs on a towel for pressing. 

Fold over the leftover sections of the towel to cover. Place a large, heavy book on top. Press for 15-20 minutes. I used this time to get out the ingredients for the Alfredo sauce and chop the veggies.

After tofu has been pressed and most liquid has been removed, lay slabs on top of each other for slicing. (I normally do two at a time.) Slice once vertically down the middle. Slice down the middle horizontally. Slice the halves again down the middle horizontally. Each slab should yield 8 cubes of tofu. 

Heat oil in nonstick pan (or cover pan with cooking spray) over medium heat . Salt and pepper each side of the tofu and arrange in the pan, piece by piece. 

After 5-6 minutes (check one periodically so they don't burn!), flip each piece of tofu individually. I know, I know, such a pain....but the results, each piece of tofu perfectly browned, are worth it. I have found the easiest way to do this is with a mini cookie spatula and just kinda tap the top of the edge and it flips. :)

Another 4-6 minutes on the other side and viola! The perfect tofu. This is great for using in just about anything. Stir fries, pasta dishes and especially for casseroles, so it doesn't get soggy while baking.

Fettucine Alfredo

adapted from Weight Watcher's New Complete Cookbook

Serves 2

• 1/2 Tb. butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 Tb. flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 2 Tb. fat-free cream cheese
• 2 Tb. grated Parmesan cheese
• Assorted veggies 

Steam the veggies. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup broccoli florets, 1/2 red bell pepper & 1 carrot, which I tried last time...this time I used 1 cup fresh green beans and 1 red bell pepper and like it much better! Now, this is a very AB moment for me...I don't have a vegetable steamer. I have one attached to my rice cooker but it takes longer than it should and I feel like it's a waste sometimes. So, I fashioned my own! Not a perfect replica because there were placed for the steam to escape but good enough to replicate the results needed :) I put two inches of water in the saucepan and brought it to a boil. Put the veggies in a mesh strainer and then put the strainer on top of the pan and place the lid in the strainer. Steam for about 6-8 minutes, until tender-crisp.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and saute. 

Whisk in the flour.

Gradually whisk in the milk; cook, constantly stirring, until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the cream cheese and Parmesan and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and keep warm. 

Nothing like 50 things at once to make you feel like a chef....unwarranted or not ;) haha

Drain pasta. 

In a large bowl, place drained pasta and top with the vegetables. Add half of the sauce and toss to coat.

Add tofu and the rest of the sauce and toss until fully coated. Divide into two bowls and serve.

Nutritional Information (for half): 427 calories, 10.3 g fat (3.7 g sat), 8.6 g fiber, 26 g protein

This is an example of how healthy food does not have to taste bad or that you don't have to give up on indulgent tasting foods to eat healthfully. This is a wonderful dish that is relatively easy to prepare despite all the steps. This may be higher than most foods you see for "dieters" but that's because I don't believing in dieting. Sure, when I'm trying to lose weight, I cut some calories, but about 100-200 a day with an increase in exercise. It's slow but it sticks. And it doesn't add those pounds back on when you return to "normal eating" because this is normal eating for us.

Which leads me to the purpose of the Whole Foods trip. Last week, when we watched Food, Inc. most of the stuff they mentioned we were already doing. We don't eat fast food, we don't eat meat, etc. Except one. There was a section about GMOs and how the government refuses to label GMO foods as such. This got my mind going as I am one who wants to know what I'm eating! So I looked for petitions to sign or who to write letters to. On my way to these discoveries, I learned horrifying effects that GMOs can have on our bodies. Which led me to dig deeper and what I found wasn't comforting but instead shocking. 

Never-the-less, this led my husband and I to vow to no longer eat GMO foods. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into exactly until I went into my pantry that night and discovered just how much of it contained GMOs. It was shocking. About 80% of my pantry. How did I know what foods had GMOs? This would have been a lot easier if the government forced the labeling of GMO foods, however, I can now see why they wouldn't want to...because about 70% of processed foods contain GMOs. Greenpeace has a list of GMO foods that I used to see what I had to throw out. Those that weren't on the list got an e-mail or a phone call. It was very few companies that e-mailed me back with good news. It's very overwhelming at first because it feels like everything has it and it's impossible to avoid!

However, it is possible. Anything organic cannot have GMOs. Also, there are brands a part of the Non-GMO project that don't use GMO in any of their branded foods. Whole Food's 365 brand is a part of that project. Instead of throwing out all that food (which filled up 5 reusable grocery bags that my husband packed expertly to fit a ton of stuff, 2 boxes and a cooler), we ended up giving it to some people who really needed it and wouldn't buy anything else anyway. I really wanted to just throw it all in the garbage and still don't know if we made the right decision. 

I keep asking myself whether or not we're crazy. Possibly. But for the information that I know, this is the right decision for us. It means giving up a lot. I've only found one restaurant chain that avoids GMOs and I thought that was miraculous; I wasn't expecting to find any. We don't eat out often anyways so it won't be that much of an adjustment. I have wanted to go organic and lessen my dependence on processed foods for some time now so I just needed the push. As for being able to afford it? I was happily surprised by the prices of Whole Food's branded products (Organic tofu for $1.19, regular price!). It was about $120, double our normal weekly budget BUT that's because I had to REPLACE things and stock up on some things since we can't go there all the tiem. This is not what we would normally spend a week! I could easily see that much of the stuff in our cart was occasional purchases, like flour, baking powder, soy sauce, rolled oats, grits, pasta, and oils. 

(That's not all; some had to go in the freezer/fridge quickly since it had been in a cooler for an hour.) It is certainly going to be an interesting journey. You'll probably see a difference in what I make on here. But with a Trader Joe's opening out here this week (their brand is also a part of the Non-GMO project) and my knack for making cheap meals, I think we'll be ok. And healthy to boot. Plus, by the time we have kids, I will be extra good at making affordable, organic meals. :) If you would like to learn more information about GMOs and to sign the petition, go here. Until next time...♥