dinner and a workout

My beloved Trader Joe’s has added some more vegan goodies to their store and I am here to share them with you. I swear to my cats that I am not paid by them, because that would be my dream job, rather I am a fanatical shopper who you have the fortune or misfortune of reading the blog of.

First off-

Chicken-less Stuffed Cutlets. Chikey-style cutlets, stuffed with black beans and corn in a flavorful red sauce with mild jalapenos. Unlike most TJ’s finds, a little pricey for regular consumption, but again it’s convenience food so there you go.

Black Cherry Gel Cups. Imagine my surprise when my eyes honed in on that little “V” in the bottom left hand corner. Vegan jello cups! Bestill my heart! They have black cherry and peach mango. With Jim not being the biggest fan of mango, I went with black cherry.

So, how do you make dinner and fit in a workout in 30 minutes?

1.) Rinse 1 cup quinoa thoroughly and toss in your rice cooker. Add 1 2/3 cups water. Set it and forget it.

2.) Do 1 level of the Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred Work-out DVD (22 minutes), which I will now admit is a great workout, but I still think she’s mean.

3.) Quinoa will be done, open lid and let set.

4.) Place water in a pot with a steamer tray and bring to a boil. Add pre-washed green beans and put a lid on it!

5.) Cut a little air vent in the Chicken-less Cutlets bag and microwave for 2 minutes.

6.) Plate it all up and nomnomnom. Also remember to drink plenty of water!

The cutlet was pretty darn good. The sauce was plentiful and tasted great and the cutlet itself, while a little smaller than I’d imagined, was very tasty and packed full of beans and corn. We ate the quinoa in the most simple way possible, but in a way we’d never tried- with a little pat of Earth Balance melted on top and a sprinkling of salt. So good! Who’d of though that something that small would make something uber good, but it certainly did!

One step dessert: Peel back foil from gel cup. Serve.

The gello has a good texture and excellent flavor. It is thickened with carragennan and is all natural, of course. I can’t wait to try the peach mango. I’ll get it next time and what makes it better is that I won’t have to share with Jim!

Oh, and while you’re hanging on the interwebs, check it: my brother in Minneapolis has started his own vegetarian food blog. He is a cook of the most virtuous variety, he actually cooks with what he has in his kitchen. If only I were that smart and economical. He’s a newish cook who likes to break all the rules (or stray from the directions to his liking), and he’s documenting his experiments in his Veggie Lab. Check out his blog and show him some love, he’s new to this whole food blogging thing and is still finding this sea legs.