WIAW: Wontons & Egg Rolls for Days

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! More importantly, Happy Spring!!! Is anyone else as happy as I am that Winter is officially over? Honestly, I love all the seasons- especially at the beginning! Each season helps us appreciate the next that much more as they draw to a close. The close of one season gives us things to look forward to in the next, whether it be Spring flowers, Summer sunshine, Fall pumpkin colors or Winter holidays.

Wednesday means it's time for another WIAW! My eats were supposed to be green, but they came out kinda brown.  I mentioned that I had some interesting recipes up my sleeve this week and so far, they've turned out great! Though they may not be the prettiest of foods, I highly suggest you give them a try.


Side note... These aren't my meals from just one day-- I've added in a few extras that I couldn't help but share. Hope you'll enjoy!



Yesterday, I had a fairly average breakfast:

Plain 0% Chobani Greek yogurt with honey and cinnamon mixed in, an apple and a whole wheat bagel thin with Laughing Cow spreadable cheese. The banana was eaten a bit later as a snack.

Despite my boring breakfast yesterday, Monday's breakfast was incredible. For the first time in my life on Monday I had "Oats in a Jar" that were actually good! I don't know what I've been doing wrong, but each time I attempt to make OIAJ, they turn out chalky, watery and gross. This time, they were a raging success. Maybe it was the addition of chia seeds?

To make Oats in a Jar: Fill a nearly empty peanut butter jar 2/3 with rolled oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp honey and top with unsweetened vanilla almond milk (add milk until it covers the top of the oats, plus a little bit more). Let sit overnight and enjoy the following morning. Amazing!

Served with a side of buy one, get one free watermelon and an apple.

mmm, mmm!

Lunch yesterday was leftovers of something that turned out far better than I expected! I created a modified, warm caprese "salad," substituting traditional mozzarella for baked sprouted tofu in order to make a vegan dish.

To make the modified Caprese salad, warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet to medium heat. Add 1/4 of a chopped yellow onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add two small diced tomatoes and a handful of spinach to the skillet. Stir to combine and allow it to cook for 1-2 more minutes. Drizzle with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Plate warm salad and top with freshly chopped basil and plain baked tofu squares. Additional balsamic optional for tofu dipping. :D Serves 1.

Dinner was perhaps the highlight of my eats yesterday! Even though it was brown, it was still relatively healthy and absolutely delicious!

Ever since I saw Alayna's recipe for Baked Shiitake Wontons, I've been dying to make them. They were fantastic! I cannot sing Alayna's praises enough for such an amazing recipe.

For my filling, I added an extra green onion, a small amount of ginger and used honey in place of the mirin. I also used half baby portabella mushrooms and half shiitake since the shiitake mushrooms were a bit on the expensive side at my store. Since I knew these wontons were going to be my dinner, I also made a few wonton "tarts" so that I could get more filling per wonton wrapper and be able to fill up on the good stuff instead of filling up on wrappers. Even though I used Nasoya's all natural wonton wrappers, I still knew the filling was much healthier than the wrapper. I also needed extra protein since I made it to Body Works earlier in the evening!

To make the wonton "tarts," simply spray a large muffin tin lightly with cooking spray, place one wonton wrapper in each muffin tin and fill with about 1.5-2 tbsp of filling. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes, until the edges of the wontons are golden and crispy.

 

On the side with my wonton tarts (and several regular wontons!), I enjoyed nibbles of crisp baby carrots and fresh green cabbage. Why was I snacking on veggies on the side? My dinner was devoured while I made another Asian-inspired dish: baked veggie egg rolls!

 

Cabbage was on sale at the grocery store for $0.29 a pound and I got an entire green cabbage for only $1.00!! So, as I grated carrots and chopped cabbage to fill my egg roll, I snacked and snacked on the fresh veggies to my heart's content.

To make veggie egg rolls, bake half a block of firm tofu sticks (seasoned with ground ginger and garlic salt), julienne 5 baby zucchini, finely chop 1.5 cups of green cabbage, grate about 1 cup of carrots and finely chop three green onions. Combine grated carrots and green onions. Place chopped cabbage, 1 stick of zucchini, and a tablespoon of carrot/onion mixture along with a few pieces of tofu in each egg roll. Roll and bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes until the egg roll wrappers are golden brown. Serve with a soy-ginger-honey dipping sauce and enjoy!

I'm going to be eating wontons and egg rolls for days.

Before you go, tell me:
What is the best thing you've eaten this week? Though my OIAJ and modified caprese salad were delicious, I have to give the gold medal to Alayna's wontons. Delicious!