tweak and nourish

ZERO WASTE LIFE: GROCERIES: BUYING ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. I don't like wasting food so I only buy a week's worth of groceries. I don't stuff my freezer space and fridge to the point that I can't see what's available. My preference keeps the freezer 2/3 full and my fridge 1/2 full. It is important for me to see what I have and what to consume first.

My inner circle knows I love ALDI. I have introduced this grocery store to all my friends who live nearby and those who live in other states. The store is small with limited choices, just right for someone who doesn't like to dwell on what to buy. It also helps me with self-control in giving in to my cravings. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

I had a craving for egg rolls last week. It took a lot of effort to satisfy this craving because I want to make a healthier version by using the air fryer. First, I had to transfer the air fryer which I keep in the pantry back to the kitchen counter. As much as I want to limit a few small appliances on the counter, I had to give up aesthetics in exchange for usage and ease. My counter is full: Centrifugal Juicer, Electric Kettle, Stand Mixer, Food Processor, Toaster Oven, and now the Air Fryer.

Then, I bought the ingredients: tofu and coleslaw. I thought of using ground chicken but changed my mind. For this recipe, air fried vegetarian egg rolls, I sautéed tofu, coleslaw mix, more shredded carrots, frozen peas, scallions and seasoned it with soy sauce, grated ginger, sesame oil, and garlic powder. So easy because I used the coleslaw mix. I baked the egg rolls in the air fryer at 400 F for 10 minutes. I used a cooling rack to retain the crispiness.

I like to dip the egg rolls in sweet chili sauce. What's your favorite sauce?

Warning: When you taste the filling and it turns out so yummy, don't make an egg roll bowl with rice because you may ran out of filling and you have to come up with another batch of filling to use with leftover egg roll wrappers. It happened to me. I must confess that I was blown away by the taste of the filling that I had to make a rice bowl using just a little bit of brown rice. I ended up using banana for the next batch of filling. I had to use the left over wrappers right away.

AIr Fried Vegan Egg Rolls

Air Fried Banana

SIDE NOTE: You may have noticed that I bought one frozen processed food. I rarely buy processed foods. In fact, this is the only processed food in my freezer at the moment. I made an exception because this bag of Potato Puffs from ALDI is one of my husband's favorite snacks and it is rarely available in the freezer section. I didn't hesitate grabbing one because he loves to snack when he watches TV😊