Healthy Chinese Finger Food

You may have noticed I've taken a break from making my tasty three-fruit salad every morning. It's not for lack of inspiration, but I've really only been eating one fruit - red grapes. I just can't get enough! Breakfast, snack, dessert.... I even roasted them with dinner last night. I don't remember liking them this much before baby, so I guess this would be considered my first pregnancy craving. Not as traditional as pickles and ice cream, but much healthier!

Another food I have been craving a lot is Chinese, especially egg rolls. They are so tasty, but terribly fatty - deep fried, full of ground pork, and incomplete without that sticky sweet sauce. I really wanted to eat them without feeling like crap afterward, so I edited them down to the best bits and made a version I'm not afraid to indulge in every week. I hope it satisfies your craving too.

Five-Spice Mushroom Egg Rolls
1 tsp. olive oil
2 medium shallots, minced
6 oz chopped brown mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5-Spice powder
4 oz firm tofu, crumbled
1 Tbsp. tamari, or to taste
6 egg roll wrappers (find them in the produce section)
1 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mango chutney or apricot preserves
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar


1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shallots, mushrooms, and cabbage and cook until the mushrooms have released their water and cooked down a bit, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, 5-spice powder, and tofu, and saute 1-2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in tamari.

3. Fill the wrappers like a burrito, placing about 1/4 to 1/3 cup in the center. Fold the bottom corner over the filling, fold the sides in, and roll it over the top corner. Seal the flap with a dab of water and set aside on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

4. Brush the egg rolls with melted butter or oil and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until browned on one side. Flip them over and return to oven until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool while you mix the sauce. These are lava-hot when they come out of the oven, so be sure to let them cool a bit.


These tasty rolls make an excellent appetizer for an at-home Chinese dinner, or can be a complete meal when served with my Asian Cabbage Salad. Now I just have to find a way to incorporate red grapes....