What do ya do with TOFU??

I am a vegan and have been for 5 days now. I am down 4lb.  I feel the best I have ever felt.  I have no IBS, my face is pimple free, my complection looks dewey, hair is shiny and healthy.  I had major headaches the 1st 3 days from caffeine withdrawl.  I switched to organic ginger tea, and I love it. I am having no problems with this lifestyle.. Dark chocolate is wonderful, and I love the endangered species brand with blueberries.  I love Peanut butter and I love nuts.  I am in heaven with this way of life. I am so thrilled I downloaded SKINNY BITCH on my IPOD from ITUNES.  I was and am still very disgusted with the unethical treatment of those animals.  We in America dont treat child rapists and murders that badly. 

 ONE question though.. How do you fix TOFU?? I bought some.. have NO clue what to do with it.

Tofu is so versatile, there are about a million things you can do with it!  It comes in harder varieties, as well as in the form of softer 'silken' tofu.

You can cut it up into little cubes, and toss it into soups or stews, or you can use it crumbled up in place of ricotta, in recipes like tofu lasagne.  You can also blend it up in the blender to make really creamy thick salad dressings.  Yet another use would be for creamy desserts (for which I would recommend the silken tofu), such as puddings, or cream pies.  It is kind of bland on its own, so that why it can be used with such a wide variety of tastes and flavors. 

What kind of foods do you like?

One important thing to note is that you may like it more after you press the excess water out of it. I usually wrap it in paper towels and then squeeze it until it sort of 'squishes' and then I put it in EVERYTHING.  I love sauteeing it with vegetables or I bake it; marinating it is really good too. Play around! Experiment!

Original Post by bbchaser71:

I am a vegan and have been for 5 days now. I am down 4lb. I feel the best I have ever felt. I have no IBS, my face is pimple free, my complection looks dewey, hair is shiny and healthy. I had major headaches the 1st 3 days from caffeine withdrawl. I switched to organic ginger tea, and I love it. I am having no problems with this lifestyle.. Dark chocolate is wonderful, and I love the endangered species brand with blueberries. I love Peanut butter and I love nuts. I am in heaven with this way of life. I am so thrilled I downloaded SKINNY BITCH on my IPOD from ITUNES. I was and am still very disgusted with the unethical treatment of those animals. We in America dont treat child rapists and murders that badly.

ONE question though.. How do you fix TOFU?? I bought some.. have NO clue what to do with it.

 Careful with the dark chocolate.  There is still milk and sugar in dark chocolate.  The sugar and the lack of any worthwhile nutrition is probably worse for you than the little bit of milk you'll consume though.

There is no milk in dark chocolate. There is sugar in regular dark chocolate, but if you so desire, you can get artificially sweetened dark chocolate.

• Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavour. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
• Dark chocolate is chocolate without milk as an additive. It is sometimes called "plain chocolate". The U.S. Government calls this "sweet chocolate", and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.
• Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids.

It is also probable that some dark chocolate every day can be good for your heart.

Dark chocolate may reduce blood pressure, improve insulin resistance

American Heart Association rapid access journal report:

DALLAS, July 19 – If you have high blood pressure, a daily bar-sized serving of flavonol-rich dark chocolate might lower your blood pressure and improve insulin resistance, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Previous studies suggest flavonoid-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine and chocolate, might offer cardiovascular benefits, but this is one of the first clinical trials to look specifically at dark chocolate’s effect on lowering blood pressure among people with hypertension,” said study author Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D.

This one is great for when you have to make a dessert but want it to be entirely vegan. I love it. I make it every Christmas (has a bit of an egnnog taste). http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rum-and-Chocolat e-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

This one may be expensive to fit into your calorie and fat budget, but it's well worth it. SO. TASTY. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sukhothai-Pad-Th ai/Detail.aspx

This one is great for a dinner dish. It's also a good source of protein, and low in fat (considering the calories). http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pasta-with-Spina ch-Pesto-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I stand corrected about dark chocolate containing milk.  It isn't a whole food though.  Cocoa butter is a partial food and so is sugar (or any other sweetner for that matter).  My opinion is that we see these health benefit articles and use them to justify consuming quantities of things like dark chocolate that aren't healthy.

Having said that, it appears that if you don't have an aversion to processed or partial foods, dark chocolate may be a decent small treat every now and again.

Dark chocolate sometimes contains milk and sometimes does not. If you are a vegan, then you have to check. For example, Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate does contain milk. While the U.S. Government classifies dark chocolate as 'sweet chocolate' and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor, it also allows the following to be added as optional dairy ingredients: 1) cream, milkfat, butter, 2) milk, concentrated milk, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, dried milk, 3) skim milk, concentrated skim milk, evaporated skim milk, sweetened condensed skim milk, nonfat dry milk, 4) concentrated buttermilk, dried buttermilk, and 5) malted milk.

mikelane, I have to agree with you that people tend to love any article that will help them justify their addictions! I think the reason that the Atkins diet gained such popularity is that it really fed into people's addictions, by giving them a permission slip to eat lots of the un-healthy foods that they were addicted to. People like to have a way to rationalize their bad habits, and their excesses where food is concerned.

As far as blood pressure and insulin-resistance go, these things are not issues for a person of ideal weight, who eats a low-sodium, natural whole foods diet. I think that blood pressure and insulin-resistance issues are better handled through a nutrient dense diet, than through one that contains empty calorie foods such as sugar-sweetened candy bars.

A better question is what DON'T you do with tofu.  I puree it, press it, marinate it, grill it, bake it, sautee it, and eat it raw.  My favorite application is to drain it (set the tofu in a high sides dish, like a baking pan, with a gentle weight, like a cutting board with a 28 oz can on top, for at least 1 hr, pouring out the expelled water periodically), slice it into rectangles or triangles, salt/pepper it lightly, then bake at 400 for about an hour until it's golden and crispy on the outside, chewy and nutty on the inside.  At this point, it will take any flavor: bbq sauce, buffalo sauce, stir fry, etc., and it will never be slimy or gummy.  It's a great alternative to the amazing texture of deep fried tofu.

I also recommend (for the newly vegan, congrats!) two cookbooks, both by the same author.  I love Vegan With a Vengeance.  It's great for delicious, inexpensive, multi cultural everyday stuff, with a nice long section on building a vegan pantry.  By the same author, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  It's insane, and you will never miss non-vegan baked goods again!  It's not so great for low-cal, though. ;-)

Original Post by jenhere:

A better question is what DON'T you do with tofu. I puree it, press it, marinate it, grill it, bake it, sautee it, and eat it raw. My favorite application is to drain it (set the tofu in a high sides dish, like a baking pan, with a gentle weight, like a cutting board with a 28 oz can on top, for at least 1 hr, pouring out the expelled water periodically), slice it into rectangles or triangles, salt/pepper it lightly, then bake at 400 for about an hour until it's golden and crispy on the outside, chewy and nutty on the inside. At this point, it will take any flavor: bbq sauce, buffalo sauce, stir fry, etc., and it will never be slimy or gummy. It's a great alternative to the amazing texture of deep fried tofu.

I also recommend (for the newly vegan, congrats!) two cookbooks, both by the same author. I love Vegan With a Vengeance. It's great for delicious, inexpensive, multi cultural everyday stuff, with a nice long section on building a vegan pantry. By the same author, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It's insane, and you will never miss non-vegan baked goods again! It's not so great for low-cal, though. ;-)

 Jenhere, thanks for the tips!  I've got a question about those books though.  I read on an Amazon review that those books both use a lot of sugar and white flour in many of  their recipes.  Is that true?  If so, those seem like extremely unhealthy cookbooks to get recipes from.  If not, maybe I'll check them out.

It's true that some of the recipes call for sugar and white flour, but the author goes out of her way, in both books, to talk about how to replace these ingredients with more nutrient-rich substitutes (whole wheat pastry flour, natural sugars, applesauce, etc).  What I love about the books is they do not make the assumption that all vegans are all about eating 200% healthy all of the time.  Vegans need treats too, and I don't think there is anything wrong with vegan cupcakes in moderation.  However, if that's not your dietary lifestyle, maybe they're not the books for you.  If you're not sure about the books, browse them at B&N (I almost always do this before buying on Amazon) or check them out from the library.  I've purchased a lot of vegan cookbooks, as vegetarian cookbooks tend to rely too heavily on eggs, cream, and cheese for flavor, and these are two of my very favorites.

Thanks for the tip :D

Buy the extra firm or firm variety. Cut into cubes and put in frying pan with small amount of oil. Sprinkly with soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger powder and stir fry for about two minutes. 
For fun drizzle with honey. Cook until the soy is dry. Eat with rice and veggies. Sprinkle with seasame seeds, if you like.
My kids have eaten this every day of their lives. 

cdiscoe, thanks for the recipe!

I am going to try it tonight!

For me I cut it into cubes and add it to my salads. There's some terrific recipes out there. Check PETA's website, Vegitarian Today, or just google tofu recipes. I'm not much of a cook so I keep it simple.

The only way I like tofu is to grill it - I'll marinate it (~ 1 part olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, salt/pepper) along with some veggies and grill them all.  It makes it firmer - I'm picky about texture :)

if you like Indian food...
i buy Masala sauce from my local health food coop, it runs about $3.5 a jar and is relatively low in calories and is junk free. Then i just sauté up some tofu with various veggies (asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, onions and red peppers are my favorites), and after the tofu and veggies are cooked, smother them in masala sauce (right in the skillet). Once everything is warm, i serve it over basmatti rice...it's soo delicious. I'm a pretty abysmal cook, and this is a breeze. and if you have a rice cooker it's easier still.