Wednesday, August 8, 2018

We Eat Tofu Now

This post is going to be full of pictures of delicious meals that don't look very appetizing. Why is photographing food so hard?!

For the longest time, I've had an issue with eating meat at home. For some reason, if I've prepared and cooked it, I get grossed out eating it. The texture makes me want to gag. I often end up eating whatever side I've prepared and leaving the meat to go to waste.

This happens even with things I typically love, like salmon and shrimp. It never happens when I'm at a restaurant, but we don't go out to eat very often, so most nights I barely touch my dinner.

I've always really loved tofu, but have been scared to cook it at home. Once I bought a block of it and it sat in the fridge for six months before I tossed it, untouched. Sometimes when I order a meal with tofu, I ask Matt if he wants any, but usually it's spicy so he doesn't partake. While we were in Seattle, I had tofu a couple times, and Matt was finally able to try some himself. Imagine my surprise when on our last night there, he ordered tofu in his poke bowl.
That was a turning point. When I realized Matt would eat tofu, it made more sense to learn to cook it. The consistency (somewhere between an omelet and frittata) never freaks me out and I like that its mild flavor can really take on any taste.
I watched a YouTube video to learn how to cook it, bought some already-pressed tofu, and tried it out. I was intimidated, but it turns out it's really easy to prep and cook! I'm still figuring out if I prefer the super firm or extra firm variety, but we've had tofu for every home-cooked dinner for two weeks now and I am very happy with it.
This is the brand our stores carry. Right now I think I prefer the extra firm to the super firm.
My favorite way to prepare it is with curry. I sometimes use a million shortcuts that would make Sandra Lee proud, including adding frozen vegetables or sweet potatoes to the dish instead of fresh. Dinner takes ten minutes to make and tastes amazing.
We usually use Patak's Korma curry, but I want to learn how to make it from scratch.
I'm excited to learn more ways to prepare it, because unlike most meals, it's so quick and easy to make that I don't mind experimenting a little. Plus, a block costs about $3 and easily makes enough food for two nights, so we're saving money on top of everything else.
Passage Foods sauces have all proven tasty!
This pad thai did not disappoint! 
I am not going vegetarian, but Matt and I are both happy to be eating less meat because the meat industry - especially beef - is terrible for the environment. I'm also happy to finally be able to stomach a meal at home. I feel like I'm on a soapbox, but it's not moralistic at all. I'm just suddenly in love with tofu and I don't know why it took me so long to buy it!

If you've been curious but intimidated, like I was, take it from me - tofu is awesome!

ABK

5 comments:

  1. Oh wow, there's lots of protein in tofu! Maybe we should try it!

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    1. That’s why so many people eat it when they go veg! It’s a great meat/protein substitute.

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  2. Hahahah i am laughing because I relate to this post so much. Every time I buy blocks of tofu at the grocery store I leave it to sit in the fridge for months until I throw it out because I don't know how to cook it. I should watch a youtube video like you! I like eating tofu when I go out to eat with my best friend who is vegan, so I know I would eat it at home if I just learned to cook with it.

    Also, I hate preparing chicken too. I often buy pre-cooked chicken that I can just toss in a pan because chopping up raw chicken freaks me out. I do it sometimes but I have to really disassociate to be able to eat it later. If I think of a chicken breast as part of a chicken and then picture the chicken in my head during any part of the cooking or eating process I can't eat it anymore!

    Gonna def check out those sauce packets. I always make my curry from scratch but I like the idea of pre-made because it sounds fast! haha

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    1. I feel so guilty for all the tofu I wasted because I was too scared to cook it haha. It’s pretty hard to mess up, it turns out. Since posting this, I’ve figured out a bunch more good recipes and ways to cook it! We literally don’t buy meat anymore...It’s kind of nuts.

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  3. I love tofu, but I'd be careful about not eating it every day. Eating too much soy products can lead to various problems, including allergic reactions to soy. That can make your life surprisingly hard, since small amounts of soy are used in many products where you'd never suspect it.

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