Tofu - edu-tain me.

[chaska]

I'm broker than Santa's entire island of rejected toys. But...

I've been following the Zone diet for a little over a month now, after a month long fast during which I lost thirty pounds (yes, I am weird and no, I don't recommend it). I haven't regained any of the weight thanks to the Zone. I've lost weight many times before but always regained it pretty much immediately. This time it seems to be working.

The Zone diet is basically a small amount of protein (14 oz. a day for me), a little bit of fat, very limited simple carbs and tons of good carbs (veggies). Three meals and two snacks. Proteins, fats and carbs are eaten together at every meal/snack in the proper portions. It's a bit difficult to follow to the letter because of having to remember how much of whatever food you can eat. But it's working even though I'm not at all strict about it.

Okay, I wasn't eating enough protein before. Now I find that I have to eat a lot of eggs due to my financial situation, and eating breakfast, which I never did before. I'm getting tired of eggs (not to mention canned fish: sardines, tuna, salmon), so I'm looking for alternatives.

I like tofu, and have used it in stir frys. But that's a bit bland and boring. I need some quick ideas on what to do with the stuff. And what about other cheap protein sources. I tried some Garden burgers the other day that were great, but twice the price of beef!

Note: I used to think of beans as a good protein source, but as it turns out, only soybeans have more protein than carbs and are therefore the only bean that is considered a protein (as opposed to a carb) for purposes of the Zone diet.

Jeez, didn't mean to write a freakin' novel.

[theoceansnerves]

1. how did you prepare the tofu?

by itself, it has not much flavor at all. but it's a "flavor sponge" and whatever you cook it with it will absorb that flavor. use soy sauce, braggs, or any kind of marinade really. cook it with some garlic and it will taste like garlic. there are tofu "helpers" that are really great as well, my favorite is the tofu mate brand.

[MercutioATC]

2. My grocery store has Tofu "cold cuts" in the health food section.

None of the nitrates or normal bad stuff, they're tofu, and they taste like meat. I think they're a great replacement (and I never thought I'd say that about tofu).

[Cats Against Frist]

3. Cottage Cheese & Beef Jerky

For snacks, are excellent sources of protein.

A good recipe for tofu:

you need: (for one serving)

A handful of:
long bean, green beans or string bean -- whatever
red pepper
broccoli
onion
bamboo shoots (less of these)
snow pea pods

And:

tofu
1 tbs. sesame and 1 tbs. peanut oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. red pepper or fresh thai chiles
1 tbsp. tahini or peanut butter
2 tbs. chopped peanuts

Put all the stuff in the second list together in a food processor and marinate the tofu in it for a few hours.

Stir fry the veggies until they're crisp, but cooked, throw in the tofu mixture and cook for another two minutes or so -- until it's hot.

If you can eat a little bit of brown rice with it, great -- if not, it's fine on its own. You can also use chicken, etc.

It is a little higher in fat, but it is isn't saturated fat.

Another great thing is Ezekiel bread, which is high in protein and REALLY high in dietary fiber -- if you have to eat bread -- that's the one to go with.

[chaska]

5. Where to get Ezekiel bread?

These are all good ideas. Keep 'em comin'.

[Cats Against Frist]

11. It depends on where you live

If you have a co-op or grocery store with an organic/health food section in your town or a nearby town -- those are the only places that I've seen it. They even have, I think, a low-carb variety. One thing, though: the bread is expensive. However, if you're not eating much bread anyway, and you keep it in the refrigerator, it can last a while. They have several kinds: Original, Cinnamon Raisin, Sesame, Low-Carb and yeast & dairy free or something.

Here, you can find a recipe:

http://blpublications.com/html/body_ezekielbread.html

For this low-carb craze, they also have low-carb, whole wheat tortillas out there now -- which can be filled with meat and veggies to make great fajitas. You can get those grilled chicken breast strips pretty cheap, if you have an Aldi in your town. Try it with onion, peppers, cilantro, a little cheddar and some fruit salsa.

[chaska]

4. Tofu Helper. Hmmm. I think I like the sound of that.

Where can I get it?

[theoceansnerves]

7. it's made by nasoya

which is a name brand that can be found in (good) larger supermarkets or good health food stores.

also, if you're looking for something to replace meat in terms of texture, depending upon how hands on you are you might want to try using tvp (textured vegetable protein), or seitan (which is great simply because its prounced like satan.) these are better used as direct replacements for meat in recipes.

[solinvictus]

6. Tofu

Buy the firm or extra-firm stuff, should be about $1.70/lb or less. Dry it on a paper towel, cube it semi-evenly. Then, with your allocation of fat and "good" vegetables, which I take to mean broccoli and non-carb greens, stir fry the tofu with the oil, vegetables, a bit of broth, and some oil.

[bo44]

8. Tofu in black bean sauce

Kung Pao Tofu

Try fish cake too

[Hoping4Change]

9. Not that I want to knock diet advice but I will since I lost 60 lbs

switching to a mostly vegetarian diet, (very occasionally I'll have chicken) but I eat lots of beans. The advice you're getting about beans is plain wrong. An excellent cutting edge book called Becoming Vegetarian came out last year and dispelled many myths that even many vegetarians held sacred.

Beans are an excellent source of protein. At one time vegetarians believed that to get a complete protein beans + a grain had to be consumed at the same meal becausee the amino acids not found in beans are found in grains. But recent research shows that beans are complete proteins and grains eaten during the day simply augment them.

Also white kidney beans are proven to slow sugar metabolism, and therefore excellent for weight loss. Do a google search for "white kidney beans" and you can read the studies yourself on very reputable health sites.

Beans really add to the variety of a diet and vegetarian chilis are fantastic, not to mention bean and grain casseroles.

As for soy I make a fantastic soy shake for breakfast using Vanilla Soy Milk (some brands are alot better than others, taste really varies between brands) to the cup of soy, blend in about a cup of Fat Free Yogurt (I like Vanilla) + a tablespoon or so of Wheat Germ (excellent source of Zinc and Vitamin E) and to that I sprinkle cinnamon. Blend and enjoy. Very fast and very satifying.


Lastly google low-fat tofu recipes, you'll find lots of great recipes. Actually you could probable google tofu recipes for zone diet and probably get lots of hits.

[chaska]

10. I wasn't as clear as I could have been.

Yes, beans are high in protein but they are also high in carbs. Eating beans on the Zone diet means having to cut down on other carbs. You can have let's say a cup of beans or three cups of other complex carbs. It's all hair slpitting stuff. We're both right, for different reasons.

Actually, Zone recommends kidney beans a lot. Lentils too. Just not in the mass quantities I used to eat.

I wonder how oat bran would work with your yogurt shake I may try that. I've got a tone of oat bran that somebody else bought and won't eat.

[Hoping4Change]

14. The problem is that bran has no nutrional value other than

being a source of fibre. It also seriously inhibits the body's ability to absorb iron.

[theivoryqueen]

12. for b'fast, tofu scramblers

it's a packaged mix in the "healthy food" section. you can use a little bit at a time to add to your tofu to make scrambled "faux-eggs". For lunch or dinner - veggie or tofu chili! YUMMM! You can usually get this in bulk at Whole Foods. Very cheap and yummy. Just watch out for the gas! Also, tofu or TVP meatloafs are tasty. Make your own garden burgers with another bulk mix from whole foods. I like shopping the bulk aisle at whole foods, can you tell? But it's very inexpensive and there's a lot of variety.

[KittyWampus]

13. Buying Pre-Packaged Tofu Flavoring Packets Costs $

Tofu Smoothie- Silken tofu blended w/fruit, honey and a bit of water

Tofu Dip- Silken tofu blended with grated onion, a dab of vinegar, tahini and parsley/basel/whatever.

Tofu "Scrambled Eggs"- saute scallions/onions, pepper etc. Squeeze water out of Firm Tofu and crumble into veggies. Season with S&P and add some tumeric for egg color.

Marinate Tofu with whatever marinate turns you on and roast it.

Roast tofu with veggies that have been tossed in oil S&P. Think about adding some ginger juice/orange juice/miso.

Deep fry wedges of firm tofu and then slit the sides and stuff with lentil pate.

Make miso soup and add small cubes of firm tofu

Put firm tofu on shish kabob

Nasoya MUST have a recipe page.

[chaska]

15. The Ezekiel bread is a hit!

Bought some today. I dig it.

Thanks everybody. You guys never let me down.

[sbj405]

16. TVP and a few other ideas

Buy it dried in bulk and rehydrate it. I buy chunks and smaller size (rehydrates like ground beef). You can use it as you would ground beef, so like chili, sloppy joes, soups, stews. I use the chunks for stroganoff, shepard's pie etc. I usually pay just over a buck/pound which goes a long way.

As for tofu, bbq tofu is my favorite. Also, have you tried tempeh - more of a nutty flavor.

My favorite protein substitute is the Gardenburger Grilled Chik'n. They are expensive, but if you get them on sale with a coupon (check ebay for a bunch of $1 off ones), they aren't too bad.

Hope this helps.