Tofu is NOT gross

As people brag on facebook about all the bacon they eat, any post about a dish that contains tofu gets joking comments like “oh that’s not real food,” or  “I’ll keep my bacon, thank you.”  As my dad used to say, every joke has a basis. People for some reason are repulsed with food that doesn't lead to heart disease and other health issues. And no, you don't need to be a vegan to add this great food to your dishes.  My son, a major meat eater, loves it.

Carnivores hate the sound of this word:  tofu.  They imagine it as this gross squishy white thing.  No it is not, the horrid image is due to bad preparation (or lack of preparation).   A long time ago, someone told me they hated calamari, to which I responded, “you must have had badly prepared calamari.”  After this individual tried properly prepared calamari they became a convert and started eating calamari.

While I wrote this blog entry, there must be at least 10 posts up already about the greatness of bacon.  Greatness that keeps doctors their multiple luxury cars, mansion, boats and planes. Greatness that drives my health insurance premium up.  I'm not proposing that people stop eating bacon (I'm lucky, I don't really like it), but in order to stop the horrible health epidemic, people need to start to look at their diets and reevaluate the quantities of unhealthy foods they ingest.  And if not for themselves, at least expose their kids to some better alternatives.

Here are some key preparation tips:

Purchase the right tofu:

            For people who don’t have time to drain and press, I find that Wildwood Super Firm Tofu (pictured in my Holiday Guide) Part I blog entry: http://blogtothenextone.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-holiday-guide-part-i.html

 is  the easiest to deal with and it also has more protein.  I don’t need to press, squeeze, etc.  I’ve only found this at Whole Foods and Woodman’s around here.  It saves a lot of the playing around.  Other super firm tofu works too, but you have to drain and press (I haven’t tried any of the tofu presses on Amazon yet).

If you buy another tofu, makes sure it is ORGANIC (fermented, sprouted)-do not buy GMO (defeats the whole purpose of eating it for health).  As a side note, I only buy organic soy sauce as well.

Marinate – tofu takes on any flavor and marinating, seasoning makes a huge difference. If you don’t have time to marinate, season it.

Pan fry in a healthy oil – this makes a huge difference.  It goes fairly quick and gives the outside a nice crunch.  Sometimes I sprinkle some flour on top as I’m frying it.

Throw into any dish instead of meat and you will get a healthier version of your dinner.

Well prepared tofu is similar to paneer in Indian cuisine.

UPDATE:  3/4/14-instead of pan frying, I've been finding myself bake tofu more.  There are many ways to bake it.  First I marinate it (30 minutes), then I place it in a 400 degree oven for about thirty minutes.  I use the no stick foil to prevent sticking....while it's not as crispy as pan frying, it's still fairly crisp and firm.

http://blogtothenextone.blogspot.com/2011/03/dont-feel-like-cooking-convenient.html

If this sounds like too much work, make it ahead and freeze it. I usually make the entire block, and freeze it and throw into dishes as needed.

Tofu is high in calcium and protein.

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