Are you tired of eating winter foods? I am. Enter this food challenge.
As my daughter, Devin, and I were parting ways knowing it would be a few months before we would be together again, we were eager to support each other to stay positive and productive.
Inspired by the food at Fogo de Chao, we brainstormed how to recreate their upscale salad bar at home. At the top of our list is their vinaigrette. From there we chatted about how we should make a new food a week to keep the food blahs away.
As I type, I’m pressing tofu. This will be my new food for the week because I don’t have all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. And although I have baked tofu once before, I’m ignoring that lackluster attempt.
From my handy-dandy Pocket, here are two helpful links: How to Make Tofu Taste Good:6 Easy Tofu Cooking Tips and How to Make Baked Tofu for Salads, Sandwiches, & Snacks.
After pressing, I marinated the tofu slices in white wine and grated fresh ginger. I coated them in corn starch and grilled them on a ” target=”_blank”>compact griddler.
Verdict: Thumbs Up
I’ll need to increase the marinade flavor but in the mean time I drizzled mango coconut dip over the tofu and served it with a simple romaine leaf salad.
Having been diagnosed as protein depleted and deficient, I’m grateful to have another high protein food to add to my meals. And since I abstain from meat on Fridays, baked tofu is a wonderful meatless option.
You are cordially invited to join our Spring New Food Challenge. What are you cooking, making, eating? We’re all…tastebuds 😀 .
Mangia! ~~~~~~~~ Angie Mc
I’ll spare you the picture of my baked tofu. The pretty one above is from PBS Food.
Family Love Does More 
very challenging but healthy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right, Mihran! Finding healthy foods that taste good is awesome 😀
LikeLike
Love it! I crumbled up some of my baked tofu and threw it into curry lentil soup for something different. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yum! You remind me to bake extra tofu in cubes. I can see it being a great addition to light spring soups. I can feel another recipe search coming on 😀
LikeLike
Tofu is one of the only 2 foods I enjoy, but will not cook at home. The other is liver. Something about the texture, I think. My favorite to order is Chinese Creamy Walnut Tofu. ☺ Van
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m the same way about scallops! After turning them into rubber balls one too many times, I only order them out. I used to be the same about shrimp but *finally* figured out how to not overcook them.
Creamy Walnut Tofu sounds delish! Does this recipe look close, Van? http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tofu-triangles-in-creamy-nut-buttter-sauce-with-scallions-355894
LikeLiked by 1 person
More like this. Here it is served over fresh cabbage, the vegan mayo giving it a slaw texture. http://chowvegan.com/2010/05/02/honey-walnut-tofu/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, Van, that looks fantastic! And I love slaw. This sounds perfect as we head into spring ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been surprised how well-made tofu is these days. Also there’s this curried tofu salad that the farmer’s market in the west of town carries which, if it didn’t cost $8 per pound, would be all we ate for every meal, forever.
LikeLiked by 1 person
$8 a pound, oh my, Joseph! Is the curried tofu salad like a tuna or egg salad? Or something else? I remember having a tofu salad at a farmer’s market years ago that was sweet, with nuts and raisins. Yum!
LikeLike
yum! You had me at ginger and coconut mango!!
This isn’t quite the same thing (or even close) but I bought bacon recently. And not turkey bacon. Real bacon. That was the first time in probably 5 years that I did that. ahhmazzing. 🙂
I’m looking forward to more of your recipes and food ideas to come!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is like an old friend returning home, Jill! I love bacon, YUM! Although I can’t each too much of it right now, in the glory days we would bake it in large quantities 😀
LikeLike
That mango coconut dip made my mouth water! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I pay *way* too much money for that dip! Devin and I have already discussed recreating it . If we do, we’ll share 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tofu is one of my favorite go to foods for protein. I use it everywhere because I also have a hard time getting in my protein grams for the day. Most days I end up drinking a Glucerna before going to bed simply to keep my blood sugar from crashing during the night and obtain the extra protein. I never have meat unless you want to count an occasional dip of spaghetti sauce made with ground turkey. I’m printing off your baked tofu.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I recall that you are a tofu fan, Sheri. Getting the protein in is it’s own challenge, right?! What I especially like about tofu is that it seems to be gentle on my belly. Just last night I had some pressed tofu cubes (leftover) and I dipped them in hummus for a quick snack. YUM! Let’s keep exchanging tofu finds, OK? Thanks 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Getting the protein grams in is the hardest part of healthy eating for me. The doc wants me to have 35 grams per day and I really have to work at it. You’re right about tofu being easy on the stomach. I’ve never had it fight back. Back when I was single, I’d bake up a mess all at one time and then through the week I’d throw it in whatever I was eating. I still like to toss it into a sweet potato. Mash your cooked tofu into your mashed potato – I rarely add anything but a little salt and pepper. Yum.
LikeLiked by 1 person
YUM! Great ideas. Another tofu fave that I stumbled upon is putting it in a food processor with a frozen banana, cocoa, and an orange flavored omega 3 supplement. I eat this after I run, mmmmm.
LikeLiked by 1 person