Nasoya Tofu U Giveaway

Good morning guys!

Today I come to you with a giveaway that I’m really excited about. Why? Because it’s for one of my favorite food staples- tofu!

I’ve come a long way since I first tried tofu. I remember back in 8^th grade I told my mom I was going to become a vegetarian. My first plan of action was to add tofu to the grocery list. I bought soft tofu and tried to scramble it in a pan with some vegetables and call it dinner. I remember thinking…wow, this stuff is AWFUL.

Years later, I’m not a vegetarian but I have learned lots of creative ways to prepare tofu to highlight its wonderful taste and texture (no more jiggly, flavorless scrambles).

I think a lot of people still may think of tofu the way I did when I was younger, but that’s a misconception. If you don’t believe me, check out some of my favorite tofu recipes on my recipe page and tell me you don’t think they look good!

Nasoya is also on a mission to help people get to know Tofu a little better. They’ve set up a new website called Tofu U where you can easily check out Tofu How-To’s (from buying, to prepping, to cooking), as well as delicious recipes. One of my favorite features on the site is the Dish Whiz where you can select the ingredients you already have in the house, and the whiz will come up with a dish you can make using them.

Nasoya is also encouraging everyone to take the Tofu U pledge to cook tofu once a week for a month. They will help by sending you coupons and if you cook four meals at home you can win Nasoya gym shorts or a t-shirt.

Nasoya is also willing to give one of my readers an extra bonus with 5 coupons for FREE tofu products and a t-shirt! This is a great way to get started!

Lucky for you there are 3 ways to enter this giveaway!

1. Go to Tofu U and take the pledge- leave a comment letting me know you did
2. Like Nasoya on Facebook (you can also enter their open enrollment contest and win $1000) leave a comment letting me know you did
3. Share with me your favorite way to cook tofu- links to recipes are appreciated!

 That’s it! I’ll pick a winner on Friday! (open to US residents only).

This giveaway is sponsored by Nasoya. I was provided free tofu coupons and a t-shirt from the company.

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Writer’s Blah-ck

I’ve been wanting to blog all day…but for whatever reason every post I wanted to create wasn’t really flowing.

 

So here is a post about the fragments of posts that never were….

 

Post #1

I was going to take you through the exciting journey of how I reorganized my pantry.

 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

But then I realized that the before and after really isn’t that impressive. Just because I now know where stuff is, certainly doesn’t mean you do.

 

POST #2

I thought maybe I’d then tell you about the other closets I recently reorganized

 

And my new artwork in our bedroom

But then I didn’t feel like making the bed or getting too detailed about what is actually inside my closet

 

Hours passed by…

 

POST #3

I thought I’d blog about food and cooking from today

 

Perhaps about how I made tofu in the oven with some new spices

Or how I made my own iced tea

Or how this dressing was SOOOOOOOOOOO disappointing..

But that this Kefir was awesome and nutritionally kicks butt

But honestly- none of these post ideas really got me much more than a paragraph or so..and by the end of reading it I said..UM, NO Jamie. No one is going to want to read this.

 

POST #4

And finally I thought maybe I’d post about school and how tonight I was getting inducted into a graduate honor society.

4.0 BABY!

 

But as you can see…all of these little ideas were much better just mushed together.

 

What went on in your world today?

Bloggers- how often do you get writers block?

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Day 1

Woohoo! I survived my first day on the "job"!

 

Despite an early morning water main break at the school, a substitute who didn’t really know what to do with me, and a classroom that barely reached 50 degrees, it was all good!

Seriously, it was!

 

I’m so tired now though- I really forgot what it feels like to be on the go from around 5am until 7:30 when my class ended.  Back in my corporate days this was my normal schedule.

 

Guess I better toughen up!

 

Dinner tonight came together late, but it hit the spot.

 

A simple bulgur bowl with the grain on the bottom, roasted broccoli and cauliflower and baked buffalo tofu on top.

I probably could have eaten the whole block of tofu, but I decided to use the rest to make buffalo tofu salad for lunch tomorrow.

Trying to plan ahead!

 

Do you make your lunch the night before?

Tofu eaters, how much of the block do you usually eat in one serving?

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A Helping Hand

I can’t take credit for tonight’s dinner all on my own. Thanks to the help of my wonderful husband, I am digging into a delicious Asian inspired rice bowl.

 

In addition to being wonderful in many ways, Joe is also an excellent cook. He hasn’t been cooking all that much lately due to stress from school and work and the fact that I’m home a lot more so I take care of most meals.

 

However, now that he has completed his MBA program, he’s had a little more flexibility.

 

Tonight Joe made some delicious fried rice and it paired very well with some simple baked tofu.

(yes, on a pile of books)

 

Joe starts out his rice by sautéing some diced onion (or scallion) and red pepper in some veg oil and a little butter. After they soften he adds sliced mushrooms and frozen peas at the end.

 

Once they are done he puts them to the side and adds 2-3 beaten eggs.

After the eggs solidify a bit, he scrambles them with the rest of the veggies.

He then adds cooked brown rice to the pan, and a swirl of soy sauce

Or two

Mix all together, and voila!

You could easily add shrimp, more veggies, chicken, or whatever you want to this really easy and tasty dish!

 

Do you have any men in your life who enjoy cooking?

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Change in Plans

A lot of things that I had planned on today ended up changing- and hey, change is good right?

Change #1

I ended up buying actual gifts instead of gift cards (as I mentioned earlier)  because I had a good time shopping and picking things out at the stores where I was going to get gift cards. I was already there, so hey, why not!

 

Change #2

I  decided to go to the gym today instead of running. I’ve got the sniffles and I think running in the cold is going to be a challenge. Plus, I think I’m doing a long run with my running group in the morning.

 

Change #3

Instead of wearing a dress to NYE, I think I’m just going to wear jeans. We’re going to a sports bar anyway and it’s just one night. Plus my one pair of designer jeans are fitting very nicely these days and they need a night out.

 

One thing that didn’t change was what I was planning to eat for lunch. A mix plate of tofu, bulgur, tabbouleh, parsnip fries, and roasted eggplant. I wolfed this down. I was starving!

 

I know I had also promised to show you guys the good stuff I got at TJMaxx yesterday, so here ya go:

My favorite items are this cross shoulder bag, a pair of Joe’s Jeans jeggings and warm shell jacket for snowboarding.

TJ Maxx left the tag on the jacket and I can see that it’s MSRP is $120. I got it for $29! I’m heading to Vail next week (where it is currently 5 degrees) so the more layers, the better!

I ended up getting the Joe’s Jeans for $39 and I looked up the style number and it turns out they go for $128 at Saks!

The bag was another great find because it was exactly what I’ve been looking for for months!  I really wanted a lightweight bag that I can wear cross shoulder. I love my current bag, but it is so heavy and becomes a burden on my shoulder if I’m out and about for too long. This had a $65 price tag, but was only $20. Never heard of the brand before.

I’m a total Maxxinista!

 

Have you worn jeggings yet?

What items are you in need of right now?

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Normalcy

Ahh..the sweet sweet feeling of a normal day.

 

It was great to be back home when I woke up this morning. I got an early start and headed to the gym for Bootcamp.

 

Unfortunately, the instructor was sick so she cancelled class. Both Joe and I have colds too and I’m hoping that they stay dormant and just go away soon.

 

I ended up doing 45 min on the elliptical and some weights. Yep, I did weights on my own!

 

I did 2 sets of 12 of some full body stuff

Assisted Pullups

Incline Bench Pushups

Tricep Rope Pulls

Walking Lunges

Deadlifts

Situps

 

After the gym I did some cleaning and laundry and then headed to Trader Joe’s and TJ Maxx.

 

I hit the goldmine at TJMaxx! I’ll give you recap tomorrow when the lighting in my house is better for pictures.

 

In order to keep my budget in tact, I decided to return two things I got at H&M the other day.

 

GOING BACK!

YEP, YOU TOO!

As much as I like both things I don’t need them and I have other things that I can use instead of them.

 

Lunch was a delicious combo of things I bought at Trader Joe’s. It felt so great to get some fresh food (that I cooked) in my body.

 

Roasted eggplant, bulgur mixed with TJ’s Tabouleh, and baked tofu.

Dinner was Stuffed Chicken with Ricotta.

Now I’m about to curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and a few frozen Andes mints.

These are my new favorite treat!

 

 

 

 

Are you a routine freak like me or can you go with the flow for a long time?

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Spicy Salad

I told you this was coming.

 

Introducing the buffalo tofu salad sandwich.

It is incredibly good.

All I did was dice up the leftover Baked Buffalo Tofu, mixed it with 1 tbsp. light mayo, 1 blue cheese flavored laughing cow cheese, and some diced celery.

 

Served it in a toasted up La Tortilla Wrap tortilla with extra hot sauce on top.

I think I might need to start buying tofu in bulk.  I already buy my hot sauce at Costco anyway.

 

Please make this. And report back.

 

Back to work I go.

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Baked Buffalo Tofu

Today I made a new tofu creation that you just have to try.

 

(because who doesn’t love a tofu joke?)

 

Anyway, the idea for Buffalo tofu came to me today when I was looking in my fridge for something to marinate my newly squeezed block fresh out of the Tofu X-Press.

 

Then I saw it….

 

What a vision.

 

I quickly dumped some red hot in the tofu x-press and covered it to marinate. I took it out after about an hour.

In retrospect, I should have cut the tofu first so that the sauce could get all over the tofu. But instead I just brushed it with some extra sauce so the whole piece was covered.

Cook at 375 for about 25 minutes. Flip once.

And then…the best idea…is to eat this in a wrap with some laughing cow blue cheese. (this stuff is awesome!)

I added a bit more hot sauce on top, and stuffed some lettuce in the wrap too.

I’m thinking this would also taste great cubed up with celery and some greek yogurt. (buffalo tofu salad)

I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow!

Great job to everyone who already finished day 1 of 5 days of working out this week! Our challenge is off to a great start! I’ll be going for a run momentarily.

Woohoo!

Are you a buffalo sauce fan?

What’s your favorite buffalo inspired recipe?

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Tofu X-press = X-cellent

So last week I won a giveaway that made me SOOOOO excited.

Lynn who blogs over at The Actor’s Diet is was giving away a Tofu X-Press.

I entered in all the ways possible and really hoped I’d win. And I did!

 

Thanks Lynn!

 

So this thing is a gadget that squeezes all the extra water out of the tofu and helps it to get the best texture possible. It also is a handy dandy container for marinating.

I took a block of extra firm organic tofu and put it in the tofu xpress. I planned to let it sit for an hour or so. (They say 3 hours but I didn’t have that kind of time)

Meanwhile I prepared some Spicy Stir-fried Cabbage and Onion. Guys, you have to try this recipe.

 

Here’s how you make it.

Dice 1 onion really thin

Slice up a head of cabbage really thin too

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil and add red pepper flake to the oil while it’s heating. This will release the oils in the flakes and help infuse the vegetable oil with the spice. (use the amount of flakes that you like, I really like things spicy)

Let the pan get HOT. (this usually works best in a wok)

But here is where I found my wok yesterday, (really??!?) so I opted for the large non-stick.

 

Add the onions and cabbage and WALK AWAY.

You want it to develop color, you are in essence, searing the veggies.

Once they caramelize, flip and continue to cook.

When everything is pretty brown, deglaze the pan with soy sauce (once or twice around the pan)

And that’s it! I have also made this with shrimp before and it is a great combo.

After the tofu was pressed, I diced it and marinated in some soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic powder.

Baked on 400 for 25-30 min. It was amazing. The best tofu I’ve had in a long time. The texture was great.

I served it over the cabbage and a little bulgur.

So filling and yummy! Lots of leftovers too!

 

What is your favorite stirfry recipe?

Any new things you’re cooking up this weekend?

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