Tofu recipes for Misty

Hi Misty, Here are a couple tofu recipes from the book "Eating Well After WLS". I'm going to try this one first, since I can't eat veggies yet. TOFU TIKKA 1 large clove of garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp. grated ginger 1/2 sm. red chili, seeded 1/2 tsp. of cumin, ground coriander, tumeric and garam masala 1 cup plain FF yogurt 2 Tbsp. lime juice 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained and quartered 1/2 c veggie broth In a food processor, combine garlic, ginger and chili until blended. Add the other ingredients except for the tofu and broth and blend to make a smooth paste. Put the mixture in a bowl and add tofu - coat it completely. Chill covered for about 4 hours. 20 minutes before cooking, bring it to room temp., then take out tofu and scrape off marinade - save marinade. Spray large skillet with cooking spray and saute tofu on med-high heat for 15-20 min (turn once or twice****il browned. Remove and cut into 1-inch cubes. Over med-low heat, de-glaze pan with broth and scrape and brown bits off bottom of pan to add flavor. Put tofu and the extra marinade back in the pan and simmer for 3 more minutes. Makes 4 servings. (1 cup each - of course, you might eat only half that) Per serving: 218 calories, 22g protein, 10g fat, 13g carbs, 3g fiber -------------------------------------------------------- I loooooooove Indian food - especially curries. (if I had to choose only one ethnic food for life,this would be it! I spent 3 weeks in India years ago, and it was so easy to avoid meat with all the variety.) As soon as I can eat veggies, I will try this one. TOFU AND VEGETABLE CURRY 1c. light unsweetened coconut milk 3 pkgs. splenda 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp. green curry paste 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained and cut in 1" cubes 1 cup red bell pepper strips 4c. shredded cabbage 1c.veg. broth 1c. chopped scallions 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped Combine coconut milk, sweetener, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and curry paste in small bowl. Coat large skillet with cooking spray and heat until hot (not smoking). Add tofu and saute for 10 min., stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Saute pepper in pan for 1 min., add cabbage and broth. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 min. Stir in coconut milk mix, scallions, cilantro and tofu. Simmer for 2 min. 4 servings (1 cup) Per serving: 273 calories, 21g protein, 14g fat, 18g carbs, 6g fiber ------------------------------------------------ If anyone goes into tofu-cooking territory with these recipes before me, let me know how it went! There are also some dessert recipes in the cookbook that use blended tofu to add protein - could be good. Brenda 273/246(12 lost pre-op, 15 post-op)/145

Brenda, Thanks a lot for the recipes!!! My husband and I are always up to try new recipes & my 4 year old will eat almost anything... What protein drinks are you using? I have not really found one that I like a lot. Hope you are having a great day! Thanks again. Misty

I have to say that protein drinks are not my favorite thing. I can usually get 40-50g in with food, but I have started drinking a shake the last week to make sure I get it to at least 60g. I have the Elite brand chocolate mint powder that is my favorite right now. I have been making it as hot chocolate the last 2 nights and it's very good. I made it with water instead of skim milk yesterday, but the milk really makes it creamier. If you have the 80 or so extra calories to spare, I'd use the milk. On my pre-surgery diet, my doctor recommends the no-sugar added carnation instant breakfast with skim milk and a scoop or two of plain protein powder (also what I got in the hospital). It's not bad, but I drank it so much that I am tired of it now. I use the Anywhey plain protein to add in - it is 'tasteless', but I can smell and taste it a bit. I have also added this to broth before - not bad, if you don't mind it being cloudy instead of clear. I also made pudding with it, which was OK. I have two of the Nectar flavors - fuzzy navel and roadside lemonade. They are not bad when you are sick of nothing but chocolate and vanilla, and since they mix well with water, they are good for when I leave the house, since milk might taste bad after carrying it around for a few hours. I drank shakes 2x a day pre-op and haven't been drinking as many since. I really do usually need one a day to get my minimum protein, and the hot chocolate idea has really helped. I am going to try to do that every night through the winter *** well it's going to be 82 tomorrow, so I'll just pretend it's winter!). Since I don't eat meat, and that is the product that has the most protein per 3 oz, I really need to be better about shakes. I have experimented a bit with fish, and that is a good choice. One of my favorite ways to get extra protein is cheesesticks. I like the Frigo Cheesehead (I think) brand - the light ones. One 1-oz stick is 60 calories and 9g of protein. Sometimes if I don't want to make anything for breakfast, I'll just eat 2 cheesesticks as a meal. I don't know what protein you have tried, but I started with ordering the protein sampler pack at bariatriceating.com. I think it had 15 or so samples. I tried them all during my pre-op diet, and my tastes didn't really change at all. The site also has the best way to make hot chocolate with protein powder and not have it turn out lumpy - very gross. I'm not allowed fruits for another month, but a good vanilla powder with maybe a banana piece or different extras that don't add too many calories are going to be my project next month. I think I have rambled enough, so I'm going to go attempt to clean my kitchen now to get inspired to make something later! Brenda