Have you ever met someone who HATES tofu? I have. What comes to mind when I say the word tofu? hippie? tree hugger? bland? tasteless? vegan? tof-ewwww? Tofu is seriously misunderstood. As a vegetarian, plant-based eater, it was easy for me to learn to love tofu. For most people, it does take some getting used to. It is just one of those foods that is overlooked despite its amazing nutritional profile and versatility. Not to mention, it is super inexpensive! Come on, if Chipotle has it on the menu, it has to be cool, right?
Tara’s Tuesday Tips: Learn To Love Tofu
Tofu does not taste good when it comes straight out of the package. Let’s ask ourselves, does chicken? Do you eat chicken plain and uncooked? I think not! So let’s be fair here. Why would we take a block of tofu out of the package, taste it, and write it off as gross or bland or inedible? Try that with chicken or steak or ground beef and tell me how that goes!
Yes, tofu is super bland to start. It needs some love! Just like chicken, it needs some spice, marinade, seasonings, and pairings! Unlike chicken, however, tofu is extremely versatile and can be blended into dressings or dips, as well as crumbled into soups or tacos, diced or sliced and even made into a lazy morning scramble. Oh and I must mention, tofu will not give you salmonella if you do decide to eat it straight out of the packaging, point-game-win for the tofu!
Love How Tofu Compares To Your Favorite Meats
One serving of tofu contains 8 grams of protein, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of carbohydrates. Tofu also is a good source manganese, calcium, selenium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and a great source of calcium. The high level of isoflavones found in tofu gives it a whole host of health benefits including helping fight certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Comparing tofu to meat, tofu comes out ahead with less low-density lipoprotein content, cholesterol, fat, and triglycerides. As a nutrient-dense food, when you eat tofu, you are getting a lot of good-for-you nutrients with few calories, very little fat, and a nice dose of fiber and vitamins. When compared head-to-head with meat, eating tofu has a far less of a chance of contributing to constipation, diverticulitis, and cardiovascular disease.
FAT!
The fat in meat compared to the fat in tofu. I am forever talking about saturated fats. As we continue on our plant-based journey in an effort to prevent disease, we try to eat as little saturated fat as possible. Tofu is my secret weapon. Not only is it cholesterol free, it only has 2 grams of fat per serving as compared to the 15 grams of fat in 4 ounces of beef and 5.5 grams of fat in one egg! There is a clear winner here in my opinion.
If your favorite meat is deli ham, you get a whopping 360mg of sodium in one slice. Compare that to the 15mg in one serving of tofu. Who eats one slice of ham? Maybe you eat 4? You just consumed your entire day’s worth of sodium. That block of tofu is looking better and better.
Let’s Clear Up The Confusion About The Different Types Tofu
The tofu you will use depends on what you are making. Think of it as a blank slate! It can seem overwhelming at first. Let’s clear things up.
The different types are silken, soft, medium, firm, extra firm. Essentially, the more water that is pressed out of the tofu during processing, the firmer it is.
Silken tofu is softer and can be easily jazzed up and blended.
This kind is best for dressings, dips, or mousse. You can find silken tofu in a box or refrigerated in a plastic container. The boxed stuff is just not as good. My pro tip here: buy silken tofu in the refrigerator section. You will not be sorry. Check this out: The Vegetarian’s Guide to Silken Tofu.
Extra firm is best for cutting, cubing, slicing, or crumbling.
My pro tip with this one: use extra firm tofu exclusively. It cuts better, it cooks better, it is easier to work with. It has a lot less water content so you get more protein per serving, and it maintains its shape better while you prepare it.
Everything else in between: soft, medium, firm. I use silken or extra firm exclusively. I don’t find any need to fiddle with the in betweens. If you can’t find silken, you can use soft as a replacement. If you can’t find extra firm, firm is a great replacement. Keep it simple.
Organic vs Non-Organic
If possible, buy organic tofu! Genetically modified soybeans are not something you want to be eating for a whole host of reasons. If you buy organic tofu, you can trust that it wasn’t made with genetically modified soybeans. Guys, this one is super important. Let me say it again for the people in the back of the room: buy organic tofu.
Is The Soy In Tofu Harmful?
I will give you my summarized (not science nerd/DNP) answer.
There is a difference between estrogen and phytoestrogen. Tofu (made of soybeans) contains phytoestrogens and in studies has been found to actually block estrogen receptors reducing the risk of breast and other cancers. You read that correctly, recent studies are showing a reduction in cancer risk.
The problem with soy is with high dose soy protein isolates. Highly processed forms of soy contain higher amounts of soy isolflavones + can be found in packaged foods including protein bars, snacks, and certain fake meats. Eating these types of soy products in large amounts can lead to hormone imbalances and endocrine disruption. This consumption of concentrated processed/isolated soy can increase cancer risk. See the difference?
To recap, tofu is made of pressed soybeans. A naturally occurring bean. A plant. Think tempeh, tofu, miso, edamame. These are great protein sources and can be protective against lots of diseases. Alternatively, soy enhanced processed food products. Think bars, some fake meats, cereals, processed plant protein drinks. These pack in soy isoflavones and can be harmful.
As always, everything in moderation AND check with your doctor to see if soy/tofu is right for you or if contraindicated with any of your medical conditions.
Learn To Love Tofu By Never Having To Press It Again
Hello, my name is Tara. I am vegetarian. I love tofu. Oh and by the way, I never press my tofu. WHAT?!?!? Yep, you heard me correctly. No tofu wrapped in towels with cast iron skillets or textbooks piled on top. No fancy tofu press. Simply drain the water out of the packaging and drain off any excess water on the tofu block. Buying extra firm tofu is best for this. Silken tofu NEVER gets pressed, just drain the extra water out of the package. It is supposed to be watery.
If you are still skeptical of my tip, you could simply wrap your tofu block in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze any excess water out. This will ensure that it keeps its shape during prepping and cooking. I don’t even do this and I photograph my perfect little tofu cubes that have not been pressed 🤣.
Learn To Love Tofu By Ordering It In A Restaurant
This was my first step to loving tofu. I ordered it at my favorite Thai restaurant, then at a local sandwich shop, then at Chipotle. I learned that I loved tofu. It gave my meatless meals that little extra something that had been missing. Want to know what happened next? I tried making it at home. I failed. Miserably. Not just failed a little. I failed. I vowed to only eat tofu outside of my house.
Look at me now! I easily can throw together a tofu dish in minutes! It took lots of failed attempts at getting it right, and tweaking recipes until they suited our needs. My pro tip here: swap out beef or chicken or fish and swap in cubed tofu in Asian dishes initially, order sofritas on your burrito, if there is tofu on the menu at your favorite restaurant, try it!
Let’s Cook Some Tofu So That You Will Love It
Whether you are interested in tofu for the health benefits, to slash calories and fat in your meat heavy dishes, or you are just curious, let’s do this!
Don’t skimp on the seasonings.
- Yes, it is bland, but so is chicken without any seasoning! Tofu is a flavor vehicle. Do it some justice!
Get it crispy in the oven or air fryer.
- It is SO EASY, trust me. Follow my tips here for air frying and here for oven baking. Crispy every time without any oil!
Make it into salad dressing.
- If you are a first-timer to using tofu, start with the fool proof way to sneak it into your life. Make salad dressing out of it. I can’t sing the praises enough of silken tofu salad dressings. With silken tofu as the base to a salad dressing you slash fat and calories while still maintaining the creamy texture AND you get a nice extra dose of sneaky healthy protein. Start here with my Silken Tofu Creamy Italian Dressing or Dairy Free Green Goddess Dressing.
Marinate it!
- Yep, just like meat. Let it soak up the flavors, just like meat!
Secret weapon: cornstarch.
- Coating tofu in a little cornstarch gives it a crispy, breaded coating. My favorite way to pan-fry cornstarch coated tofu right here.
Scramble it.
- No eggs? No problem. This is one of the easiest ways to cook tofu for newbies. You cannot mess this one up. Substitute scrambled tofu for scrambled eggs. Pair it with any of your favorite omelet fixings, wrap it in a tortilla, drizzle with hot sauce, whatever you love! My famous Easy Tofu Scramble is a great place to start.
Crumble it.
- Copycat Chipotle Sofritas is great place to start because it involves no cutting, cubing, baking, or frying. Simply crumble your tofu and sauce it up!
Toss it in a flavorful sauce.
- Skip the marinade and choose a flavorful sauce instead. This is how we eat tofu most often. I cube it and bake or air fry it. While it is getting all crisped up, I make the sauce. Sounds like how you make a meat-based dish, doesn’t it? Ummm, yes, it does! Try this method in Vegan Orange Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Tofu, Air Fryer Tofu with Peanut Sauce, Buffalo Tofu.
Hope this makes you love tofu too 💘
All the best,
Tara 💕
⭐ Are you learning to love tofu too? Leave a comment below, I love to hear from you ⭐
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