Vegetarian Staple and Must Haves

VEGETARIAN STAPLE MUST-HAVES
By Betsy Bearden
TOFU
For anyone who does not know the correct pronunciation of tofu, it is pronounced TOE- foo.
Really gets your taste buds goin', doesn't it? Sorry, but the other descriptions sound equally bad.
Oh, you could call it bean curd if you want, but see what !ean? "ofu by any other na!e would
still be#tofu. t is one of the !ost $ersatile, not to !ention nutritious and healthful foods, there
is. %et&s e'plore the options( )*ell, Forrest, you got +cha deep,fried tofu, and you got +cha
saut-ed tofu, broiled tofu, baked tofu, !arinated teriyaki tofu, tofu in short pants . . .. "ofu is
really cool.
HOW DOES ONE MAKE TOFU?
"ofu is !ade fro! soybeans. /ou cook the beans, then !ash the!, and the beans render
)!ilk. to which you add a solidifier like nigari, 0!agnesiu!,chloride1 which is e'tracted fro!
deep sea water or 2calciu! sulfate. "he solidifier for!s curds which are then pressed into large
blocks and then cut into the little tofu cakes you buy in the store. "his is !uch like the process of
!aking cheese fro! !ilk. Sounds too !uch like work to !e. t&s best to 3ust purchase it fro! the
large selection %ife 4rocery has to offer.
5'tra Fir! tofu contains the following per ser$ing, which is appro'i!ately four ounces, or
678 slice of the block( 9: calories, ; g. fat, 9 g. protein and < g. carbohydrates. "here is on
a$erage, fi$e ser$ings per container of tofu.
2=alciu! sulfate is an e'cellent source of non,dairy calciu!.
Saturated fat is appro'i!ately :.8g. >nsaturated fat content is a little o$er <.8g. 5'tra Fir!
tofu contains the !ost calories and fat. %ess fir!?!ore water content?less fat and calories@ As
you can see, o$er B7; of the fat content is unsaturated fat which is actually good for you. Clus,
low,fat tofu is now beco!ing !ore readily a$ailable. And always be sure you are buying non,
4DO 0non,genetically !odified1 organic tofu. t will be properly displayed on the packaging.
WHERE TO BUY TOFU
/ou can find tofu 3ust about anywhere, but why go anywhere else when %ife 4rocery has an
abundance of it. ts te'ture ranges fro! soft 0silken1 to fir! and e'tra,fir!. "he soft or silken
tofu has a custard,like consistency due to higher water content. "his type is best for !aking dips,
desserts, and sauces. prefer the fir! as opposed to the silken for the !a3ority of !y recipes. "he
packages are always clearly !arked as to the te'ture of the tofu.
HOW TO STORE TOFU
Fresh tofu is usually packaged in water in a plastic tub7container. /ou can store it in the
refrigerator in its original packaging until you&re ready to use it. Be sure to notice the e'piration
date on the package. Belie$e !e,you do not want to s!ell tofu once it has spoiled. *oo,pretty
bad.
Once you re!o$e the tofu fro! its original packaging to prepare it, you will need to store any
unused tofu in a container, filling it with fresh tap water and changing the water on a daily basis.
f you want to purchase a bunch of tofu at once, you can freeEe it. First re!o$e it fro! the
packaging, discard the water and co!pletely drain tofu on paper towels or a wire rack. Clace the
tofu in a freeEer proof plastic bag or container. /ou can e$en slice it, or cube it before freeEing.
/ou can also freeEe it after you ha$e cooked it.
!portant( After freeEing, be sure to allow the tofu to co!pletely thaw and drain on paper
towels before frying.
Another thing want to point out is that the te'ture of tofu will change after it has been
froEen. t will beco!e a little )spongy. and tougher, which !akes it great for soaking up
!arinades. t also !akes for a better char,grilled )burger,. because it has beco!e !uch fir!er.
Once froEen, tofu also changes to a golden7 a!ber color, so don&t freak out, this is nor!al.
f you don&t care for tofu, try 5da!a!e, 0pronounced ED a Mah !ay1. t&s in the froEen
foods section at %ife 4rocery. 5da!a!e is the !ighty soy bean, totally unprocessed. "ry tossing
a fist,full into $irtually any dish, especially salads, for added protein and crunchy,good fla$or.
/ou can e$en !unch on eda!a!e for a healthful snack.
SOY MILK
Dany people are trying to cut back on dairy products, and , for one, should follow their lead.
eat way too !uch cheese, but lo$e it. do, howe$er, drink a lot of soy!ilk. t&s great on
cereal, for !aking s!oothies, or 3ust for a nice afternoon snack with peanut butter crackers. But
as far as baking, it 3ust won&t do@ ha$e ruined !ore recipes cooking with soy!ilk, rather than
whole !ilk. ha$e e$en tried a half !ilk,half soy!ilk co!bination, but ha$e not yet found a
suitable substitute. f you know of one, please let !e know. But as far as an e'cellent source of
protein or 3ust as a pick,!e,up in the afternoon, it&s a $ery good thing.
TVP
"FC is )te'tured $egetable protein,. which is defatted, dehydrated soy flour and contains
$irtually Eero fat. "his is due to a process perfor!ed by e'tracting the $egetable oil fro! the
flour. t also pro$ides e'cellent fiber and protein, and contains $ita!ins A, BG, potassiu!,
calciu!, phosphorus, iron, and a!ino acids, as in tofu. "FC contains appro'i!ately 9< calories
per half cup ser$ing, reconstitutedH 6< g. protein, and I g. carbohydrates.
BULGUR WHEAT contains per 67< cup cooked ser$ing I8 calories and relati$ely no saturated
fat. t also contains protein, fiber, potassiu!, calciu!, and a!ino acids.
COUSCOUS is !ade fro! se!olina wheat and contains 6:I calories per 67< cup cooked
ser$ing and contains relati$ely no fat. t also contains potassiu! and calciu!.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST FLAKES is a food,yeast grown fro! !olasses. 0Jot to be confused
with Brewer&s /east1, contains appro'i!ately G: calories per < heaping tablespoons. Jutritional
/east Flakes contain all the essential a!ino acids, and the following is 3ust the tip of the iceberg
per ser$ing( appro'i!ately 9 g. protein, I g. carbohydrates, is rich with $ita!ins( B6, B<, BG,
B6<, folic acid, and has about 6 g. fat. "alk about a super,food@
"FC, =ouscous, and Bulgur al!ost double in $olu!e when cooked or reconstituted, so keep
in !ind if you want one cup of prepared "FC you will only need to !easure out 67< cup dry
!i'ture, as with Bulgur and =ous=ous.
will be including so!e recipes on how to use these staples in upco!ing issues of "he %ife
%ine Jewsletter.
A WORD ABOUT ORGANIC LABELING
"o 4DO or not to 4DO, that is the question . . . "he ter! )Organic. is so!eti!es
!isunderstood. Basically because e$erything we eat is organic. But if you would like to know
what it !eans in regard to food labeling, and whether food is genetically altered or non,
genetically altered, 0g!o,$s,non,g!o1 which is a growing concern a!ong !any people, there
are a few websites dedicated to enlighten us all. "he following is a link, which will take you to
FKA guidelines and regulations regarding bioengineering of foods and labeling thereof(
http!!"""#$%&a'#%(a#)*+!,$*--!./*0pt#ht-1
f you don&t ha$e a co!puter, you can use the one at your local library, or you can get the
infor!ation by writing to(
U#S# F**( a'( D02) A(-/'/&t0at/*'
3455 F/&h60& La'6
R*$7+/1168 MD 95:3;-555<
<-:::-=4>-4>>9
Jot known for being single,!inded, here is another $iew on this sub3ect(
http!!"""#*0)a'/$$*'&2-60&#*0)!)6!%(a1a.61/')%a/1&#$%-
O0)a'/$ C*'&2-60& A&&*$/at/*'
4<5< C1/%% E&tat6 R*a( L/tt16
Ma0a/&8 MN 334<=
Ph*'6 ?9<:@ 994-=<4=
FaA- ?9<:@ 994-=<3;
Jow you are ready to go to %ife 4rocery and stock up on the staples we ha$e discussed here.
So the ne't ti!e you&re in$ited to a cook,out, hey Babe, go ahead and take a walk on the wild
side. *alk o$er to that grill and slap on a big honkin& slice of tofu. See,you can ha$e your
)burger. and eat it, too.
Betsy Bearden is a certified and published writer, and the author of a self,published cookbook,
Normal People Eat Tofu, Too. She has worked as a $olunteer chef, and cooking class instructor
at Lroger&s School of =ooking in Alpharetta, 4eorgia, and as a reporter for The Paulding
Neighbor Newspaper. /ou can reach her at betsybeardenMbellsouth.net or $isit her website at
www.creati$ewrites.net

Vegetarian Staple and Must Haves

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vegetarian Staple and Must Haves

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vegetarian Staple and Must Haves

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

VEGETARIAN STAPLE MUST-HAVES

You might also like