What’s for dinner? The non cooks version.

[JennyBeez 281]

On 7/10/2024 at 9:03 PM, ShoppGirl said:

Some really great ideas. Thanks. I googled the Tempe and I’m not sure if I’m adventurous enough for that quite yet but i keep saying I’m going to attempt to make tofu And give it a try. Or should I maybe have it at a restaurant first? Just so i know how it’s supposed to taste. Do they even have tofu at non-vegan restaurants? I don’t think we have a vegan one near me. Maybe my friend does- She is in a little bit bigger town.

If you have a local Chinese or Korean restaurant, they most likely have a few tofu based dishes.

One thing about tofu is that there are different firmnesses (soft, firm, extra firm) which really change the texture a lot. When you're new to cooking with it, just buying the wrong kind for what you plan to do with it can make your dish unpleasant. (Or not knowing how to treat it! I love stir fried tofu in restaurants but couldn't get mine to brown up nicely because for the longest time I didn't realize I needed to press the excess Water out for a fair bit beforehand)

The other thing is that tofu has a very mild flavour. It mostly just is a great Protein with some nice texture variants which picks up other flavors.

If you have a vegan friend, you might be best off just asking them if they can give you an easy recipe to try -- or see if you can wriggle a tofu-dinner invite from them one day so you can try it out 'properly'.

One of my favorite new ways to eat tofu post-OP is in dips! It does kind of mask the tofu though, so I don't know if you'd get a 'tofu experience' out of it.
I've done this one a few times with different variants of herbs: https://www.walderwellness.com/herbed-tofu-dip/ (I tend to skip the parsley and replace with fresh basil, and usually omit the vinegar entirely)

[ShoppGirl 4,314]

59 minutes ago, JennyBeez said:

If you have a local Chinese or Korean restaurant, they most likely have a few tofu based dishes.

One thing about tofu is that there are different firmnesses (soft, firm, extra firm) which really change the texture a lot. When you're new to cooking with it, just buying the wrong kind for what you plan to do with it can make your dish unpleasant. (Or not knowing how to treat it! I love stir fried tofu in restaurants but couldn't get mine to brown up nicely because for the longest time I didn't realize I needed to press the excess Water out for a fair bit beforehand)

The other thing is that tofu has a very mild flavour. It mostly just is a great Protein with some nice texture variants which picks up other flavors.

If you have a vegan friend, you might be best off just asking them if they can give you an easy recipe to try -- or see if you can wriggle a tofu-dinner invite from them one day so you can try it out 'properly'.

One of my favorite new ways to eat tofu post-OP is in dips! It does kind of mask the tofu though, so I don't know if you'd get a 'tofu experience' out of it.
I've done this one a few times with different variants of herbs: https://www.walderwellness.com/herbed-tofu-dip/ (I tend to skip the parsley and replace with fresh basil, and usually omit the vinegar entirely)

No vegan friends but working on finding a restaurant that serves it so I have some clue what I’m trying to achieve if I make it. That Walder wellness site looks like it has a lot of healthy recipes thanks. 🙏🏼

[ShoppGirl 4,314]

Okay so tonight I had cauliflower crust pizza. I didn’t make the crust. It was frozen. Not the absolute greatest but not terrible either. I made it with ricotta, mozz, chicken and onions so I got my Protein at least. I have a battle between my brain and my stomach trying not to eat too terrible in these next couple of weeks Before I start my preop.

[JennyBeez 281]

21 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Okay so tonight I had cauliflower crust pizza. I didn’t make the crust. It was frozen. Not the absolute greatest but not terrible either. I made it with ricotta, mozz, chicken and onions so I got my Protein at least. I have a battle between my brain and my stomach trying not to eat too terrible in these next couple of weeks Before I start my preop.

Ooh, that actually sounds pretty good! You just reminded me that I have a nice NSA barbecue sauce (from whatever Guy Fieri's brand is, lol) in my fridge. I used to love bbq chicken pizza, I wonder what kind of bariatric-monstrosity I could come up with. I know I have some Protein wraps from FlatOut in my freezer that I haven't worked up to trying yet.

[ShoppGirl 4,314]

1 hour ago, JennyBeez said:

Ooh, that actually sounds pretty good! You just reminded me that I have a nice NSA barbecue sauce (from whatever Guy Fieri's brand is, lol) in my fridge. I used to love bbq chicken pizza, I wonder what kind of bariatric-monstrosity I could come up with. I know I have some Protein wraps from FlatOut in my freezer that I haven't worked up to trying yet.

Let me know if what you come up with is good. I absolutely love pizza and one slice of it the way I make it isn’t bad but I always go back for seconds a little later. I would love to find a way to make it even healthier.