Results tagged “tofu”

Azumaya Lite Tofu

By: Lizabeth | Aug 22, 2009

When I first saw tofu in a Pad Thai dish, I was aghast. The odd wobblyness completely put me off - until I swallowed my pride and tried it. Surprise, surprise, I really enjoyed it! Since then, I've been using tofu in various applications - stir-fries, egg drop soup, dips, smoothies - and have had great success in getting both my carnivorous father and brother into accepting the soy product. While I've been using regular tofu for years, when I spotted Azumaya's Lite Tofu on my grocery store's shelf, I decided to give it a chance too.

I bought both a Silken and Extra Firm block, as I wanted to try each one in wildly different applications. The silken went into a blender with a frozen banana, some caramel ice cream topping, and flax seed. The result was a thick, creamy vegan smoothie that was good enough for dessert. While it did seem a bit more watery than the ones I've made with regular tofu, it was undeniably good.

The stir-fry proved a bit more problematic - I let the firm tofu drain, pressed it, and marinated it in teriyaki sauce. When I went to brown it with some noodles, it fell apart a bit as I stirred it. I still had some whole cubes, but bits and fragments of tofu were not what I was aiming for. The taste was fine, and I didn't really notice a texture difference from normal tofu.

See more on: Vegetarian , tofu

Mori Nu Silken Lite Firm Tofu

By: Ellen | May 11, 2009

Tofu is one of those foods that some people swear by (it's so versatile - it goes with everything), while others think it's one of the strangest, least appetizing things one can possible eat (it's tasteless and shapeless). I personally fall into the first camp; I think that tofu can add protein and just much-needed bulk to recipes.

One of my favorite tofus is Mori-Nu Silken Lite Firm Tofu. I've been using this in recipes since college, when I could still buy it for just $1.29. It now goes for $1.99, which is still not bad. What I like about this brand is that a 12.3-ounce package has 4 servings, each of which totals only 30 calories; this means that a whole box of the stuff has only about 120 calories. Additionally, each serving has just 0.5 grams of fat, 70 mg of sodium, and 5 grams of protein (20 grams of the muscle builder per block).

See more on: Vegetarian , tofu

House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles

I have been hearing a lot about House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles since earlier this year when the low carb dieters started raving about this and how they can finally have pasta again! Finally, I decided to give it a try and I am sure glad I did.

The first obvious benefit is the low calories. An 8 ounce pack of House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles has a mere 40 calories - and the pack is enough to make dinner for a small family. In addition, there is only 1 gram of fat, 2% of the daily value of sodium (30 mg), 2 grams of protein and 6 grams total carbohydrates which includes 4 grams of fiber - which is about 15% of the recommended daily amount. Of course, these noodles aren't going to be eaten alone, but they sure remove a lot of calories and carbohydrates from dinner!

See more on: Gluten Free , Low Carb , shirataki, tofu

Petes Tofu2Go Flavored Dessert Tofu

By: Tanya Patrice | Sep 19, 2006

I don't normally associate tofu with dessert, but since I am adventrous in my food choices, I thought I would give Pete's Tofu2Go's a try. Tofu is soy milk to which a solidifier has been added. You press out the liquid whey and form the solid curds into cakes aka tofu. Pete decided to make a dessert of tofu by having a more gel like and flavored product. I tried 'Very Berry' because that I was trying to play it a bit safe with the flavor - it's pretty hard to mess up the tried and true "berry" flavoring.

The product itself is a failure from a taste and a food science standpoint. I would best describe tofu2go as a jello wannabe that is mushy in texture and bland in taste. The gel is very weak but I suppose that's why they call it "flan like." But it seems more like "oops - we couldn't get the proper texture that we wanted, so lets call it flan." And please, people at Pete's, flan is not just a weak gel. It is a 'delicate' gel. It still holds together when you scoop it out, and not until you put it in your mouth does it dissolve. Your Pete's Tofu2Go turned to mush just by scooping it out.

See more on: Cold Snacks , tofu

Amy's Tofu Vegetable Lasagna

By: Tanya Patrice | Sep 8, 2006

Amy's Tofu Vegetable Lasagna is another winner. It is made using organic lasagna pasta, 'mozarella style' soy cheese, zucchini, small bits of tofu, and tomato puree. There is also caesinate which is a milk protein, which is important to note if you are vegan. It is very hard to describe the taste of lasagna, but Amy's Tofu Vegetable lasagna tasted like most other lasagnas that I have had, whether they were vegetarian or not.

Lasagna is one of those foods that is not at its best when microwaved because the m'wave has a tendency to heat things unevenly. Since lasagna is quite a few inches thick and you cannot stir it, you have to heat it for a few minutes longer than other frozen dinners to get the middle hot all the way through. Unfortunately, by the time this happens, the outer edges are usually crusty and look burnt. This is common with all microwaved lasagnas, especially if you are getting a decent portion size. In Amy's vegetable lasagna this was also the case, but it was still quite good. The tomato puree was not overhwelming, and as I have mentioned before, I dislike strong tomato paste taste in my food. I also liked the fact that I was getting at least one serving of veggies from this (if not more). I think what was so good about this is that it will taste good to you whether you are vegetarian or a die hard meat eater.

See more on: Frozen Meals , Vegetarian , lasagna, tofu

Amy's Tofu Scramble

By: Tanya Patrice | Sep 4, 2006

Amys Tofu Scramble is made of a 'scramble' of small chunks of tofu with spinach, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini. There is also a side of hash browns and tomato slices. This meal is vegan and gluten free.

As I read the direction for preparation, I realised that in the conventional oven, it would take 45-50 minutes while in the microwave, it required about 4 minutes. Hmm ... decisions, hash browns do not fare well in the microwave, but I really didn't have the time to bake this in the oven. Oh well, I chose the microwave and was worse off for it. I knew the hash browns probably weren't going to taste good when nuked, and it didn't. It was a limp, soggy mess and I didn't bother to eat it. When I tasted the tofu scramble, it was a little bland, but did much better when I added a little salt to it. Even so, I thought that Amy's needed some more spices in this meal to make things a lot better.

See more on: Frozen Meals , Gluten Free , Vegetarian , tofu

Amys Indian Mattar Tofu

By: Tanya Patrice | Jul 2, 2006

Great, great, great! This meal is everything that I look for in a frozen dinner, and some of the things that I was missing. I was getting a bit tired of the usual frozen dinners Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice ... with chicken, broccoli, pasta - and here comes a meal that uses curry, one of my favorite spices, and the "vegetable" is not broccoli. Amy's Indian Mattar Tofu is "Curried peas and tofu ... in a light, delicately seasoned sauce. On the side are fragrant basmati rice and "Swarn's Golden Lentil Dal," which is simmered with organic tomatoes, onions and hand-roasted spices."

The curried peas and tofu are in light curry sauce, and look just like what's on the box. The tofu is actually firm but soft, almost chewy, and really good. They are in small bite sized chunks so if you think you have an aversion to tofu, believe me when I say you'll love this. The basmati rice is also excellent, and helps make this meal very filling. There is also the "Dal." For those of you who don't know (and I didn't), Dal are grains popular in Indian [read the Wiki to find out more]. In this meal, the Dal, which is actually mung Dal made from mung beans, was like a green mush, and I don't see that anywhere on the box. It tastes a bit starchy and grainy to me, and I didn't like it much at first, but when I mixed it in with the the rice, curried peas and tofu, I absolutely loved, loved the entire meal.

See more on: Ethnic , Frozen Meals , Gluten Free , Vegetarian , frozen dinner, Indian, tofu