Cooking With Tofu
If you aren’t a vegetarian now and haven’t been one in the
past, you probably also haven’t eaten tofu many times. In fact, the only time most people hear about tofu it is in
jokes aimed at vegetarians.
So why is it that vegetarians cooking and eat this stuff all the time? Is it
simply because they have no other choice? The answer is both yes and no.
Being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to eat tofu. In fact, there are many
vegetarians who never eat tofu or any popular meat-replacement
dishes--such as "veggie burgers" or "tofurkey"--for that
matter.
As long as they research and create meal plans, vegetarians can maintain a
healthy diet eating traditional meals or ethnic
dishes.
Tofu is often cited as something exclusively vegetarian because it is a versatile,
highly-nutritional, and can be used to replace meat dishes.
Not only can it be created in textures, consistencies, and flavors that simulate a
range of meats--from turkey to hamburger--but it can also actually replace and far exceed the nutritional value of
similar meat dishes.
While vegetarians do not actually need to consume tofu, doing so is often a wise
dietary choice--and also the next best thing to eating similar meat products (for those who enjoyed meat dishes
before they became vegetarians).
Tofu is a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie food made out of steamed and
compressed soy beans. Not only is it a great source of protein--which many vegetarians lack--but it is also
heart-healthy and has been linked to a decreased risk in cancer.
In addition to being served as a meat alternative, tofu is also served in a number of
spicy and ethnic dishes, which were never intended to contain meat. Many ethnic Indian dishes contain large amounts of
tofu cooked and spiced in different ways.
So here is my suggestion to you: If you aren’t already a vegetarian, but want to
become one, don’t let tofu get in your way. You can maintain a healthy vegetarian diet without ever eating it. However, if
you already are a vegetarian, but haven’t tried tofu, I highly suggest you do. It is both nutritional and
versatile - and it might not taste as bad as you think.
Important non-meat sources of
protien.
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