Roma Tomato & Basil Baked Tofu

Okay, THIS is what I'm talkin' about. I really switched gears with today's lunch as I try to eat healthier in my quest to shed 40 pounds as quickly & safely as possible. Most of my recent lunches have been way too heavy on the simple carbs and fat so I really went out of my way to minimize those things today. Yesterday, as I was driving home, I had no idea what I was going to bring for lunch today. So I stopped at the local health food store to see what I could find that might be interesting, and healthy at the same time. I was snooping around in the cooler when I rediscovered something that I had seen in the past, and always wanted to try, but never did.

If you remember an earlier post where I tried to make some Barbecued Tofu, then you might remember that I was not too happy with the texture that I got when I fried it in a skillet. I mentioned that maybe I would have liked it better if I had baked it and then Isa confirmed in the comments that I would have gotten a much better texture if I had done that. (Isa posted in my comments, WOOT!) I remembered seeing some type of flavored tofu at the health food store in the past that was already packaged soaking in different types of marinade. I thought that I would pick up one of those since they were already marinated and then just slice it up and bake it. Well, I found the package that I was looking for, I picked it up and read it, and I was completely amazed. White Wave's Roma Tomato & Basil Baked Tofu was not simply packaged in marinade, it was actually already baked and ready to eat. I couldn't believe it. This was great because now I could taste baked tofu that has been prepared properly and know what kind of texture I should be shooting for when I prepare it.

I took the stuff home and opened the package. I assumed it was one big block and that I would have to slice it up. Wrong again. It was already sliced into 4 perfect slices. This stuff required absolutely no work on my part. I love it. I heated a couple of the pieces up last night and tried them and they were very good. I definitely like the texture of baked tofu better. Now I know what it is supposed to look and taste like. So I am really fired up about making some on my own now. Although, there are a few other flavors of the White Wave stuff that I would like to try sometime too. This is good stuff and I highly recommend it.

In the other large container, I've got some Steamed Mixed Vegetables. And then in the smaller containers I've got some Edamame and a Carrot Salad that I just whipped up with some of the chopped carrots that I had leftover from where I made all of those Carrot Cake Cupcakes this weekend. Most Carrot Salads that I have seen before have had slaw-like dressing in them, which for me would mean stirring some Vegenaise and some sugar together. But, since I wanted to eat healthier, I remembered some comments to a post somewhere way back where I had made slaw and someone suggested that I could make it healthier by just using Apple Cider Vinegar instead of the Vegenaise and all that sugar. So that's what I did here. I just stirred in a little Apple Cider Vinegar, not too much, and tossed in some raisins and sprinkled the top with the tiniest amount of chopped walnuts. I guess I could have left the walnuts off, but there's probably not enough on there to even add up to half of a half of a walnut piece. And the cool thing is, this actually tastes good. The sweetness of the carrots & raisins really goes well with the WHANG! of the Apple Cider Vinegar. I'm gonna' make some more of this when I get home tonight because I still have a lot of chopped carrots left over.

So there's lunch for Tuesday. Definitely healthier than what I have been bringing. I am also happy to report that I squeezed my 30 minute walk in today during lunch hour also. I don't know if you saw it in the comments, but in addition to eating better, I am committing myself to walking at least 30 minutes 5 times a week (Monday through Friday) to help me lose weight at a decent pace. So far, so good.

Thanks for stopping by today. See everybody tomorrow!