Baked Italian Tofu

Well, I finally decided to try baking some tofu on my own last night. Whenever I have fixed tofu in the past, I always grilled it or just steamed it, so I never was really that satisfied with the texture. Then I tried that storebought stuff that was already prebaked and I saw how much baking the tofu seemed to improve the texture. So now, I've actually baked some myself. I basically used the method listed over at SusanV's Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. It's not complicated. Just marinate your tofu in some Soy Sauce or Bragg's and then bake it for 30 minutes or so. When I made mine, I sprinkled some Oregano and some Basil on halfway through the cooking time to give it the "Italian" flavor. It will be interesting to see how mine compares to the storebought baked stuff that I really liked. There was quite a bit left over. I may use it and make something similar to the Tempeh & Soba Noodle dish that I did not too long ago. I think that something like that would probably make good use of it.

To go along with the Baked Tofu, I brought a bunch of Raw Cauliflower that I needed to get rid of before it went South on me. I like Cauliflower, plus it always seems to really make me feel full. I could have brought along something to dip it in, but since I'm still trying to lose some weight for Summer, I figured I'd better skip that part. I like it plain anyway.

In the small purple container I've got some Peas & Carrots that just came from the freezer section of the local grocery store. I really bought these for use in a recipe that I've made up in my head and want to try sometime soon, but when I was packing lunch last night and looking for some veggies to put in it, I thought these would probably be a good choice since I practically never bring peas for my lunch. I used to really dislike peas when I was younger, but I like 'em now, especially when they are nice and sweet. I think it's so strange how your tastes change as you get older, and when you go vegan.

And then finally, I packed a few Raw Cashews. I am a firm believer in the health benefits of eating a few nuts every day. There's tons of information about it on the internet. I just have to be careful though and really control my portion though because I would have no problem sitting down and eating about ten times this amount. I didn't put very many in my lunch as you can see, because I don't want to have too much fat, even if it's the good kind. I buy my Raw Cashews at a local Indian Grocer now because they have them for like half the price of the health food store. What a bargain!

So, now I guess it's time for my weekly update on my weight loss progress. To recap, I started trying to eat healthier and exercise a little bit every day 3 weeks ago. My starting weight then was 225 lbs. which is the most I have ever weighed. UGH! I lost 7 pounds the first week and then 5 more pounds the second week which brought my weight down to 213 lbs. a week ago. Well, I expected the loss to slow down after those first couple of weeks of initial weight loss, and it did. When I weighed this weekend I weighed 211 lbs. That means that I lost 2 more pounds last week, bringing my total weight loss to 14 pounds in 3 weeks. My goal is to get down to 185 lbs. or less, so that means that I have, at least, 26 more pounds to lose.

This is when I think the going gets tough because it's really not that inspirational to only lose a pound or two in a week, although it really should be because I could be GAINING. I'm sticking with it though because I am determined to get my weight down before Summer gets here. It's been warming up nicely here in Tennessee this past week, so this will definitely be a good week for getting all of those daily walks in. I'll probably even add a little time to my walks this week in an effort to shake things up and keep that scale moving in the downward direction.

So that's it for Monday's lunch & my weight loss update.

Thanks for coming by today and I'll see everybody on Tuesday.