Resolutions

[firstfrost]

I had my first doctor's appointment with the new doctor after my old doctor vanished in a puff of smoke last fall. On the plus side, I liked him. On the minus side, my blood pressure is officially just into the High range. Time to start doing a better job at nutrition and fitness. I walked to Porter and got some good raw veggies for snacking, and also ingredients to make Feisty Green Beans. It was... actually really good. I used to regard tofu with deep suspicion, but I think paneer has been slowly convicing me that squishy cubes are okay. Maybe turning it into an Adventure of Finding Interesting Things to Cook will keep me motivated. Plus, if I just make resolutions to myself in my head, it's easier to backslide, so here I am, resolving out loud: More Vegetables. More Walking. Less Bread. Tracking calories and Exercise on the Tracky Thing. And, I suppose, mentioning good recipes.

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

That recipe looks very cute!

[dcltdw]

Do you like how tofu is prepared in Chinese dishes? (Man, just thinking about it is making me hungry. This is no good. ;) ) Most of the times I've encountered tofu in non-Asian cuisine, it's been this weird thing: here, have a cube of protein!... what? :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Many of the Chinese tofu dishes that I think of are soupier than I prefer, but that's kind of orthogonal to the tofu itself. I think miso soup is the place I encounter it most often, and it's not actively hostile, but the only characteristic that comes to mind is "squishy". :)

Tofu with "dun dun" sauce

[merastra.livejournal.com]

I've been loving this recipe ever since I tried it: Peanut Sesame Noodles (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/peanut-sesame-noodles/). It makes a lot of sauce which is delicious on all kinds of veggies and plain tofu.

Now admittedly it includes noodles which if you're trying to go "low carb" isn't going to cut it, but personally I think some starch is fine as long as you have lots of other veggies and stuff.

Other easy/yummy ways to eat tofu/veggies - get a bottle of Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry sauce. Put about 3 oz tofu in your bowl along with diced or thinly sliced veggies. Add the curry sauce. Eat cold or nuke it to be warm. I like about 3 Tbsp sauce to about 1.5 cups of veggies & tofu. You can also do this with just tofu, a few snipped spring onions, and curry sauce (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92568367@N00/3821825192/).

Re: Tofu with "dun dun" sauce

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I will put that on the list to try next. (I don't think I can go entirely without carbs without an immediate morale crash, but I can survive having fewer of them. Especially if I can convince myself that veggies are a good snack for "I had a small lunch, I'm hungry again now!" :)

Re: Tofu with "dun dun" sauce

[merastra.livejournal.com]

>>convince myself that veggies are a good snack for "I had a small lunch, I'm hungry again now!"

Heh. :-) I know the feeling. I try to keep lots of apples stocked and allow myself an unlimited number of them for snacks. Ditto w/ carrot sticks & zucchini sticks (with Newmann's Own Lite Honey Mustard OR "Premium Soy Sauce"). The zucchini is better for not annoying office mates w/ loud crunching sounds. ;-)

Btw, I had a thought that if you could knit while walking, I bet you'd get in a LOT of walking! ;-)

Re: Tofu with "dun dun" sauce

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had the informal rule at work that I could snack on as much dried fruit as I liked. It turns out dried fruit was pretty self-limiting.

[kelkyag]

More Vegetables. More Walking. Less Bread. Yeah, me too. <sigh>

Tofu can be yummy! There's a restaurant nearby, the name of which I must acquire from Rax again, which makes their own tofu, and it is fabulous and tasty and has a fascinating layered texture rather than being an anonymous white block.

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

Yay healthy :)

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

Forget tofu, get a farm share! ;)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I wasn't really intending to be on Quest for Tofu, more like my eternal Quest for Interesting Green Beans. (I think I might enjoy something like a sixth of a farmshare, but I really don't need the Infinite Lettuce Cannon. :) )

[shumashi.livejournal.com]

If you want to try out Healthworks to see if that is something that would suit you, I'm happy to show you about. As would many other people you know, I expect. :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I admit I cannot quite psych myself into "that sounds fun!" but yeah, that's probably a good idea too. :}

[jadia.livejournal.com]

hot tubs, ++ :-) (and sauna and steamroom if you're more into that.)

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

Good tofu is really good; I like what I get at Chinese markets, like that place in Malden that used to be a Super 88. Also the Whole Foods at Alewife seems to be carrying the same brand.

The blog Tigers & Strawberries (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/) has lots of good recipes for tofu with veggies; my favorites are currently Homestyle Beef, Tofu, and Autumn Vegetable Stir-fry (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/11/02/homestyle-tofu-beef-and-autumn-vegetable-stir-fry/) and Browncoat Tofu, Mushrooms, and Greens (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/10/17/homestyle-bean-curd-with-mushrooms/) (yes, she's a Firefly fan).

If you press the tofu, then cut it into cubes and fry it, you get a chewy consistency rather than a squishy one.

For green beans: this (http://formoffunction.blogspot.com/2009/09/hobo-tuesday-take-that-1893-supreme.html) page has a nice veggie dinner, including a potato and green bean dish (I made both dishes together, and liked them both).

Tracky Thing?

[baronet.livejournal.com]

What tracky thing are you using to track your calories and exercise?

Re: Tracky Thing?

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I have LoseIt on my iTouch. I subscribed to MyFoodDiary on line for a while, which was pretty good, but had a monthly fee, so when I fell off the tracking wagon a year or so ago, I cancelled it.

[dpolicar]

So, let me just say here that I realize this is bit of a thread-derail, and I realize it's more about my issues than it is about yours and that I'm basically projecting.

That said: aaaaaah! aaaaaah! aaaaaah! high blood pressure! bad! fix it! fix it NOW! aaaaaah! aaaaaah!

OK. I'm better now. Thanks for listening.

Good luck with the diet and fitness changes.

:-)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm using that as motivation too. High blood pressure is "the thing that TRIED TO KILL DAVE", not "the thing my Dad has had for a long time".

[dpolicar]

Huh.
That...
huh.
(sniffle)
That is oddly flattering.

[desireearmfeldt]

Revive Social Walking! I'm totally on board! :)

(Oh, wait, I don't have time for anything social, sniff.)