How To Cook Tofu

Sometimes tofu is gross. It’s not the fu’s fault. The blame lies with the cook. Here are 3 steps to guarantee that you don’t end up with mush.

Dry your tofu.
Remove it from the package, drain the water and then wrap it in a clean towel. Put a dinner plate on top to gently force water out of the fu faster. Do this at least 30 minutes before you start cooking.

Tip: Cut the tofu into bread-like slices, and wrap each piece in its own towel. This will cut drying time in half.

Cut tofu into cubes.
The cubes give you more surface area to brown. Follow the pictures.

Here’s your fu.

Slice it like bread.

Make carrot sticks

Turn.

Chop into cubes.

Books

Use a HOT pan.
If you have a normal stove top, crank it to 7-8. If your burners run hot, go for 5-6. The key is to cook the tofu at a high temperature to avoid mushy fu. An iron skillet will get super hot and give you a nice crispiness.

Do This:

Use a few tablespoons of oil.
Season with salt & pepper while cooking.
Stir occasionally.

Don’t Do This:

Use a stainless steel pan.
Skip the drying process.

It may take a few times before you get it right, but keep working. Tofu is a finicky mistress. Treat her well, and she’ll take care of you.

Eat more plants. Eat more tofu.
Be well,
Veg VA

 

 

How to Explain Your Vegetarianism to Others

If you’re not eating animals, people will notice. You can be subtle and calmly eat coleslaw for dinner at a family barbecue, but people will definitely ask you to try the ribs. For some, it’s difficult to be in that situation, so here are a few things you can answer with if you get stuck:

“It’s not a big deal. I just don’t like the idea of eating animals.”
“I love meat, but I feel crummy after eating it.”
“I don’t think about it much. It’s only food.”

Most people won’t push further. If you get hit with a response like, “Animals don’t live forever,” or “You’re not making a difference,” don’t stress it. Remind people that you’re free to make your choice, and they’re free to make theirs.

Confrontations about a meatless diet can challenge your drive to stick with vegetarianism, but it gets easier as people start to accept your decision. Be patient and take the time to give sincere answers.

Veg VA’s position is that you can’t convert people to vegetarianism; they have to find it for themselves. Everyone on this path can only provide information when asked, so feed people’s curiosity if they are interested in vegetarianism. Never preach, though. You’re sure to turn people off that way.

Go forth and be punks. Live your renegade plant-based life and boldly answer queries from every meat-eater in your path. And as always, get the meat out and the greens in. Until next time,

Be well,
Veg VA

Citizen Burger, Charlottesville, VA

Citizen Burger demands the attention of the people. Seldom can you find a burger spot that has a vegetarian burger that doesn’t require an examination of a Boca box. These guys press their beet burger in house and cook it to what looks like a medium rare beef burger. They use it in the Almost Vegan Burger. If you want to be fully vegan, choose from the build a burger section.

Not only does this place hook it up with a good vegan burger, but their menu showcases their commitment to sourcing local, healthy ingredients. So if you’re eating out with meat-eaters, they can get grass-fed, local beef if they don’t want to try your veggie burger.

Order this:
Anything off their beer list. It’s lengthy and has all the VA brewers you can think of.
The beet burger. Ask about the vegan bun.
Fries. Fresh-cut, peanut oil cooked fries. Do it.

Here’s their website. Their menu.

Tips for the Healthy Vegetarian

The unhealthy vegetarian myth must die. Eating plants gives health, vitality and longevity. But in a world of soy ice cream and vegan chilidogs, it has never been easier to eat poorly on a vegetarian diet. There are two big points we’ll make in this article, and if you follow the simple steps, you should be good nutritionally as a vegetarian.

Don’t eat processed junk.

The world has conspired to make the most delicious vegan food ever. But hear this: gluten-free, non-dairy mac ’n cheese is not good for you. Don’t fool yourself. Removing animals from your diet gets you half way there, but eating vegan junk food isn’t the second part of that equation. A lot of the tricks used to make these plants into sausages aren’t the best thing for your health. They add a lot of oil and flavorings to get the same textures and tastes as animal products.

Do this:
Eat whole foods. Cut, chop, cook and preserve your own meals from whole foods. The less processing, the better. Raw veggies, dried beans, rice, frozen veggies, nuts.

Eat enough calories.

If you remove animal protein from your diet, you’ll be losing hundreds of calories. A cheeseburger clocks in at 350+ calories. A cup of broccoli has 31. One of the biggest mistakes that new vegetarians make is that they don’t eat enough. So fill your bellies with good, whole foods.

If you’re concerned about losing weight, fret not. Eat the right calories, and focus on wellness. Healthy food makes a healthy body. A whole food, plant-based diet won’t let you put on weight. Eat all the kale you want. Cut a watermelon in half, and eat the entire thing. The best part about being a vegetarian, you can gorge guilt free—as long as you’re eating the right foods.

There are small tweaks here and there, but these are the biggies. Master these tips, and then focus on leveling up. But most importantly, get the meat out and eat more plants!

Be well,
Veg VA

Vegan Guacamole

It’s raw. It’s delicious. It’s fatty, creamy and goes on anything. Guac is a king, and we’re all loyalists.

Get this:

1)    A knife
2)    A bowl
3)    A spoon
4)    3 ripe avocados
5)    3 cloves of chopped garlic
6)    A few pinches of salt

Do This:

1)    Cut avocados in half.
2)    Remove their pits.
3)    Scoop the meat out with a spoon.
4)    Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
5)    Mash it up.

Tip: A food processor will mash it faster. The longer you process the guac, the creamier it will be.

All hail guacamole.

Be well,
Veg VA

Bananaberry | Post-Run Smoothie

After a hard run or workout, your body needs carbohydrates. The carbs replenish glycogen you burned as fuel during your run. This is a favorite of ours because it’s antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory and delicious. Super simple. Here we go.

Blend This:

2 frozen bananas
1 handful blueberries
1 handful strawberries
1 spoonful of ground flaxseeds
1 cup almond milk

Do this:

1) Blend everything.
2) Drink everything.

We hope you enjoy.

Be well,
Veg VA

 

Awabi | Winchester

If you go to Awabi and are not greeted personally by the owner, I’ll buy your dinner. Email me. You’ll know it’s her because she’s bouncing from each table to spread her smile around the restaurant.

The menu is full of options that are veg friendly, and the servers are good about answering your questions. Fish sauce is everywhere at Asian restaurants, so be sure talk to your server.

Located on Winchester’s walking mall, this small Japanese style sushi house has bento boxes filled with huge pieces of fresh tempura fried veggies. The miso soup is animal free, and the sake is served warm or cold.

Order This:
Avocado Roll
Veggie Fried Rice
Bento Box

Their website doesn’t seem to exist.

Thaijindesu | Newport News

I walked through the doors of Thaijindesu with no expectations. We Googled vegetarian friendly restaurants for 20 minutes to find this place, and we’re lucky that we did. The service surpassed any other place in recent memory.

The menu has a Thai side and a Japanese side. They serve traditional and original dishes. Lucky for Veg VA, the server mentioned that around 80% of their menu can be made without any animal products, so don’t be afraid to talk to your server. They know your kind.

Order This:
Tofu Pad Prik
Pad See Ew
Pineapple Fried Rice

Here’s the website. The booze bar is small, but the sushi bar is inviting.

veg essentials

Skills for Vegetarianism

It’s not difficult. It’s not expensive.  Anybody can be a vegetarian. Here are a few bullets to help you on your vegetarian path.

Learn to cook.

If you don’t know how to cook at least a couple of meals, grow up and learn how to cook. If you want to eat healthy food, cooking is a must. Have enough money to eat all your meals out? Learn how to cook anyway. It’s good for you. Warning: If you’ve never cooked tofu, don’t give up after your first attempt.

Prepare When You Travel

Gas stations and airports are filled with temptation. If you’re hungry, you’ll grab any food to kill the craving, even if you know it’s not vegetarian. Pack some snacks. It might take effort in the beginning, but you’re a maverick. And mavericks pack their lunch. Good travel foods: almonds, fruit, chips and salsa, hummus.

Read Labels

Reading labels is a proactive move that will keep you from eating junk. Good rule: if it doesn’t sound like food, it probably isn’t.

It get’s easier.

Starting anything new is a challenge, including a change in your diet. But like getting to the gym everyday or reading more, the challenge becomes more manageable with each small victory. Cutting out all animal products from your diet might be too much for you right now. Start small and work your way towards your goal incrementally. Focus on adding veggies instead of cutting out meat. You’ll get there eventually, but the goal is to achieve lasting change.

Be Nice

Eating a vegetarian diet is seen as an extreme position to some people. Some people take it personally. People will say you’re making a mistake. They’ll pressure you try something that you know has meat in it. They’ll tempt you with bacon. What you need to know is that not everybody will ally themselves with you on this journey. Eating a vegetarian diet isn’t for those who aren’t willing to stick to their guns.

Find Other Vegetarians

Farmers markets. Health food stores. Vegetarian restaurants. Go where you must to find people that support who you are. You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with, so choose friends that build you up and support your choices.

Again, our goal is to eat more plants and cut out the meat.

Be well,
Veg VA

Vegetarian. Vegan. Plant-based. What’s right for you and your family?

You’re plant-curious. Now we need to find out how far to take this. Ignoring the endless subcategories of -etarians (fruit, pesca, ovo), we have three main categories of meatless eaters: vegetarian, vegan and plant-based. The categories are flexible, but we’ve written a few generally accepted definitions to help you decide what is best for you.

Vegetarians don’t eat animals. No chicken, cow or fish. Some vegetarians eat eggs, and a lot eat cheese. What sets them apart from the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is that there are never animals on their plate.

Vegans don’t eat animals, dairy or eggs. Taking the step from vegetarian to vegan challenges a lot of people because they crave cheese and eggs. Enter soybeans and canola oil. This duo can be turned into cheese, mayonaise, butter, chicken and any other bit of tastiness that an omnivore would enjoy. Food tech has helped a lot of people transition away from eating animals.

Plant-based eaters don’t eat animals, animal byproducts or processed vegan food. The big difference here is that plant-based eaters eat almost entirely whole foods.

These definitions shouldn’t persuade you one way or the other. These are commonly accepted definitions used to describe people who don’t eat animals. Each decision is very personal, and you should consider why you want to cut meat out of your diet before you decide. Planet, compassion or health? What brought you to the world of plant curious? Once you have the answer, you’ll know which way to choose. But like always, the goal is to get veggies in and the flesh out. Your choice. No pressure.

Be well,
V VA