Update! I'm back!

[VeggieLifterChick]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to say hi because I am back from being away from Internet access. I didn't realize how important Elite is to my motivation...I fell off the fitness wagon and set myself back. I think of Spatt's signature quote, "...WIn lose or draw, they get the f*ck back up..." and that's exactly what I'm going to do! I'm gettin the f*ck back up.

I ran first thing this morning and I lifted tonight. I just moved into a new off campus apartment and I have to cook for myself and I am so clueless! I am searching through old emails to see MS's meal plan. One can only live on oats and egg beaters and whey protein for so long before one is disgusted. I have a foreman grill, a toaster oven, a stove top, and a regular oven to work with. Can anyone reccommend food to have around and easy to prepare meals? Grocery shopping is new to me.

 

[magdelana]

As i remember it VLC only eats eggs and veggies. I am right with this girl?

 

[makedah]

VLC -- why can't you just prepare what you were used to eating before? I know that taste will suffer while you're learning, but you can learn.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Magdelana is right, just dairy and veggies. I did try eating fish for awhile but I cannot stand it, so maybe that's why you thought I ate poultry Spatts. The perimeter huh? So that's fruits and veggies I guess? Hey does anyone know what to marinate tofu in in order to make it taste like chicken?

 

[Arioch]

People actually eat tofu? I thought that was some sort of joke played on Americans by the Japanese.

 

[Torchy]

Tofu takes on whatever flavor you want it too. Actually, it's good stuff I was given the thought by another board member to coat it with an egg white wash, almond flour(not paste), and spray the pan with veggie spray. Voila...a soy protein wannabe chkn nugget...

 

[Temple]

Surf the perimeter of the store. You don't need anything but oats from the middle.

What won't you eat again? You do, or do not, eat poultry?

It is lake season here and so I am cooking for more than my family on the weekends which means that I have to shop the center of the store in order to keep everyone happy. I do not know how folks afford to eat from those isles!!!! Food for one weekend at the lake no meat included came to $260!!!

 

[SteelWeaver]

People actually eat tofu? I thought that was some sort of joke played on Americans by the Japanese.

ROTFLMAO!!!! Tofu's nothing. Have you tried natto?

Actually, I've tried the tofu you can buy in the US, and it's crap. It tastes nothing like the tofu here, and the texture is like rubber.

Here you can buy the most silken tofu - it's really yummy - they have all different grades and types. The best way to eat it is just on it's own with soy sauce, some spring onions and some grated ginger. (But as I recall the soy sauce I tried in America was too rich).

To save American tofu and make it edible, and even tasty, do this: cut it into chunks. Then chop or grate some garlic and ginger and fry it up a bit - add the tofu chunks, and keep turning them over til they're browned on all sides. Then toss in some soy sauce - the chunks suck it up and the result is a YUMMY addition to salads of any kind.

Or if you make a kind of ratatouille with veggies and legumes, throw in some tofu chunks near the end of cooking (if you throw them in earlier they disintegrate) and don't stir too much til they firm up.

Or go look at plornive's posts on the Muscle Food board - he has a tofu shake recipe there.

Or beat it up with eggs to make tofu omelette (don't forget the basil and oregano). I haven't tried yet, but you could also probably add it to the blender with the rest of the ingredients in oatmeal/eggwhite/cottage cheese pancakes ....

Plenty of things to do with tofu

 

[Gladiola]

Hi VLC!

I'm just back from vacation in the Bahamas (a disaster - I'll probably post an update on the sugar group)- but I'll e-mail you some of my favorite simple, quick, easy, healthy & tasty meal ideas! Lemme know if you don't have the same e-mail address.

-Gladi

 

[Sassy69]

Here's the tofu contribution from La Cuisine de Sassy:

Get the "soft" tofu - I usually chop it into 3rds for 3 "servings". Take 1/3 (or 1/2 if you're hungry!), put it in a bowl, pour 1 scoop of your favorite protein mix on it and mush it up real good w/ a fork.

Voila! Protein Tofu Mush! Actually it kinda tastes like pudding. No carbs, low fat, piles of protein!

Bon Appetit!

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Thanks everyone for the tofu advice. Steel, the brand of American tofu I have is Nasoya extra firm silken. Is there a better brand to look for? Is extra firm the good kind or should I get soft?
Can I fry it in flax seed oil?

Well, Temple, my grocery bill came to $90! At ShopRite!!! It should last me awhile though. Here's some of the stuff I got:

Veggies: romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber, 2 cans vegetable soup

Fruit: apples and bananas, shredded coconut (is coconut a fruit? a nut?)

Condiments: Ranch dressing, bleu cheese dressing (I use a tsp. on salads), Molly McButter, Log Cabin Sugar-Free Low Cal Syrup, Splenda

Dairy-ish Stuff: Dannon Nonfat Yogurt, Silk Original Flavor Soymilk, Organic Non-dairy Ice Cream

Carbs: Flour Tortillas for making wraps, Yves Veggie Penne (premade), Lipton Spanish Rice, 2 Lipton Tomato & Parmesian Pasta, Whole Wheat Pancake Mix, Oatmeal Raisin Crisp Cereal

Vege Fuel Soy Protein by Twinlab

Stuff I had already: Eggbeaters, Long Grain Brown Rice, Green beans, Old fashioned Oats, Chocolate Triple Threat Protein, Natural Peanut Butter, No Sugar Jelly, Cheap-o Ronzoni pasta, sundried tomato and olive sauce, the aforementioned tofu, nonfat cottage cheese, veggie cheddar cheese, veggie hot dogs, and fake bacon.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Gladiola, yes I have the same email address. I tried to respond to your PM but your PM box is full! Sorry to hear about the sugar disaster. I had one too, but luckily it wasn't binging. It was just needing a sugar fix every day. I quit it again though, as nearly as I can, as you can see from my groceries. As I like to put it, no "blatant" sugar.
I didn't eat too healthily during my time off, but compared to the general population it was probably better than average. It was the sugar consumption that really did me in. I weigh 133, but I can only fit into my fat pants! Hopefully the muscle memory will kick in soon because I'm doing Temple's training plan and I'll gain my muscle back and lose some of this damn fat. I'm used to weighing 135 but I definitely feel like I gained about 5 lbs of fat, so its scary to think of how much muscle must be missing from that one month.
However, its really important not to get down on yourself and spiral into intense self-hatred, which is easy to do when you fall off the fitness wagon or, in your case Gladiola, have a sugar disaster after doing so well managing your addiction. Just think of how far you have come relative to a few months ago or a year ago. For instance, relative to 2 months ago I am now very disappointing. But, relative to last year at this time, I'm doing awesome! I was 10 lbs heavier, all fat, and I was still very sugar addicted! I did the night binge thing. And you, Gladiola, have come very far in your sugar battles! You created a support group! You should be really proud of yourself for the progress you've made and the fact that your dedication is going to let you jump right back into the sugar free lifestyle. I don't know how long you were in the Bahamas, but you'll make up for it sooner than you think.

 

[keiko]

If you freeze store-bought tofu first and then defrost it, the texture is way better. You can marinate it in anything--oil, spices, a little splash of vinegar.

I picked up this tip from Fran McCullough's Low Carb Cookbook. She's a real cookbook editor/writer not a low-carb guru so her recipes taste like food, not like protein powder. My family eats stuff from the book.

I don't think you can fry in flax-seed oil because by the time you've heated the oil to a frying temp, you've destroyed it's good qualities. Grapeseed oil is my favorite.