Coconut Curry Tofu

Everyone makes lifestyle changes at one point or another. Whether for the good or for the bad, these changes can greatly influence our health. With a background in health promotion and an absolute obsession with developing healthier recipes, my diet is constantly seeing little transformations. The more I read, eat, and exercise,  the more I learn the significance of how my nutrition impacts my energy level.

Joel and I recently agreed to work toward a fairly significant lifestyle change. For me, this decision has been a long time coming, starting back in college, and leading me to the point where we currently are. We have made a decision to become home-based vegans. Simply put, we are giving up animal products at home, but have the freedom to eat them when we go on dates or are eating at another home. Our soul purpose for pursuing a vegan lifestyle is for health reasons. I am a firm believer in everything in moderation, so since eating out is already a treat, we have chosen to have the flexibility to eat what we want to eat on dates. In the same sense, we don't want to impose our diet on folks who extend hospitality to us. We want to enjoy whatever is served to us.

Since it would be a drastic change for my dear husband, I have intentionally been cutting back on meats, eggs, cheese, etc since January. I guess my initial movement toward veganism began with reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Food Matters. I have tossed the idea of vegetarianism around for years, and I have never been a huge animal product consumer. But vegetarianism doesn't take the cake for me (no humor intended). In the food area, I wanted to make certain my diet followed suit with what I believe about nutrition, not just a trend. With the exception of baking being my favorite hobby, this whole giving up animal products has not been hard on me. (I have already been planning quite a slew of dessert recipes that meet the vegan standard.)

Since reading the above listed books, I have discussed many times with Joel my deep concern for the way we eat, and how greatly it impacts our bodies. Now don't be confused, on the outset, Joel and my daily diets are fairly healthy, and we already consume quite a significant amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes. But I knew it was time to make a lifestyle decision. The straw broke the camel's back when we watched the documentary Forks over Knives. I never thought Joel would ask me so many questions about veganism. At the point that we watched this documentary, I had only been eating meat and dairy 1-2 times a week. For me, becoming a vegan was the next step. I was sold after watching Forks over Knives. For Joel, he was sold after learning that beer is still allowed as a vegan.

So, here we are. We chose to start cutting back on meat a few weeks ago, but I do still have some meat in the freezer, dairy in the fridge, and honey in the jar and these need to be finished first. So, we are portioning our meat appropriately and eating vegan 4 or so times a week until our animal products are all gone.

This blog is an opportunity for me to share recipes as well as offer health advice and wellness information.

Coconut Curry Tofu

(adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/coconut-curry-tofu/ )

1 package firm or extra firm organic tofu cut into chunks

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon chili sauce (I used sweet and sour)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon dry ginger

1 cup chopped tomatoes

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 zucchini

2 handfuls dry roasted peanuts

Combine coconut milk, soy sauce, chili sauce, crushed red pepper, garlic, curry powder and dried ginger in a frying pan or wok and bring to a boil. Allow for sauce to thicken. Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes, tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add fresh basil and peanuts. Serve over brown jasmine rice.