 I use tofu in many of my vegan recipes. It is extremely versatile and tastes great, depending on how it is prepared. One of my non-vegan friends asked me, "What exactly is tofu, anyway?" So I decided to dedicate this post to my friend. I guess this is Tofu 101. It has been a staple in Asia for over 2,000 years. Tofu is made from soy. It is made by curdling soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. Tofu really doesn't have a taste, so it easily absorbs the flavors of the other ingredients.  I used tofu to make some amazing burritos!  It also works well in my chick'n salad. Delicious!  This fruit medley salad is truly one of my favorite recipes with tofu! Health benefits I always non-GMO tofu and tofu products. Tofu has some pretty impressive health benefits. It's high in protein, calcium, and B-vitamins. Tofu also reduces heart disease by lowering the level of "bad" LDL cholesterol, and maintaining the level of "good" HDL cholesterol. Varieties The most common varieties are firm tofu, soft tofu, and silken tofu. Firm tofu has a dense texture and can be cubed and stir-fried, grilled, and served in soups. Soft tofu is great for desserts and smoothie recipes, and silken tofu is great for sauces, dressings and soups. It is very delicate. You cannot stir-fry it, as it will disintegrate, but it becomes firmer as it is pressed.  What are some of your favorite tofu dishes or recipes?
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 All across the nation, restaurants are starting to put more items on their menus to accommodate vegans. Restaurants that offer no vegan options are sometimes willing to modify a certain dish in order to make it vegan. More and more vegan eateries are popping up everywhere, but some cities are just not there yet. This can be a bit frustrating when you want to go out for a vegan meal but cannot find a suitable location in your town. Fortunately, a new study breaks down the number of vegan restaurants nationwide by city. So how does your city measure up?  A new study conducted by Priceonomics and Datafiniti examines which cities are better for vegan eating by analyzing a dataset of more than 18,000 U.S. restaurants that either self-identify as offering vegetarian or vegan cuisine, or actually have “vegetarian” or “vegan” in their names. Surprisingly, only four of the largest 25 metro areas - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle - made it into the ranking of all metro areas. Small western cities and college towns dominated the list.  Since cities that have more people have a greater demand for more vegan-friendly restaurants, the list pretty much displays the largest metro areas. It was so great to see Atlanta in the top 10!  A look at the big metro areas shows Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle at the top, while Boston, Charlotte, and Philadelphia made it to the list of the least number of vegan restaurants per 100,000 residents. If you live in one of the top cities, you can take your pick at many choices of vegan eateries. However, if your city is at the bottom, it can be a little aggravating when dining options are few. Thankfully, there are many groups, like Vegan Atlanta, on social media always posting information and reviews on vegan restaurants or restaurants that offer vegan options, and this is extremely helpful. Happy eating! |
About Tabatha JamesTabatha James is a wife, mom, and children's book author navigating her way through a vegan way of life! Vegan Archives
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