Before I explain the title, I want to
say that I’m very excited to be speaking at the
5th Annual New York City Vegetarian
Food Festival. I’ve attended each year in the past and having watched the
event through its evolution, I can honestly say it has constantly gotten
better. This year the speaker line up includes some of the countries foremost
experts on fitness and nutrition including
Dr.
Joel Kahn,
Rich
Roll, and
Sid
Garza Hillman, among many others.
I will be presenting a talk called the
“Facts and Fallacies of Fats.” The talk will examine the research on which fats
are truly healthy, and how much fat our bodies actually need in an attempt to
clarify a topic which has become increasingly confusing. I’m very excited for
the opportunity, and look forward to seeing many of you there! I talk on Sunday
afternoon so be sure to stop by and say hi!
Now, back to the title… A year without
kale.
Wait? What!? Why?
Yes, it’s true; you’ve read that
correctly. As some of you may know, I announced the other day that I’m about to
make a large, life-altering change. It’s easily the biggest and scariest decision
I’ve ever made, which is also what makes it so exciting.
At the end of April, I will be saying
goodbye to my home in New York City and getting on a plane bound for Buenos
Aires, Argentina, with a one-way ticket in hand.
If you are curious as to why I would
move to a city famous for it’s beef and it’s leather, it’s simple… my time in
South America begins as many such adventures do… the pursuit of a beautiful
woman.
Two Octobers ago, I met a woman at Jack
Rabbit Sports Running Group. She is a doctor from Buenos Aires who was doing a
month long observership at a New York hospital. We made an instant connection, and since then it’s been a wild ride of facetime phone chats and wonderful
visits, which always seem far too short with far too much time in between.
Anyway, we’ve now reach the point were it is time to take the next step.
But why a year without kale? Well,
sadly, kale hasn’t caught on down in Argentina the way it has in the States,
and it’s pretty hard to come by. That
said, I am being a little disingenuous, because we know of one market that has
it on occasion, and I’ve also purchased over 1,000 seeds of different heirloom varieties,
which I hope to grown on our balcony.
Now don’t worry, BYOL will continue and
I’ll never be further than an email or skype message away from my readers in
the States. During my time in Argentina, I plan on hosting some plant-based
nutrition seminars and hope to work on some larger writing products. I will also continue the BYOL
Nutrition & Wellness Counseling. And
of course, I will be sharing many new recipes throughout the year!
Thank you to everyone for all of your
continued support. It means more to me than I can adequately express.
***
Now for the reason you’re all really
reading this post. The best tofu scramble you’ve ever tried!
I’ll do another post going through some
of the questions and controversy about soy, but for now, know that whole
sources of soy such as edamame, tempeh, and tofu can all be part of a balanced
and health promoting diet.
That said, I always recommend purchasing
organic soy products. I try not to be too much of a stickler about organics,
because I don't want a plant-based diet to seem cost prohibitive. Soy, however, is a bit
different, and to ensure you are getting a healthy, non-genetically modified
product, organic is the way to go.
This tofu scramble is perfect for lazy
weekend mornings or as a power dinner after a hard workout. But there are a few
tricks to getting this just right.
Tofu Scramble:
Serves 2-3
½ block of organic tofu – drained and
broken into small pieces
½ cup of quick cooking or old-fashioned
oats (gluten free if desired)
4 – 5 stems of kale or spinach or any
dark green
1 handful of fresh cilantro -chopped
(optional)
½ avocado – cubed (optional)
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp Indian black salt* (aka kala
namak)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
Roughly 2 cups of your favorite sautéed veggies:
(try)
Broccoli
Bell pepper
Carrots
Mushrooms
Onion
* Black Salt is actually pink and is
often found in Indian dishes. This is one of the secrets for the scramble, as
the salt has a sulphur odor and taste that helps replicate the smell and taste of
eggs. It will be found in almost any Indian market as well as
online.
First, you need to make sure you drain
the tofu well. You can easily do this with any number of tofu presses available
for purchase. However, as a person who has been criticized for owning one too
many kitchen gadgets, I’ve resisted making such a purchase. Instead I place the
tofu on one plate and then place another plate (or two) on top of the tofu. I
normally leave the tofu with the plates stacked on top of it for at least 30
minutes. This will help ensure you get all of the water out of the tofu. If you
skip this step, your scramble will be watery.
While the tofu is being pressed, start
chopping all of your chosen veggies. As I mentioned above you can make an
endless amount of different combinations.
Once the tofu is done, use a fork to
break it up into a mixing bowl. Add the spices and oats and mix well. Depending
on the type of veggies I use, I normally add them to the bowl once the tofu and
oats are well combined. If using the veggies above, consider keeping the greens
as well as the onion and carrot to the side for now.
Now heat a pan and add the tofu and the
veggies (consider adding the onion and carrot first to let them soften). Keep
the greens, cilantro and avocado to the side for now. Stir the scramble frequently to prevent it from
burning.
As the spice mix starts to cook into the
tofu, the tofu will begin to turn a bright yellow color. Once this happens you
can add the greens and cook until the greens begin to soften.
Serve and top with fresh cilantro and
avocado and a piece of toasted
Lentil Bread. If you like, add hot sauce.
As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.
