I'm Pretty Sure Everyone Needs a Tofu Xpress

I can remember first hearing about the Tofu Xpress years ago, but I never got around to actually buying one.  Sure I knew that the fact that it took me hours to press the tofu*, unrefrigerated, under a stack of heavy objects (that often toppled and broke anything in their path) was archaic, but deep down I was waiting for someone to buy one for me.  It was fairly priced, useful, and perfect for a vegan; I waited and waited, but no one ever did.   

Now that I'm in the process of moving (yes, it's the world's longest renovation), I decided it would make a great housewarming gift...to myself.  So, I took matters into my own hands and went ahead and ordered it.

The Xpress arrived quickly in a small, unassuming box that I contemplated for a few days before unpacking.

When I finally opened it and inspected the contents, it seemed sleek and well designed.  It did occur to me that it might be convoluted to figure out, but a few friends assured me that I was going to love it and I hoped that I would.

Extra credit for coming with a tofu coupon!

I read some of the instructions and started out by putting it in the dishwasher as directed; I was immediately impressed  because I'm not a big fan of hand washing (Clarification: I wash my hands all the time; I don't like to hand-wash dishes.).

Then I was ready to use it.  I consulted the directions again and plopped in my rinsed tofu cube (am I the only one who does this?).

Then I assembled the lid, the spring,

and the top: super simple.

I placed it in the fridge and was going to leave it overnight,

but an hour later there was plenty of water separated from it, so I decided it was done.

At this point, you simply empty the water (sorry; I drained it before remembering to photog) and proceed as usual.  If you wish, fill the Xpress with your marinade (I used double the tofu teriyaki recipe from CSD p. 217),

cover with the marinading lid, and put it back in the fridge.

I let the tofu marinate overnight,

and then baked it on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 45 minutes at 350, turning a few times.  I knew as soon as it came out of the oven that I'd done well; it looked professionally prepared.  I served my gorgeous tofu over brown rice...

and topped it with peppers, onions, and cashews I'd sauteed in the leftover marinade.

While I knew it looked impressive, it wasn't until I cut into the tofu that I had an inkling of how great it would taste; it was my favorite part of the dish.  Look at that texture!  Credit goes to the Tofu Xpress, but I am super proud that I was able to achieve this level of tofu cookery.  It was absolutely scrumptious.

I can't say enough good things about the Tofu Xpress, especially since most of them bode so well with my inclination towards laziness:
 

• it takes up hardly any room in your cabinet

• it's simple to use

• it's convenient that you can press your tofu and marinate it in the same container

• the clean-up couldn't be easier

• the results are fantastic in hardly any time at all and with barely any effort whatsoever

I don't know what I was thinking not buying this sooner; it truly is fantastic.  See, I knew all along that it would have made a great gift; someone definitely should have bought this for me!  I highly recommend this as a wonderful gift- to yourself or someone you know who might just be waiting for someone to buy it for them too.  Don't make them buy it for themselves to find out how convenient and useful it is; you buy it, YOU take the credit!  Otherwise they'll only have themselves to thank.  Ahem.

*Disclaimer: I'm not, generally, a tremendous tofu fan.  Clearly this is because I haven't prepared it well enough.

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Cleansing AND Exercising?

And the cleansing continues! 

Once again, I got to bed a bit later than would be ideal.  Then I got up significantly earlier than usual, in order to have enough time to do everything I needed to do before work to prepare for "breakfast" and lunch.

The cayenne in the warm, lemon water kicked my butt again upon first swallow.  After a few, significant sips I began to have the sneaking suspicion that the combination of the sour mixed with this seemingly innocuous spice might have been the culprit for my nausea yesterday.  Since unusual flavor combos aren't usually my thing, I decided against finishing the mug and will tomorrow try just lemon water.

Perhaps my veggies weren't as juicy today as yesterday, because I needed to use the same 2 cukes, 1/4 apple, and twice as much celery to wind up with the same amount of green juice.  

I was ready with my ice cubes (although the temperature outside didn't warrant it), and again drank while I cleaned...then finishing while I read the Day 2 cleanse page in Crazy Sexy Diet.  14 ounces of juice is a lot to stomach so early, but I can't very well tote my juicer to work with me. 

Have you ever seen those sumo wrestlers whose bodies are so big that they can't put their arms down?  That's what I felt like when I got up this morning.  No, I didn't become uber muscular overnight, but it would seem that the little bit of exercise I did really antagonized my muscles...and they were protesting en masse. 

The last time I "exercised" was a month or so ago, when certain fit "friends" forced two of us unwillings to walk across a bridge. For no apparent reason. Well, to be fair, we did want to be on the other side. But that's what trains and cabs are for. Not that it matters, but I think it was the Manhattan bridge.  Well, I can't be sure; maybe W'burg?  Either way, it was longer than it looked, the weather was hot, and our footwear was inappropriate; as you might imagine, our dispositions were less than sunny. Thankfully, Soy & Sake (or, more specifically, lychee martinis) was our destination or surely the two of us would have veered away from the group at the first opportunity. Point being, I still haven't recovered.  So when a friend pointed out recently, "you...need to get off the couch and on a bridge...", I conceded that I did have to move a little in order to attack this cleanse full force.  But, ouch.

For lunch I finally had my previously prepared raw kale, carrot, and cauliflower salad with sweet dijon vinaigrette (CSD p. 209); it was really good and thankfully not soggy from having been in the fridge a couple of days.

While I was preparing dinner I had a few Marcona almonds.  I'm thinking I should be eating this earlier- say, mid-afternoon.

For dinner I made a raw kale, sweet pepper, carrot, and cauliflower salad with dino (lacinoato, but dino is more fun) kale for the first time.  The leaves are much hardier than I'm used to; my jaw actually got tired of chewing!

I much prefer my curly kale, but the creamy avocado cumin dressing (CSD p. 210) more than made up for it.  I bet it would make a great dip, too. 

Then I sauteed asparagus, mushrooms, black soybeans, red onion, and a sprinkle of yesterday's rice medley with toasted sesame oil, Bragg's, garlic, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  It was really good!  I don't know why it looks like I only had asparagus stems; I had plenty of tips as well.

This morning I almost left the house with my CSD book in my arm instead of my pocketbook, that's how much I've been carrying it around these past few days.  I'm definitely going to have to take a step back, relax, and read a novel for my own sanity.  I admit I am overwhelmed with how time consuming this is.

The instructions in the book are a little like watching Suze Orman.  Now I love me some Suze; she makes terrific sense and has great ideas about how you should distribute your money amidst savings, retirement, and emergency funds (among others).  The problem is, there's only so much money to go around!  Same with Kris Carr and time- she has lots of great suggestions for cooking carefully, eating thoughtfully, meditating regularly, exercising often, making sleep an 8 hour priority, etc.; it's just that there's only so many hours in a day.  I won't break down my paycheck for Suze, but look at it this way.  CSD suggests 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep.  When you subtract 10 hours for work plus commute, that leaves only 6 hours to do everything else- of which I don't want to spend 5 shopping, washing and chopping!  But, I will.  For now, I will. 

Overwhelmed, but in it.

Vegan MoFo Day 5: 11:59:59...Cleanseday!

Enough with the buildup; let the cleansing commence...with a surprise!

Yesterday was my first day of the cleanse.  Despite my best intentions, I didn't get to bed until after midnight the previous day, probably because my subconscious kept visualizing the "11:59:59" a great and supportive friend was texting/emailing/messaging me for motivation.  Thankfully, I had the day off from work so I was able to sleep in.

For some inexplicable reason, I woke up extremely full.  I started the day with warm water, a squeeze of lemon, and a pinch of cayenne.  It wasn't tea, but it wasn't horrible.  That first hit of cayenne at the back of your throat really wakes you up! 

Next up, the cornerstone of the cleanse: green juice.  I don't know anything about green juice and/or green smoothies; I've never had either. Drinking green was going to be hard enough without having to stomach anything thick or lumpy; I don't even like orange juice with pulp. 

Surprise!  OD bought me a juicer! Granted, it may have occurred as a result of my having said, "Can you please go to this store and pick up this juicer for me?", but I figure that his compliance means it's a gift.  Yay for gifted juicers!

Since the whole point behind juicing is to drink it fresh, this will normally mean getting up early.  I am not a morning person to begin with- no matter what time the morning begins.  So imagine me starting the day faced with this.

And these:

While trying to decipher this- bleary eyed and nursing a sugar coma:

After much dis-assembly, cleaning, assembly, and reading of the instruction manual, I decided I'd have the best luck if I started my foray into fresh, green juice by easing into the ingredients, as suggested in Crazy Sexy Diet.  I was going to just start with some cucumber, but that seemed wussy- no?  So I added celery.  And then...an apple.  Ok, a quarter of an apple, but the extremely gross, green kind, so extra credit for me!

The juicer was very easy to operate and I estimate that 2 small cukes, 4 skinny stalks of celery, and 1/4 apple equated to roughly 14 ounces of juice.  It was clear, smooth, and only minorly frothy.  The taste was equivalent to the ingredient proportion and surprisingly refreshing, although I did add a few ice cubes to chill it a bit.  I'm not sure whether that matters or not, but I did have the good sense not to listen to VM when she suggested a splash or more of vodka.

In the interest of time management, I drank my green juice while cleaning the juicer.  It's not difficult, just a nuisance- made only more ridiculous because I'm doing it daily for one glass of juice!  But, as it turns out, VM was always right- you have to drink it fresh and quick before the vitamins run out.  Of course when she said it she was referring to orange juice from a carton, but...she was still right.

I had prepared a kale salad the night before with the intention of having it for lunch.  But seeing as I was off from work and running at a much slower pace, I didn't wind up drinking my green juice until almost noon.  That coupled with the fact that I was a bit nauseous for a couple of hours afterward left me not feeling at all hungry for lunch.  I will also note that I had a terrible headache for about the same amount of time, and was absolutely exhausted.  My guess is that this was due to the drastic change in eating habits from one day to the next?

At about four I got a second wind and the nausea and headache dissipated.  I began the arduous task of preparing dinner- so much washing and chopping and preparing for someone who is an unapologetic fan of canned soup.  Let's face it, convenience food does have that going for it.  I snacked on a couple of pistachios (green!) while I prepared.

The cleanse operates on a reasonable ratio of raw to cooked food (on both your lunch and dinner plates).  I decided to make a mixed greens salad with tomato, white beans, and- I admit it- some leftover iceberg lettuce that was hanging around the fridge.  I topped it with carrot miso dressing (CSD p. 210).

I would like to brag point out that even though the dressing recipe specifically called for a Vita-Mix, my trusty Magic Bullet handled it with ease!

Then I lightly sauteed fresh peppers, onions, and string beans with hemp oil, Bragg's, garlic, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  I served with a small amount of Trader Joe's brown rice medley (long grain brown rice, black barley, daikon radish seeds).  The veggies were much more flavorful than I would have expected with such minimal spice and the rice was extremely tasty (although some hot sauce wouldn't have hurt).  I probably could have gone a little heavier on the raw side to cooked, but hey- no sugar or salty snacks today!

Even though I'm only at the beginning I have a feeling that this extended cleanse is intended to program your body/mind with new habits.  While I'm just getting used to the green juice/smoothies that I have managed to avoid up until this point, I would agree that, ideally, these are habits that should be intrinsic to living as a healthy vegan.  Unfortunately, they have been trumped by the gads of convenience and snack (vs. whole) foods many of us have grown to rely upon.  I can't see myself giving them up entirely, but even I can agree that I could stand a bit of reprogramming on the healthy eating front. 

Now I just have to figure out how not to spend my entire life washing, chopping, and preparing.

Forging ahead...20 days to go.