<p>cobrat- you should go to Costa Rica. Their main staple is gallo pinto lol. [Gallo</a> pinto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo_pinto]Gallo”>Gallo pinto - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I couldn’t eat rice or beans for months after being there. I just couldn’t take anymore! lol</p>
<p>What, you don’t like rice & beans at breakfast?
;)</p>
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<p>Maybe for the cat. :)</p>
<p>ek- if only :p. </p>
<p>But it’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner.</p>
<p>Although they had amazing banana bread/pancake things along with breakfast. Mmmmm…</p>
<p>Uh… how big is your cat?
[Weight</a> Management](<a href=“http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/weight/servingsize.aspx]Weight”>http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/weight/servingsize.aspx)</p>
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<p>Good way to get diabetes.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read, too much protein from meat & dairy is the problem for many Americans. There is protein in veg/fruit (as well as nuts) which add up to adequate daily protein intake, but the typical American diet doesn’t have nearly enough of the good stuff in it.</p>
<p>The jury is still out on calcium, Vit D, supplements, diet – all of it. Or to put it more accurately, the information we’re getting is filtered through a lot of self interest so it’s hard to know what to believe.</p>
<p>Back to tofu for a second: my favorite ways to eat tofu are in Korean casserole stew type dishes, or the summer Japanese dish of chilled tofu with grated ginger, chopped scallions and soy sauce. It is surprisingly delicious but you really have to go to an authentic Japanese place for it.</p>
<p>Tofu, one of my favorite things. I loved it from first tasting but having no clue how to cook it at age 15, to now understanding various permutations in a variety of cuisines. As a part of '70s vegetarian cooking, it was used in a variety of ways, in scrambles, and as an addition to just about anything. At one point I used 5 pounds a week or so, mostly in stir fries and as a general purpose protein additive to much that I cooked. Yes, there were some klutzy uses in general purpose cooking, as with other '70s dishes but like anything else, it is all about the skill of the cook. And this was a harder substance to bring into the American diet. </p>
<p>At one point living rurally, sans any tofu in the area, a friend and I regularly made tofu, as a Friday evening project. And some people complain of boredom…</p>
<p>But fresh tofu is an amazing delight, especially in Japan, at a tofu shop, with a sprinkling of added soy sauce. </p>
<p>Favorites include Mousegray’s Korean dishes with a very custard like tofu, Chigae, and soon daeboo bagbon, the amazing permutations of Mapo dofu in Szechuan province, and the skillful things done in Chinese Buddhist cooking with tofu. But for the most part, I cook it at home stir fried in a teflon pan with lots of garlic and pepper. </p>
<p>The jury is still out on the phytoestrogens, and whether they are good for you or not. They do keep hot flashes at bay. I am fairly careful to get organic non gmo tofu, as the genetically modified soybeans might be wrecking a havoc we don’t understand, taken internally. </p>
<p>Regarding the meat substitutes in vegetarian diets, they were a prominent feature of 7th Day Adventist style vegetarianism, and are used quite a bit in British vegetarian cooking, at least a generation back. No clue now, as I have not been to Britain in decades. Here in the US, vegetarians pull more from a variety of cuisines, but occasionally a little fake sausage in Thanksgiving stuffing just warms the heart. Though the veggie D has returned to eating meat, so no longer necessary.</p>
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<p>I envy your satiation. I eat a gallon of ice cream a week, and I’m 165 pounds and 6’1. (This is on top of taking risperdal, which made me gain 10 pounds.)</p>
<p>Im not really a sugar fiend unless it is before my period.
Salt is what I crave, but that isn’t any better for me.:(</p>
<p>I generally have just one serving of meat, poultry, or seafood a day and a serving size is about 12 ounces (raw weight). That plus some cheese, maybe some nuts for snack, and half n’ half in my coffee generally gets me in the range of 100 g of protein per day.</p>
<p>I was hoping for some recipes in this thread.</p>
<p>I didn’t give recipes per se, but I did outline some of my cooking 
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<p>Though I am pretty scientific and precise in the lab, in the kitchen I just wing it anyway.</p>
<p>Cardinal - I don’t have many recipes per se, what I like to do is just marinade my tofu and then stir fry, grill it, or bake it and add to recipes. I use ginger/soy marinades, citrus marinades, any light marinade that normal people would use for chicken. As I mentioned, I like the super firm tofu. </p>
<p>Freezing also changes the texture of tofu and makes it chewier. I will sometimes marinade and then freeze cubes of tofu.</p>
<p>Hmmm . . . I am sort of a coconut fanatic and when I feel the frozen treat need I will eat a whole carton of this (Coconut flavor, of course) in a a sitting . . . and it never has ruined me yet.</p>
<p>[Sharon’s</a> Sorbet](<a href=“http://www.sharons-sorbet.com/]Sharon’s”>http://www.sharons-sorbet.com/)</p>
<p>I respect tofu and those who like and eat tofu. It just doesn’t work for me. I’d rather have soy beans intact and cooked in my rice then tofu.</p>
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<p>Tofu comes in so many textures, forms and taste, I would bet if it was presented to you in an unfamiliar form, you would never realize it was tofu. I had been fooled (thought I was eating teriyaki beef jerky and another time, nuts) and I grew up eating tofu.</p>