how I get my protein.

Protein has never been on my mind as much as it is now. It's always been so easy to eat enough protein through my usual varied vegan diet. Then I went and got knocked up, which made my protein needs double. My daily protein goal is now around 75 grams. That doesn't seem like such a big deal, except I pretty much just crave comforting, carby breads all the time. Here are a few ways I've been eating extra protein.

Peanut Butter. I spread it on bagels (those are about 9 grams by themselves!), eat it with fruit, or just grab a spoon and shove some in my maw when I'm in a hurry. I love peanut butter on pears and apples.



Sunday breakfast, when we actually have time to cook a meal. Tofu scramble is my go-to, but this weekend I tried the frittata recipe from Vegan Brunch using spinach, garlic, and Daiya mozzarella. It was very yummy, but really just a baked tofu scramble.



As you see, the frittata didn't exactly stay together when cut. But it was very tasty anyway. Especially with grits and some fresh whole wheat bread baked by Laura.



Edamame is a good high-protein food to have around. I'll make a batch of this cold salad on a Sunday, and we can eat it all week. Ken loves this stuff even more than I do. The recipe originated from the corn-edamame salad in Veganomicon, but I've bastardized it so much that I can't even remember what the original recipe called for exactly. This is just edamame, black beans, corn, and a soy sesame dressing.



Good stuff, all of it. But I really just want to eat tomato sammichs or my mother-in-law's awesome tomato basil bruschetta all day long. So tell me- where do you get your (extra) protein?

1,001 ways to make soup.

Soup is a great way to make use of various wilty produce in the crisper, and almost empty bags of grains in the pantry. This soup has no name, but maybe it should be called "a mish-mash of whatever" soup. Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Here's what I do to make a mish-mash of whatever soup and manage to keep it somewhat healthy. Start with eight cups of veggie broth, stock, or water with vegan bouillon. Then add the following:

Pick one handful from the grain category (any grain you like will do):
pearl barley
pasta noodles
quinoa
rice
couscous
wheat berries
bulgar

Pick at least one from the protein category:
lentils
black beans
pinto beans
white beans
Soy Curls
chickpeas
seitan chunks
TVP
tofu cubes

Pick several from the produce category:
turnip greens
kale
collard greens
spinach
broccoli
corn
green beans
peas
carrots
tomatoes- canned, fresh or sundried
potatoes
sweet potatoes

And pick plenty from the extra flavor category:
onions
garlic
salt
pepper
siracha sauce or other hot sauce
liquid smoke
soy sauce
rice wine vinegar
coconut milk


Heat everything up in a soup pot for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the type of grain. Season to taste and eat every day for the rest of the week until you're sick of it.

Here's my last batch of soup. Collard greens, turnip greens, chickpeas, Soy Curls, corn, pasta, tomatoes, in a base of veggie broth seasoned with soy sauce, siracha, and black pepper. Blurry soup. I really should use a tripod after 8pm.



Not soup related. Cookies! Specifically, the Peanut Better Cookies from Vive le Vegan stuffed with some of that cream filling from the oatmeal cream pies a few weeks ago. These were great. The cookies are nice and soft (and refreshingly free of any margarine), and the cream was no-too-sweet. Love!

press it.

We make a lot of tofu-based dishes in our house. Like many vegans, we love it as a versatile and cost-effective protein source, and it's easy to incorporate into dishes.  I have been dying to try a tofu press I've seen advertised called TofuXpress. This gadget squeezes the water out of your tofu without having to waste paper towels, and without having to balance your entire cookbook collection on top of your tofu. Honestly, I hate draining tofu so much, that I often just end up giving it a quick squeeze over the sink, which sometimes leaves me with watery meals with less-than-optimal texture, depending on what I'm making. Well, I finally got my hands on one of these fancy tofu presses!

It's so easy to use! Just remove the top, stick your tofu in there, then click the top back in place. Set the whole thing in the fridge for about an hour, then drain the liquid out.



That's it! No mess, no wet towels. It's pretty dang convenient. You can also marinade in the Tofuxpress, as it comes with a marinading lid.

I'm really not one for excessive kitchen gadgets, but since I received my Tofuxpress about three weeks ago, I've used it probably seven times. That's more than I use my food processor! And my crispy fried tofu has never been crispier.



I would have gotten one of these goodies a long time ago had I known it was going to work so awesome. The one thing that held me back is the hefty $40 price tag. But considering how often I use it now, I feel it's well worth it. How about you? We are considering selling the Tofuxpress in our store and I want to know. Would you be willing to pay $40 for this product?