Has anyone tried tofu for low calories for your preop diet to lose weight in order to have the surgery? Is it any good? How do you prepare it?

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I cannot get past the texture of tofu.

I eat tofu all the time. It doesn't really taste like anything, but some people have to get used to the texture. I usually marinate it so it gets some flavor for whatever dish I am making. A lot of people (and the traditional way) fry it to get it crispier. I oven bake, rather than fry. A couple of real easy ways to incorporate tofu:

1) Scramble. Stir "fry" (sauté in broth or a little water) up your veggies, like onion, peppers, mushrooms, etc, and then crumble the tofu in. Add a little turmeric for color and it will look like scrambled eggs and the texture is also similar.

2) Add tofu to smoothies or anything else you want creamy. I make my vegan cheese sauce, salad dressing, puddings, and veggie dip by incorporating silken tofu which gives a smooth, creamy texture.

Tofu is an excellent source of protein, low fat, low carbs. I've had tofu in vegan restaurants that was amazingly like chicken in texture and flavor. I don't know how they do it, but it sure is yummy.

Edited December 8, 20205 yr by AZhiker

3 hours ago, AZhiker said:

I eat tofu all the time. It doesn't really taste like anything, but some people have to get used to the texture. I usually marinate it so it gets some flavor for whatever dish I am making. A lot of people (and the traditional way) fry it to get it crispier. I oven bake, rather than fry. A couple of real easy ways to incorporate tofu:

1) Scramble. Stir "fry" (sauté in broth or a little water) up your veggies, like onion, peppers, mushrooms, etc, and then crumble the tofu in. Add a little turmeric for color and it will look like scrambled eggs and the texture is also similar.

2) Add tofu to smoothies or anything else you want creamy. I make my vegan cheese sauce, Salad Dressing, puddings, and veggie dip by incorporating silken tofu which gives a smooth, creamy texture.

Tofu is an excellent source of Protein, low fat, low carbs. I've had tofu in vegan restaurants that was amazingly like chicken in texture and flavor. I don't know how they do it, but it sure is yummy.

Thanks.. my aunt found some banana tofu, i guess it's supposed to be a dessert and I had to ask before I even went to try it lol

I've never tried tofu. It's a texture thing

My family loves tofu, but the texture makes me eat something separate from them at that meal

I lived in China and I ate so much tofu my friends called me "Queen of Tofu." Tofu is delicious if cooked and seasoned correctly and disgusting if it's not.

I really suggest going to an authentic Thai, Chinese, or Korean restaurant and trying a tofu dish before cooking it yourself. If you have a Chinese hotpot restaurant in your town go there. Ideally find a place with tofu noodles which are tofu strips cut into the shape of noodles. They're delicious.

Otherwise if cooking it yourself make sure you buy extra firm tofu and drain the tofu before cooking it. An easy way to do that is to cut into small squares and then wrap paper towels around it to drain the excess water. If you find the texture gross then it's probably how you cooked it rather than the tofu.

I tried Sunrise banana tofu dessert last night and it really wasn't that bad, it was kind of like pudding but with water instead of milk.. and i drained as much of the water as i could.

I love tofu and eat it often.

When cooking it there are a few different secrets to making it extra delicious....
1. You can freeze it and then thaw it (some people suggest even doing this twice)...this changes the texture a bit and makes it more dense.
2. I bought a tofu press and leave it over night to get the excess water out so that it fries up nicer. This is what I do most often...less hassle.
3. I LOVE pan frying it with garlic, salt, chili powder, and nutritional yeast. OMG it's so good! I add some sautéed mushrooms and spinach and yummmmmmm.

Whatever you do, it's important to squeeze some water out of it before cooking it. If you don't want to spend money on a fancy tofu press (like I did because I'm addicted to kitchen gadgets) then just put it between two plates and put heavy things on top of it for the day.

It's important to flavor it with seasoning or make some kind of yummy sauce. There are plenty of great recipes out there for some healthy sauces! Mix it with some stir fried veggies and yum!

32 minutes ago, ReaganLea said:

I love tofu and eat it often.

When cooking it there are a few different secrets to making it extra delicious....
1. You can freeze it and then thaw it (some people suggest even doing this twice)...this changes the texture a bit and makes it more dense.
2. I bought a tofu press and leave it over night to get the excess Water out so that it fries up nicer. This is what I do most often...less hassle.
3. I LOVE pan frying it with garlic, salt, chili powder, and nutritional yeast. OMG it's so good! I add some sautéed mushrooms and spinach and yummmmmmm.

Whatever you do, it's important to squeeze some water out of it before cooking it. If you don't want to spend money on a fancy tofu press (like I did because I'm addicted to kitchen gadgets) then just put it between two plates and put heavy things on top of it for the day.

It's important to flavor it with seasoning or make some kind of yummy sauce. There are plenty of great recipes out there for some healthy sauces! Mix it with some stir fried veggies and yum!

Thank you so much! This will really help me and give me more food options.

Super late, but someone else might be interested:

Tofu rocks. Some awesome suggestions above, especially the Chinese ones because no-one does tofu better.

If regular tofu texture doesn't do it for you, get some firm tofu, slice it up into 1/3 inch thick slices, lay it out on a baking tray, brush is with a marinade and bake it until it's shrunk in size. Totally different texture and great chopped up and tossed in a salad or on a sandwich.

Seriously, you can give that a "bacon" flavour with a marinade of soy sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika and liquid smoke.

Edited September 17, 20214 yr by Smanky
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