[islandmama]

Tofu is absolutely authorized. It is my staple, and I love it. When I first started eating it, I was very hesitant so I just took a small piece and ate it raw so I wouldn't be "scared" to eat it anymore. It tasted like nothing. That is when tofu became the best food I ever ate. I learned I can make it taste like almost anything I wanted. I started buying tofu recipe books, and now I think I have a million tofu recipes that are so yummy.

On the bfl website under Q&A, Eating for life Method, then the 4th question down answers a bit about veg protien sources. He says popular protien sources for veggies are low-fat cottage cheese, egg whites, and whey or soy protiens (found in shakes or by themselves). Tofu is a soy protien. Walla.

[MrsJim]

Yup - when I was a veg, I never got into tofu all that much, not being one of those folks who like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen anyway.

About half the time I was a veg, I was on the McDougall plan - either his 12-week original program or his Maximum Weight Loss plan. At the time (mid-late 1990's) Dr. McDougall advocated a very low protein diet and forbade ALL soy products from his plan. He might have changed that since then - I don't know. McDougall's reasons for avoiding soy? I don't recall exactly - I'll have to pull out my books and re-read. He is/was very much into the starch-based diet - one built on rice, grains, potatoes, with vegetables and the occasional fruit on the side.

Wasn't attempting to put down tofu by any means - however, a lot of male bodybuilders tend to avoid soy because of the estrogen factor, and that might have been the reason for Bill Phillips not mentioning it in his book (here's a link to an article as an example: http://www.t-mag.com/articles/185soy2.html - I'm not saying I necessarily AGREE with it, but a lot of bodybuilders - especially males - do). I'm a bit leery of some of the choices on the official BFL/EAS website since they also call popcorn, cereal, and rice cakes (which have a VERY high GI factor) authorized...but again, that's not saying that tofu is a bad thing.

[Goddess Jessica]

I'm with Mrs.Jim when it comes to not wanting to spend any time in the kitchen but tofu is almost as easy as the juicy chicken recipe and hey! variety is the spice of life.

Christy, do you squeeze & freeze your tofu? If you haven't, you should! Take firm tofu and squeeze it for a day in your fridge (a cookie sheet, two plates inverted to "sandwich" the tofu and a big can of something for weight on top), then wrap it in saran wrap and freeze it for a day (or leave it in there until you need to use it). Freezing causes it to turn a different color and provides a better texture (IMO). Remove it from the freezer and let it defrost in your fridge and then put it in your marinade for a day.

My favorite marinade:
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
garlic
chili oil
red pepper flakes
almond butter (or peanut butter)

I usually make tofu triangles out of this because they're great on their own (without any side dishes). Sometimes it's easier to cut the tofu before marinading it. Place the tofu cake on its side and cut into 3 thin slabs. Cut the slabs diagonally into triangles, the triangles in half to make smaller triangles. Bake the tofu for 40 or 45 minutes or until the tofu is golden brown at 350 degrees. Or cut into cubes and heat in a skillet.

[islandmama]

Oh yes, I love to freeze mine... it makes it a much better texture for certain dishes. I have some in my freezer at the moment! lol.

[trixiepup]

I emailed BFL at one point when I was looking at the program, and they suggested eating tofu instead of meat products.

However, I didn't actually end up doing the program because I would have been eating more soy than my doctor recommends (I have a thyroid problem, and too much soy can make it worse).

Hi! Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm a long-time vegetarian [19 years!] and have just started the Challenge. I admit that I'm modifying the diet aspect. Psychologically, I don't do well when I think a food is off limits. [Except for meat, in my case! ]

[Ilene]

Eydie - Hi and welcome, Good luck with your Challenge... Is this your first challenge...

Ilene

Thanks Ilene!
Yep, it's my first time---and I'm 'enjoying' those sore muscles! I'm used to walking an hour per day on the treadmill at a 4 mph pace, and am intrigued by the idea that I could get away with 20 min. of aerobics. What'll I do with all that extra time?

I'm still doing yoga and/or Pilates several times a week. [And bellydancing too, Aphil! ] That's okay, right? They feel like such totally different things than the BFL stuff--but I don't want to slow my progress.

[Ilene]

Keep your other activities, they are just plain fun, and you'll be able to do them better in the long run when you are in great muscular shape...