Friday, October 9, 2009

BBQ Tofu

I have never eaten tofu before so I was really psyched to try out this out. I've been planning this meal for several days! I used the recipe for Oven Barbeque Tofu from Nasoya's web site.

I started by sauteing onions and then adding the rest of the sauce ingredients.

Then I poured everything on the tofu and let it marinate for a while. (The recipe called for extra firm tofu but Shaws was sold out. I thought firm would work just as well...)

While the tofu was marinating, I started to get our stuff ready for the 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. I bought the same long sleeve shirt that my cousin Becky wore for the 5K last weekend. Sorry for copying you Becky! But the top looked so cute and comfortable that I couldn't resist.

I made carrot fries to go with the BBQ tofu. I was inspired by a dinner I read about on MelissaNibbles.

I left everything to bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Only one minor disaster: I caught the tip of an oven mitt on fire and set the smoke alarm off! No photos for obvious reasons! And rest assured, no humans or food were harmed in the oven mitt disaster!

Viola! BBQ tofu, carrot fries w/ organic ketchup, and mashed potatoes!

I LOVED the carrot fries. I was a little bit disappointed with the tofu. It tasted great but the texture was too soft. That's my own fault for trying to get away with using firm instead of extra firm. Next time I wanted something that has a higher chew factor rather than being soft and mushy.

While we were eating dinner, we gave Miles an empty box to shred. He made a huge mess but he had so much fun. Love how I caught a picture of him sticking his tongue out at me!

I had my first appointment with a trainer at 8 pm. I met Ian at the Back Bay HealthWorks. He started off with the standard questions about my goals, stats, etc. When I mentioned that my back hurt and described my symptoms, Ian had an immediate answer to the problem. I don't remember all of the proper terms but to sum it up, all of my issues stem from my hip muscles and from a group of muscles being too tight.

We started off using the high density foam roller. I'd never tried it before, but I'm SO glad I did. Ian really saved my life and I want to send a fruit basket or flowers to say thanks. Haha, totally kidding. But the 2 foam roller exercises made such a difference on my lower back! I felt much more comfortable for the rest of the night. I learned a handful of other stretching exercises for my hips, quads, glutes, and calves.

I have to set up another training session after I'm done with the 1/2 Marathon. It will cover more stretching and upper body exercises. In the meantime, I can't wait to get to the gym this afternoon and try out all of my new exercises. I'm going to use the foam roller right away!

5 comments:

  1. I'm glad the session with the trainer went good! I go the gym several times a week and I'm always learning something new, even when I'm there without my trainer (there are always other trainers walking around, making sure you're making the exercises right and not injuring yourself, etc).

    Aw, that puppy's so cute. He must've been so happy ahah

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you enjoyed the carrot fries as much as I did!

    I'd be interested to know what the foam roller exercises and stretches were that the trainer showed you. I have a very bed back and could use all the help I can get :)

    Happy Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Diana, Miles is adorable but he's also a little pain in the ass. Gotta love him though!

    Melissa, I'll be at Whole Foods 11/7 so I can show you then. If I tried to type an explanation, it probably wouldn't make sense. Haha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think buying that shirt was a great idea! I love mine...hope it brings you luck on Sunday! I'll be doing the 5K with mine while you're running the 1/2...just like the good old days of matching "My Little Pony" sweatsuits!

    ReplyDelete