Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Refreshing Water

Healthy, refreshing, hydrating water. Ahh. Unfortunately, I don't like it. I've never been a water drinker and recently my Diet Coke habit has escalated to the point where I often drink 2 a day. That's too much, so I've decided Diet Coke is what I'm giving up for Lent. Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day, so no more Diet Coke for me until Easter. Eee! I'm actually kind of excited. I've done it before, of course, so I know I can go without. I don't like it a bit, but I know I can do it. This time, what I'm hoping will be different is that I cultivate a love for more healthy, preferably calorie free beverages. Water, tea. Any suggestions out there? What do you all drink? Any favorite teas? I'm hoping to make a healthy lifestyle change and set a better example for my children and my students too for that matter.

Some of you were asking about the tofu sticks yesterday. Yes, they are yummy, especially with the dipping sauce. They're super easy, too. Here's the recipe from The Skinny.

Crispy Sesame Tofu Sticks

Salty, crispy, and spicy, these tofu sticks will satisfy that BBQ potato chip craving in a more nutritious manner. Leftovers are terrif on top of a spinach salad. Almost like bacon. Almost.

1 pkg. extrafirm tofu, drained
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 t. Asian sesame oil
1 t. chile oil or Tabasco
2 T. choppped scallions, white and light green parts only (optional)

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Slice the tofu into 1/2" slabs, then into sticks. Drain between baking sheets lined with paper towels and weighted with a heavy can.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, and chile oil.
4. Remove the can, the baking sheet from the top, and all the paper towels from the large baking sheet. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, cover the tofu generously with half of the soy mixture. Transfer the tofu to the oven and broil until slightly dry to the touch, 8-10 minutes. Add the scallions to the remaining sauce, if desired, and serve the tofu with the sauce for dipping.

For the record, mine didn't really turn "crispy." It retained the usual tofu texture but was still yummy.

11 comments:

Jonah Lisa said...

I don't know about calorie free but I like to mix fizzy water with apple juice or cranberry juice--a juice spritzer. I also make sugar free lemonade a bunch--really just lemon water, but that's not for every palate.

There was an article in the NYTimes (I just read it yesterday) about Diet Soda's being linked to metabolic problems. Te basic gist was that over time they slow down your metabolism and are though to contribute to a slew of health problems related to belly fat :o I emailed it to my husband who have a sizable habit and he's also just decided to give it up.

Kate said...

yum.... I CANNOT wait to try these, thanks!! oh, and speaking ok diet coke I am on a coke zero kick and am thinking I should try and give it up for awhile as well. thanks for the inspiration.
one of my favorite warm or cold drinks is to brew up some extra strong herbal tea, like double in strength... I prefer the hazelnut or vanilla persuasion and then mix 1:1 with milk, either over ice or heated as a winter drink.
maybe you'll like it too? can't hurt to try.
i buy yogi tea vanilla hazelnut with some cinnamon added is yummy.

Alicia said...

This sounds so odd but I like to take a pitcher of ice cold water & add slices of lemon & cucumber. It has this nice, crisp flavor that is hard to describe.

Love your blog by the way!

Our Adventures As A Family of 4.... said...

Well, we like the Crystal Light drink mixes you can put in bottled water or you can mix up a pitcher. I also agree some lemon or oranges in your water are good too, or I like the suggestion here about the cranberry juice with fizzy water. But then you are getting some sugar so if you are fine with that it's a good suggestion to get you used to drinking water.

My husband is a soda drinker and he is on the heavier side, but he had a horrible kidney stone recently (his first) so he decided to cut way back on soda. Which I am happy about! I found when I cut back on caffeine (I don't really like soda, but like iced tea, and like you, about a 2 glass a day person) I had the headaches for awhile till I got used to not drinking the caffeine.

Good luck, and good for you on cutting out the diet coke. Try the CL drink mixes, my fave at the moment is the Raspberry lemonade.

Molly

tess said...

I like water and lemon, or even hot water and lemon, but mostly just drink tea.
it's often the sweeteners in diet soda that cause the health problems, so you're best avoiding them. hope it goes well, I forgot to give up anything for lent, is it cheating to give up something you already don't do?

Annie B said...

oh yes tea, lots of tea - I had a post a while back where lots of people left comments about different teas and Ithe one I think I love most is Yogi Liquorice tea (not sure if you can get it there, maybe) - it is perfect, got a gorgeous natural sweetness...I didn't expect to like it but really REALLY do. Try it.
Oh, and good luck with kicking the diet coke habit

Kristin said...

I am lucky I like water. But I also like to have hot drinks and I like them sweet! Both last year and now this year I have given up white sugar for lent. My favorite hot drink is chai which is quite sweet. Well, I brew my own and I use stevia(herbal sweetener) and now I love it that way and regular chai now seems to sweet for me.

Erin said...

I like the Tazo Om Tea which is an organic black and green mix, and the Tazo Envy which is an organic green tea. I've been working on cutting sugar and found the Wholesome Sweeteners ORGANIC ZERO. I love it! Also I find using a cup with a lid makes drinking tea a lot easier since it stays warm while you're doing other stuff.

Kate said...

had some last night! they were so yummy! totally burnt up my pan with the sauce but hopefully it'll clean up okay... thanks for the recipe!

Gift of Green said...

I have trouble with water as well so I usually go with unsweetened iced tea. If I do go with plain water it has to have lots and lots of ice!

Melissa said...

Once I had a pedicure done at this little spa place and they served me water...super refreshing and I just couldn't figure out the flavor so I asked. They added cucumbers to the ice water earlier. It was soo yummy!

My girls and I also freeze strawberries with water to make ice cubes for our water during the summer time at the cabin.