Happy Friday blog friends! The picture above was a snack seen below. But it’s pretty to keep you reading for more.

Yesterday was a pool workout. My Aquathlon is a month away, and I am a new swimmer, so I need to practice! I did about 50 minutes of 50 meter laps. I focused on breating less than every two strokes, and taking fewer breaks after each lap. If only I could figure out how to keep water out of my goggles, my breaks would really be short. Next up will be to swim a full 300 meters with as few stops as possible, and also try a swim + run brick.

My shin and hip hurt from running. Not happy about that.

The food:

First, I figured out a breakfast  mystery. Last week at the grocery, they were out of my medium sized yogurt containers so I bought single serving 6 oz ones. A few mornings for breakfast this week, I made overnight oats, and realized that it was So Thick. I thought it was maybe because I used plain yogurt instead of vanilla and it had fewer additives or something, but then I realized that I used to mix milk or water with yogurt. Mystery solved. Eating overnight oats without milk makes for a thick (and very filling!) breakfast. Now we all know.

Moving along, I had one of these super dense oatmeal raisin muffins with two egg whites and cantaloupe. A favorite breakfast for taking to work.

Lunch was a turkey and Swiss sandwich on Orowheat Sandwich Thin with lettuce, tomato, red pepper hummus, and a side of extra vegetables and cherries. A simple but fresh and tasty lunch.

My snack was super colorful: 4 oz Vanilla Oikos with a cup of berries and a half Kashi TLC bar crumbled like makeshift granola. I had the other half before lunch.

Then I got adventurous in the kitchen and tried tofu again. I tried it a few weeks ago baked in the oven, and it was good, but not so crispy like I get at a restaurant. So I did some research and found Emily’s blog.  She is a chef in training and has a Tofu Tutorial. How perfect for me. I followed her instructions exactly, and created a delicious dinner. Success!

Don’t be scared of tofu. It is far less scarier than raw chicken. Don’t say it has no flavor, or you don’t know what to do with it. Chicken is blah unless you make it good. Same with tofu.

Sauteed Tofu Stir Fry:

Step 1: Buy what Emily buys. I bought Nasoya Firm Tofu. Did not see Lite like hers, so mine was 70 calories and 7 g protein per 1/5 block. I’ll look for Lite next time.

Step 2: Cut like she cuts, and press! I used the whole block of tofu. I don’t know if you could just cook half because it sits in a water, and the block isn’t that big. For one person, it would be two meals, but if you bribe trick cook for your husband or a friend, it could serve two easily.

So I cut the block in strips both ways, then laid them on a towel, folded, and pressed with a cookbook for ten minutes. After pressing, I cut the strips in half, making a lot of little pieces.

Step 3: Follow cooking instructions like hers. I heated a sautee pan with olive oil and laid the pieces down when the pan sizzled. Sprinkled salt and pepper over them. Let cook until brown on bottom, and flip each piece.

Look at that, brown bottoms. That seems to be the basics where you can then add vegetables, rice, sauce, etc. So I added a Thai Ginger sauce to my pan and let it all heat together.

In a separate pan, I steamed snap peas, red pepper, 1/2 zucchini, scallions, and a half steamed sweet potato (all were leftovers from earlier this week) in a little bit of water, salt, and pepper. Once the vegetables were soft and hot, I added to the tofu.

Then I got creative with my camera and made this cute topper. Sweet potato, zucchini, tofu.

And my dish all together: Tofu with vegetables and a sweet potato.