I get a lot (a lot!) of questions about how we eat; on my facebook status it should read, “it’s complicated”.

ALIE:  vegetarian, but mostly vegan. I don’t like meat, and my tastebuds reject even “fake” meat nowadays. I don’t usually bring any cheese or dairy home from the store (once a month? that fancy brie at tj’s got to me last week) but I do eat it on occasion when we go out. If there’s a vegan option on the menu that doesn’t involve mushrooms, I’ll usually be really happy with that. I have a dairy intolerance so I can only handle it in small amounts.

TYLER: eats meat occasionally, but only when we’re out & about because I won’t cook it at home. He is totally cool with our vegan food at home, and I love that I don’t have to buy milk, yogurt, string cheese or cheez-its for his lunches anymore. :) He even drinks almond milk with his breakfast cereal and likes it. He loves that the treats I make are vegan too, because he often brings them to work where there are vegans. It’s nice to help them feel included.

JACK: eats meat when Tyler gives it to him at restaurants, but at home he is vegan because he’s got a dairy intolerance like me. We occasionally give him dairy when we forget, and always regret it later when his tummy hurts all night! I am so happy to say he eats so many more fruits and vegetables for snacks, now that he knows goldfish and crackers aren’t much of an option anymore. He drinks rice milk (twice as many calories as almond milk) and eats lots of peanut butter.

And with that, I’ve got a tofu recipe for you all. I never thought I’d rely so heavily on something that just a year ago I detested. But somehow a package or two of tofu sneaks its way into our grocery cart every week.

The more I cook it, the more familiar I become with how to cook it. It’s cheap ($1 a package at Sprouts & can usually be made into two meals for our little family) and so incredibly nutritious. I love tossing it in stir frys, using the silken kind to make sauces, and generally experimenting with it. It tends to take on the flavor of whatever is around it, so it’s an easy way to get extra protein in your diet.

If you’re ever in a pinch, I’ve got a quick recipe for dinner for you. I probably make stir fry once or twice a month – it’s great for nights when I get home late. It’s quick because of my little secret: because our family is small, I usually only need half of a block of extra-firm tofu. I always cube up the other half and marinate it in the fridge for a day or two to be used in stir frys. In the recipe below, I used our “leftover” tofu, which had been marinating in whatever Asian sauce I had in the fridge.

Quick Tofu Stir Fry

1/2 block “leftover” tofu, cut into 1″ cubes (see above, this particular time I marinated it in a premade Asian sauce from Trader Joes)
edamame beans (shelled, found in the freezer section)
fajita mix (usually contains a variety of bell peppers + onions, found in the freezer section – or dice your own)
leftover (or freshly made if you’re on top of things!) brown rice

Toss the tofu (along with the marinade) in a hot, nonstick pan and grill until golden brown on all sides. Add edamame, bell peppers, and onions and saute until soft. Serve with brown rice.