Tips for Implementing Changes in Your Diet:

Focus on one food group at a time, rather than change your whole diet at once. For example, try to increase your vegetables by introducing 1/2 cup of vegetables to your meals, snack on carrot sticks, etc. For convenience, try keeping bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer to cook up with ease.

Add one new piece of fruit to your daily diet.

Eat a variety of foods. Keep a food journal to increase your awareness of your individual food habits.

Tofu Tips & Recipes (Last updated 3-24-00)

A vegetarian lifestyle is not just a way to be kinder to our furred and feathered friends; becoming a vegetarian is better for the environment and healthier for you. Even if you are not ready to eliminate meat from your diet, non-animal based proteins, such as tofu, can add delicious variety to your meals. Tofu is an excellent source of low-fat protein, has no cholesterol, is high in calcium and contains isoflavones believed to prevent cancer and heart disease and help regulate hormones. Try these tips for incorporating tofu into your meals:

• Add chunks of firm tofu to soups and stews.
• Marinate extra-firm tofu slices in barbecue sauce or soy sauce, char them on the grill or pan-sear them in a heavy frying pan and serve on crusty Italian bread.
• Replace some or all of the cream in creamed-soup recipes with silken tofu.
• Make "missing egg salad" with tofu chunks, diced celery, mayonnaise and a dab of prepared mustard.
• Substitute pureed silken tofu when recipes call for mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, or ricotta cheese. Use in dips and creamy salad dressings.
• ?Add taco seasonings to pan-fried, crumbled tofu, or a mixture of tofu and ground beef, for tofu tacos.
• Stir silken tofu into sour cream for a reduced-fat baked potato topper.
• Prepare scrambled tofu instead of eggs. Coarsely mash firm tofu, saute in oil or margarine, and season with onions, salt, pepper and herbs.

Tofu-Fruit Smoothie (new recipe added every month)

Pairing tofu with other nutritional superstars like yogurt and fresh fruit makes for a power-packed 'milk shake' that's rich in calcium, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

1/2 cup sliced ripe banana
1/2 cup frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, partially thawed
1/2 cup soft silken tofu, drained (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt

Combine all ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup).

CALORIES 180 (10% from fat); FAT 2g (sat 0.7g, mono 0.5g, poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 6.3g; CARB 36.4g; FIBER 2.1g; CHOL 3mg; IRON 0.9mg; SODIUM 40mg; CALC 147mg