Jodi Says: "No Meat? No Worries!"

Today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook guest blogger is 29 year-old posing suit designer, Jodi Lane, from Seattle. She shares her experiences becoming a lacto-ovo vegetarian & shares a yummy recipe...

Yummy Tofu Meatless Loaf! See recipe below. 

I’m pretty amped to be able to continue Eating Clean and being meat-free! Tosca has always been my go-to-gal when learning ways to Eat Clean with confidence. Life isn’t about taking delicious food away to stay looking good, it’s about learning how to use natural foods to fuel your life!

Being a Vegetarian has been something I always felt was right for me, morally and nutritionally.  I moved to Seattle after meeting my husband Sean. Here we have such a wide variety of vegetarian foods that I decided to just go with it! No more force-feeding myself meats or heavy tummy aches!
Eating as a Vegetarian may seem like all you can have is pasta, bread and vegetables, but there is so much more to it than that!

I continued using Tosca’s diet methods but substituted the meat portions with tofu or other protein sources (she taught me that too!).  My husband and I are in the lacto-ovo “brand” of vegetarians. Basically, we include eggs and dairy in our nutrition.  I’m excited that she decided to make my life a little bit easier with her new Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook.  There are fun experiences in there and I have been blogging about them!

I have a feeling there will be quite a few omnivores out there enjoying the Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook as well.  Why not? Variety is key! And with variety, I believe you will develop consistency.  Tosca’s books won’t just teach you where good foods come from or sell you on carbon-copy diet plans, they give you the knowledge you need to make great food choices with confidence.  Before you know it, you’ll be searching the cabinet for an apple rather than a cookie!

Below I have a recipe I often use in my personal Vegetarian lifestyle. It’s simple, quick and very healthy! I adapted it from a turkey meatloaf recipe to fit my lifestyle needs:

Tofu Meat-less Loaf
Ingredients
1 to 2 packs firm tofu
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lite Italian dressing (or homemade)
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon chili powder *More or less of this is still tasty!
1 or 2 tablespoons ground cumin *I like a lot of this, makes it taste like taco style!
1 teaspoon cilantro leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup quick oats. *You can use more or less of this just as long as it recipe gets the consistency you need!

Methods
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Mix with your hands. I find that mixing the tofu and eggs first make it easier to mix in the oats later on. Spray 8x8 baking pan with olive-oil cooking spray to avoid sticking.  Consistency should allow you to roll into ball forms without falling apart.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Cooking times will vary as all ovens are different. Enjoy!