Beth Morey, Writer + Artist

One of my current nutritional projects, for lack of a better term, is to add more protein to my diet. I need to gain some weight and rebuild the muscles associated with my heart, so I'm exploring how to include healthy proteins and wanted to share my successes and [rather inevitable] failures. However, for the time being victory's star is on the rise. Plus, I'm having quite a good time playing with my new foods in this pursuit of protein, and that is most wonderful aspect of the entire endeavor for me.

Black beans are favored items at the moment because they're packed with fiber as well as protein and are fat free. I heat 1/2 to one cup of these puppies in a nonstick pan for about ten minutes, stirring in a concoction of soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, barbecue sauce, chili powder, and black pepper. Although the combination sounds a bit odd, the result is a tangy taste bud delight!

I'm also trying my spatula at tofu, which is completely new territory for me. I never really understood tofu to begin with. If I was a vegetarian, I would favor beans to replace my meat-garnered nutrition, and as an omnivore I'd just as soon go for lean chicken as the man-made chunk o' soy. However, I do like how tofu takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Sauteing diced firm tofu with barbecue sauce and black pepper has resulted in success, so I suppose I'll keep tofu on my menu. I plan to investigate tofu drizzled in peanut sauce, one of my favorite flavors of all time.