After being inspired by DonnaMaria Coles Johnson’s (@indiebusiness on Twitter – a must follow for any indie business owner!) creation of Fitceos, I knew I wanted to jump on board. I love the easy method of promoting health in all aspects of life. We post tips on eating healthy, recipes, as well as tweet our workouts. I love the accountability this provides and look forward to seeing my life (and waistline!) transform as a result of being part of this group.

DonnaMaria recently created her own tofu salad and her creation inspired me to do the same. Here’s her recipe and photo:

My inspiration for eating tofu!

Looks yummy, doesn’t it? I set out to make my own tofu salad and prayed my family would like it as well, so that we could incorporate some vegetarian meals into our diet. Here’s what I did (amounts are approximate – I was so hungry and partially skeptical that I’d like it, I didn’t write everything down):

2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil – heated on medium high and added
1/2 pkg of Naysoya Organic Lite Firm Tofu – drained and cubed
Seasoned with 1 Tbl minced garlic, pepper and spicy grill seasoning for chicken/fish

I cooked this for approximately 10 minutes, stirring often. I tasted it about halfway through and it seemed too soft to me, so I kept cooking to brown the outside and make it a bit crisper. Texture is a huge deal for me with food, and one of the main reasons I’d never eaten tofu before was because I was afraid it’d just be mush.

Meanwhile, I mixed:
Baby Spinach
Iceburg Lettuce
Red cabbage
2 celery stalks – cut into 1/4″ chunks
1 carrot, chopped
1 green onion (both green & white parts), chopped
handful of dried cranberries

After the tofu was cooked, I simply mixed it into the salad and served it with some freshly baked bread.

Results: I really liked it! The texture was still a bit soft for my taste, maybe next time I’ll get the extra firm, but it was definitely edible. The tofu absorbed the seasoning flavors and the cranberries gave it enough of a sweet flavor that no salad dressing was needed. All in all a wonderfully flavored, filling and low fat meal! My husband’s response: “What did you cook this chicken in? It’s good!” I’m glad his first meal with tofu was a good experience for this die-hard meat and potatoes guy. My daughter (2 years old) ate it all up as well so it was a thumbs up all the way around.

We’ll definitely be eating more tofu in the future – in fact, I just read a recipe for a maple glazed tofu that I’m thinking about for tonight! What are your favorite tofu recipes? I’d love to try them out, so please share!

Join us tomorrow for a live chat and enter to win one of two $25 Vintage Body Spa gift certificates along with other home spa related products! We’ll be chatting about how to create your own spa experience at home and sharing home spa recipes. I’m honored to be cohosting with:

Katja from Skimbaco Lifestyle
Katie from GoodLife {eats}
Shannon from The Bath Project
Mommy Niri of Mommy Niri

If you are not familiar with Snazl yet – sign up today and check it out. It is like YouTube and Ustream combined, but better – video and picture sharing on real time from multiple locations.

So come back here at 2pm EST tomorrow, or head to the Snazl homepage and join in the chat. We’re excited to answer your questions about spa beauty products, eating healthy and transforming your home into a serene sanctuary. See you there!

We at Vintage Body Spa seek to make our products as naturally as possible while continuing to provide a variety of wonderful scents from which our customers can choose. Scents can be added to products via essential oils or fragrance oils. Following is a brief discussion of the differences between the two, why we use both and our plans for scenting our products in the future.

Essential oils aren’t truly oils, but they’re the essence of plants that have usually been steam distilled. They are 100% pure and natural, and very concentrated. Because of their purity and concentration, essential oils are typically more expensive than fragrance oils.

Often essential oils are used by themselves to scent products, but combining essential oils can create wonderful blends as well. Essential oils have been used for centuries to treat a variety of mental, emotional and physical ailments. They are completely safe when used properly. For instance, lavender essential oil in distilled water can make a refreshing spray that serves to relax and encourage restful slumber. Though they are completely natural, care must always be taken and each essential oil should be researched thoroughly prior to its use, as the use of some are explicitly discouraged with certain medical conditions or pregnancy.

On the other hand, fragrance oils (also called aromatic oils) are synthetic. They are man-made in a laboratory. They are used to create scents that either cannot come from plants or to create scent blends that are less expensive than essential oils. Fragrance oils cannot be used as natural remedies, and some people may have allergic reactions to fragrance oils.

While we want to offer a wide variety of scents for our customers to choose from, we also want to continue evolving as an eco-friendly company. So we have decided that any new scents that are released in the future will be made only from essential oils. We are confident that you’ll continue to be happy with our scent offerings and we’ll be happy knowing that we’re offering the most natural products for you to enjoy.

We love feedback and answering questions, so feel free to post your thoughts and questions on fragrance and/or essential oils and we’ll be happy to answer them.

We are so very blessed as Susan Johnston, an amazingly talented songwriter, actress, writer and entrepreneur has generously donated the lyrics to her song ‘Don’t Touch Me That Way Again’ to raise awareness of our Behind the Curtain initiative and the ways in which we’re working to combat violence. This beautiful song was also used in a National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Campaign. Here are the poignant lyrics:

Don’t Touch Me That Way Again

We can talk it out
I’m tired of being hurt
Tired of feeling pain
Crouching down
I want my feet back on the ground
Walk with me, talk to me
Just don’t touch me that way again

You have no right
There should be no fighting
Its just a disagreement
I know we can work it out
Don’t touch me that way again

No matter how hard you try
I can see through your denials
Your words hurt me too
I have feelings and a right to live a violence free life
Walk with me, talk to me, just don’t touch me that way again.

Embrace me, hold me tight, don’t hurt me-instead just count to ten
Walk outside and don’t come back until you can walk with me, talk with me.

© Susan Johnston

Not only did Ms. Johnston offer her song, she’s also generously donating $3.00 from each sale when our readers purchase her book to support the Buy One, Give One program. LA For Free, Almost is a great resource for anyone living in or traveling to the Los Angeles area who is needing to save and/or make money. Johnston was able to survive her first year and a half in LA with little to no money using the principles in the book.

Everyone at Vintage Body Spa is thankful for Ms. Johnston’s generosity, and we’re excited to offer our readers the opportunity to have yet another way in which they can support Behind the Curtain.