A summer goal and my take on Pad Thai

It's summer and as I am a teacher, I have the summer off.  I enjoy running and spinning and walking but I was feeling and hearing that I might want to add some body conditioning into my routine.  Ugh.  The thought of it was not making me smile.  After reading more articles about the importance of muscle mass and how this body conditioning (ugh) would help my overall fitness and my running, I saw that there was a class called CX Worx right after Friday morning spinning.  A 30 minute class.  I gave it a shot and today was my fourth Friday in a row.  As I struggle to hold myself in a "hover", I chant in my head "this is good for you, this is good for you" over and over.  It is not easy but core strength is simply more important than my pain!  We also work with the band and a weight.  Just sharing another option to increase your fitness level.  Maybe your gym offers the same class.  They introduce a new routine every 12 weeks.  Do what you can and slowly build up.  I held the hover for longer today than last week.  Try something new and it might just work!

                                                     

I love Pad Thai and I always order it when I eat out at a Thai restaurant.  I needed something very soft for dinner last night because my younger daughter just had braces put on and her mouth is still sore.  While walking around Trader Joe's, I saw and was inspired by rice noodles and thought of trying Pad Thai with tofu.  You could certainly add cooked shrimp or cooked chicken also.  Here is my adapted recipe.  I also knew before I served this that the girls would never eat something called tofu so I called it "soft chicken".  Sometimes I stretch the truth but in the end they both said it was the best soft chicken they had ever eaten and could I make it all the time!

rice noodles prepared according to package

sauce:  1/3 cup chicken broth
            3 tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
            1 tbsp fresh lime juice
            3 tbsp brown sugar
            2 tbsp fish sauce (easy to find in Asian section of supermarket)
            1 tbsp soy sauce
Mix sauce ingredients in bowl and leave off to side to stir in with noodles and vegetables.

Vegetable mixture:  1/2 large onion diced
                              1/2 red bell pepper diced
                              2 cups shredded carrots (less if you don't love carrots)
                              1 tbsp minced ginger
Saute above vegetables in a large frying pan until soft.  After these are cooked, push around sides of pan and crack 2 eggs in center.  Scramble eggs and mix around with the vegetables when done.

Tofu: one pound package of extra firm tofu drained and squeezed and cut into chunks.  Put in pan after eggs are incorporated and stir gently until cooked through, about 5-10  minutes.  You could also brown the tofu in another pan and just stir it in at this point.

Put prepared rice noodles in pan with vegetables and pour sauce over and stir.  Squeeze fresh lime over your serving if desired.  Hope you enjoy it as much as my family did last night!