Ahhhhh – look what is stalking my house!! 
UGH! UGH!!!! I went out to enjoy the sunshine last night and ran smack into this disgusting creature as I walked out the door – a Praying Mantis. I put the zoom lens on my camera to snap pictures because I was that creeped out!!
I’m usually not so bug phobic, but these things are seriously. freaky. Normal bugs hop or fly away when you come close, but praying manti stay stiff as a board, eerily making you feel as though they’ll strike your face at any moment.
The WORST part is that he’s been hanging out at our house for a week! It’s “end” looks like a strange, 5 inch leaf (yes, it is THAT big) and I’ve seen it everyday on our plants out front. And everyday I’ve been like “Seriously, where did that exotic leaf come from, and why hasn’t it blown away yet?” Now I come to find out it was a praying mantis all along. Horrifying.
Ew, ick, yuck. I didn’t even know there were praying manti in Iowa. Sickening!!!!
ANYWAYS! Happy hump day. 
We’re supposed to get up to 80 degrees today! I celebrated the mild morning with a cool, Fruit & Yogurt Parfait!
In the mix:
- Raspberry Chobani Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 scoop chia seeds
- Banana
- Sliced Almonds
Layered in a glass, cause it’s more fun that way.
In a WINE glass, no less! 
Even if it’s just for you, breakfast can still be special.
I’m very excited for lunch because I packed some tasty, leftover Sautéed Asian Broccoli Tofu and a Honeycrisp Apple!
You could use spaghetti for this dish, or rice noodles for that matter, but I encourage you to try rice sticks. I got mine at an Asian Grocery Store (locals: New Oriental Food Store in the East Village) for like $.99. They’re the same kind of noodles you’ll find in fresh spring rolls and have a wonderful texture.
And my baby!
I paid, cough $5.65 cough, for THREE of these puppies, which makes Honeycrisp apples an expensive habit. But since they’re only around for a short time each year, this budget diva makes an exception for them. 
My Mom’s coming to eat lunch with me today and we’re going to try and eat outside. Sounds like it’s going to be a great day for it!
Giveaway
In other news, I’m glad you guys were receptive to Tofu 101! Tofu’s great hot or cold, cooked or raw, and hopefully some of you who were skeptical before, will give it a try. Still not convinced? Maybe this FREE TOFU PRESS will help!
Whee!! I have a TofuXpress Tofu Press to giveaway to one, tofu-loving winner. You can enter up to three different ways by 5:00pm Central tonight. Here’s how:
1. Leave a comment telling me if you’re a current or future tofu lover.
2. Tweet: “@IowaGirlEats is giving away a free @TofuXpress, today only! http://ow.ly/2LCN6” and leave another comment telling me you’ve done so.
3. Post about this giveaway on your Facebook page and leave another comment telling me you’ve done so.
Hopefully pressed tofu is in your immediate future – good luck!
ps, you can buy a tofu press here for $39.95. A little steep, perhaps, but the Holidays ARE coming up!
Have a great day!
i love tofu but i’m really not the best at cooking it…i get so lazy about draining all the water…i can only imagine how much better it would taste with a tofu press!
I recently became a vegetarian, and love tofu, but sometimes the time required to drain is tedious with my busy schedule. This product looks great and I would love to try it! I don’t have twitter, but I posted it on my facebook!
Posted this giveaway on my facebook!
Starting to get in to it, so a tofu press would be great in helping with that!
I also tweeted the giveaway!!
I like tofu! but am intimidated to do it at home… now I just need to get my husband to eat it! he picks it out of dishes and I find it on my plate
I got hooked on tofu when I first tried it in my pad thai!! YUMMY!! Really soaks up all the flavors!!!
I love tofu! I rarley make it though cuz by the time i get home it takes too long to press it with my ahem, book method, haha this would be perfect!
i am a tofu convert since a few years ago when i first starting reading healthy blogs in college! there’s no turning back now
love that white stuff haha
I have only tried making tofu once and it didn’t go so well! I bet after tofu 101 I can make some pretty large adjustments though!!
I’m definitely a future tofu lover. I had tried it once years ago, but I’m open to a lot of different foods now than I was back then and would like to try it again.
As for the praying mantus – I ended up living with one (in an empty applesauce jar) for a week or so because my cousin found one and wanted to take it to school. We ended up feeding it crickets
I am a future tofu lover. I have tried tofu little bit here and there while eating out but am yet to experiment it at home and would love to with this cute machine
I am definately a current tofu lover, always have been and always will be!
Tofu is one of my favorite foods EVER, but I find I waste so many paper towels pressing it “my” way. I’m dying for a press, and if I don’t win the giveaway, I guess I’ll have to splurge!
Absolutely current tofu lover! But I have sadly…never cooked with it! I only eat it when someone else has made it, which is why I need a tofu press for motivation!!
That’s too bad your local grocery only sells Honeycrisp seasonally.
However, maybe not all bad since, as you stated, they aren’t the cheapest apple. They are the best though! Have you ever had them with Nutella? Yum!
You are acutally very lucky to have a praying mantis at your house – they are endangered species! Plus, they eat mosquitos so we need to keep those things around! Although they may seem creepy they are actually very good for the environment, and unique!
Current tofu lover! Esp for stirfrys…yum!
Goodness! I hope I win a press because that price is steep.
I’m a long time tofu lover.
Future tofu lover
I know prices are different all around the country, but just wanted to say I was shopping at Aldi today (I think they’re in Iowa too) and they had Honey Crisp apples, 4/$1.99, something to check out. They are really good too!
Wow! girlfriend, can you believe you have that many comments already
You rock the foodie world! I am a tofu lover, many years ago I got a parasite from dirty water and it decided to make a perma home in my intestinal tract. Sorry for the very graphic description…ahhem. Anyways, protein is hard to come by but tofu seems to work so I gobble it up! I would love love love to own a tofu press! Good luck to everyone!
Just wondering what exactly the praying mantis would strike with? It’s razor sharp claws? They have got to be the most harmless things out there.
i think i was born a tofu lover! lol.
that tofu press looks so handy!
current-and trying to get my husband on the wagon!
I’m a current tofu lover and hope to be even more so in the future – I definitely want to try the stir-fry recipe you posted yesterday!
I tweeted about it: http://twitter.com/kleineKaiserin (but my account is only visible to friends).
lol your aphids feel the same way about the praying mantis! Try soapy water on the leaves – that way you won’t kill the praying mantis – AND you’ll get rid of those REALLY creepy little buggies! (aphids gross me out – knowing what they do to your plants – mantis are lions and aphids are their dessert!)
this is funny because I caught one of these guys yesterday. I found him at work and brought him to my cube and stuck him on my plant. Sooooo cool!
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