Thai Green Papaya And Tofu Salad . A light, refreshing one bowl meal ready in 20 minutes!
About a month ago, we received a call from our dad letting us know that our mom had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital. Living an ocean away from our family, that’s the one thing we always fear the most: that something like this will happen, and we won’t be able to just jump in the car and go to the hospital.
Thankfully, she was treated right away and was able to recover with minimal damage and no further complications. Regardless, we flew home to Barcelona to spend some time with her and help her with with the recovery.
This was (for her as well as for us), a true wake up call. We’re talking about a woman who has been a vegetarian most of her life. Never had any major health issues. No high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes. No family history of heart disease, at all. She did, however, smoke ( a bad habit that she started in her early 40s) and is constantly under a lot of stress. Staggering, if you ask me.
Everyone knows how incredibly damaging smoking is. And most people, like our mom, accept the fact that they have no choice but to quit, when they have a health scare like she had. Stress however, is a completely different story. Just because it isn’t something that we can physically touch or see, doesn’t mean it isn’t there, and doesn’t have to be dealt with. And unfotunately, most people don’t.
If we didn’t realize that before, we sure do now. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is worth loosing your health over. So:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. Sounds cliche, I know, but it’s true. Things won’t always go our way, that’s life. But at the end of the day, if it doesn’t affect your life in a major way, it’s not worth stressing about it. JUST.LET. IT. GO.
- If you stop for a minute to take a look at your life and realize you are mostly unhappy, with little bouts of joyfulness here and there, do something about it. Make changes. Do whatever you need to do to reverse that ratio. Because if you keep doing the same thing, it will always stay the same. Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. The man was pretty bright, so I’m pretty positive that quote is accurate. STOP BEING INSANE.
- If you don’t like where you are, physically or emotionally, move. You’re not a tree. (I read that quote somewhere once, so I can’t take credit for it. It’s a good one though!).
- If something (or someone) no longer makes you happy, causes you stress and literally sucks the life out of you, let it go. You will feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders, and you might start to breathe again. JUST. LET. IT.GO.
- If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. So be selfish when it comes to your health and your overall well-being (as long as you’re not harming another living being in the process, of course). And believe me when I tell you this, if you don’t do this voluntarily, life will make you do it. And probably not in the most pleasant way.
We hope you find this little piece of unsolicited advice somewhat useful! And if that’s not the case, at least enjoy this fabulous Thai Green Papaya And Tofu Salad recipe 😉
- 1 tablespoon neutral flavor oil (such as avocado, grapeseed or sunflower)
- 16 oz extra firm high protein tofu, diced small
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 1lb green papaya shredded ( about 4 cups)
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup diced cucumbers
- ½ pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- ¼ cup shelled peanuts
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves (optional)
- Peanut Sauce, homemade (click HERE for the recipe) or store bought
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat
- Combine the diced tofu and soy sauce in a large bowl and toss well. Add garlic, onions and ginger powders and toss again to coat
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the tofu to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Toss well and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until all sides are golden
- To assemble the salad, combine the cooked tofu with the shredded green papaya, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Add the peanut sauce and toss well
- Top with peanuts and cilantro leaves before serving
GREAT advice! So thrilled that your mom is healing & becoming a better her. I am a non-smoking vegan who was a vegetarian most of my life. I will also begin implementing some changes. Thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you so much Deborah, change is hard, but necessary…