More and more Americans are developing healthy eating habits while simultaneously realizing that eating light doesn't have to mean giving up satisfying, tasty meals. For many, a key to cutting fat, calories and cholesterol is reducing the amount of meat in their diets, and an easy way to do this is to start cooking with tofu, a delicious and versatile high-protein food made from soybeans.

Marie Oser is a gourmet natural food expert, best selling author, newspaper columnist and media personality whose work focuses on health, nutrition and the plant-based diet. Here she offers tips for cooking with tofu:

• A misunderstood food.
  Oser considers tofu to be the best known and least understood meat substitute. There are actually two specific types of tofu and each has its own applications.
  
• Chinese Tofu: Spongy and flavor-absorbing.
  Chinese style tofu (firm tofu) is perfect for any dish where the tofu is going to be handled a lot. Its spongy texture and consistency also make it perfect for absorbing sauces and flavors.
  
• Japanese Tofu: Best for baking.
  Japanese style (silken tofu) tofu is best suited for desserts, baking, puddings, or anywhere where you need a custard-like consistency.
  
• Light Tofu: Low in fat.
  Light tofu is very low in fat and has a nice, clean, even consistency to it. You can use it to make quiche.
  
• Quick and easy cooking.
  Sauté some cubes of tofu, toss in some veggies and a little bit of soy sauce and in just a few minutes you've got yourself a healthy and delicious meal.

For more information about tofu and fine cooking, check out the following website:

The World of Tofu
www.tofu.com