Tofu Tips and a Banana-Mango Smoothie

by WiredBerries Readers — January 8, 2007

This week, our readers have come up with suggestions for fluffier laundry, preparing ahead for ground-beef dinners, using tofu as a sandwich filling, and the hands-down best grater for cheese, chocolate, and coconut.

Monday, January 8th
Wash & Dry

For big laundry jobs, like bedding and blankets, Malisa Tsang Yee of La Mirada, CA, recommends using the commercial machines at your local laundromat to save time and spare your home washer from overload. “To make sure comforters and pillows come out fluffy from the dryer,” she adds, “toss in three clean tennis balls to keep the items from getting matted and bunched up.”

Tuesday, January 9th
Tofu Tips

Tofu is a great low-calorie, low-fat source of protein, but by itself is often bland and tasteless. Sarah Brechner of Nashville, TN, recommends these two quick and tasty ways to work tofu into your diet. (She recommends buying it in blocks from the grocery, and then draining the blocks and patting them dry with a paper towel.)

Wednesday, January 10th
Groovy Grater

The gadget of the week comes from Peggy Mills of San Francisco, CA, who swears by the microplane grater. Originally made for planning wood, it can be used to grate coconut, ginger, or chocolate and is splendid for finely shredding parmesan to top pasta dishes. “They’re a cinch to clean up,” Cara adds, and eminently affordable at about $13 to $15.

Thursday, January 11th
Mango-Banana Smoothie

Our smoothie of the week is adapted from a recipe offered by the Better Homes & Garden test kitchens and has about 170 calories per serving.

3 medium bananas (about 1 lb.)
2 mangoes
1/4 cup apple juice or unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup ice cubes
Chill the bananas and mangoes in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Peel and slice bananas and mangoes; place in a blender container. Add apple juice or coconut milk and honey. Cover and blend until smooth. With blender running, add ice cubes, one at a time, through opening in lid. Blend until smooth. Makes about four 8-ounce servings.

Friday, January 12th
Where’s the Beef?

"I purchase several pounds of ground beef in a large package, which usually means savings of up to 30 cents per pound,” writes Kathy Shaffer of Mercer, PA. “Then I brown all the meat in several batches, drain it on paper towels, and freeze it in baggies containing one pound each to use later for tacos, sloppy joes, pasta sauce, and so on. This makes for some very quick dinners on hectic school nights!"