Happy Marvelous Meatless Monday! Other than a fair bit of traveling, I had a great weekend, with lots of good eats….another reason I need to participate in these meatless, healthy meals! When I eat out, I get whatever the heck I want, good for the soul, but not for training! Buuuutt, I like to think I have an excuse as its my BIRTHDAY WEEK 🙂 Yeah, I really should not be very excited about turning 26, but I am, and of course I love cake. Hurry up Wednesday 🙂
I did not realize that InLinkz will only let you have one linkup with photos, so for the time being I am going to remove the linkup feature. If I can add it back, I will! I have to apologize for the photo this week, I am pretty disappointed in it…..a little too zoomed in, but I was so hungry the day I made this, that I did not have the patience to make it look stylish.
This was my first time of cooking with tofu, and I have to say I was very happy with how it turned out. I had originally used the Almond Butter dressing in my Thai Spinach Salad Pita Pockets from last year. I thought it would go wonderfully with the tofu, and I was right; it soaked it up beautifully! The quinoa bumps up the carbohydrates and protein content of this superfood salad. It can be served hot or cold (the quinoa and tofu), and the vegetables can easily be switched out to whatever you have in the house at the time.
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
1 packet extra firm tofu (12oz/340g), cut into 1 inch chunks, pressed to remove excess liquid*
1 cup snap peas
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into small pieces
1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into small pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into small pieces
3 mushrooms, diced
4 radishes, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
2 tablespoon Sriracha
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Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to package directions in the vegetable broil, with the salt and pepper.
Mix together the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Add the quinoa (if you do not mind it going in warm), and half the dressing over the salad.Â
Dip each piece of tofu into the remaining almond butter dressing to coat, then into the salad. Leave the salad for a few minutes before mixing to allow the tofu to soak up the flavor. Stir to combine, and serve.
*After cutting the tofu into squares, I placed mine on doubled up paper towel, covered it with another double layer, and rested my cast iron pan on them. Be sure to distribute the weight evenly or they will crumble. Change the paper towel out 2-3 times. You could also use tea towels/kitchen towels.
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442 calories, 29g fat, 615mg sodium, 25g carbohydrates, 6g fiber, 7g sugar, 0mg cholesterol, 21g protein
Have you ever cooked with Tofu? What is your best food photography tip (other than do not try to take nice pictures when you are starving? :p)?
24 Comments.
Yum! I love almond butter and love the idea of making it into a dressing. I also love to cook with tofu.
I'm glad you are enjoying the travel and eating out. And happy birthday to you young lady!
We are ALMOST Birthday Twins! (Mine is on Thursday!!!) I hope you have an absolutely AWESOME week, Tina!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK. And I suck. Again. I have the perfect idea, but it just never comes to fruition. I'm not a huge almond butter fan but I did just get cashew butter, so I'm thinking that will be a great sub
I love birthdays so I am excited that yours is this week and you get special cake! I haven't cooked with tofu. I should by now but I just don't. Sometimes I look at the package in the store but never actually buy it.
I'm a tofu expert but haven't done much with almond butter. This looks good thanks for sharing
Confessions of A Mother Runner
We love tofu in stir fries or peanut noodle dishes. Almond butter dressing sounds awesome! PS- loved your previous post and your honesty!
You are my kind of girl Tina!
I'm going meatless this week–plus my hub and I are a huuuge fan of tofu!
Best food pic tip? Take pictures outside in the shade. Best lighting!
What? Almond butter dressing?!! I've never had nut butter dressing. I should use this with my coconut aminos and make this today–thanks!
Looks good to me! I like tofu. I wish I had food photo tips for you,but I'm lacking in that department!
Happy birthday week! This recipe looks so good. It's full of foods the husband won't eat, but it would make great lunches for me!
Happy happy birthday week!!! That's so exciting and this sounds really good. I am not a fan of peanut butter, so I tend to avoid nut butters in general but then something I made recently called for almond butter and I was surprised to find that I like it. Almond butter dressing sounds delicious!
Happy birthday week! This looks amaze, I made my dad grill tofu now I don't know what to do with it… whoops. Anyway, my food photography isn't very good but the best thing I learned was to buy a posterboard… I like using black because it reflects some light and my photos look uniform.
YUMMMM I always forget about tofu. And hey, you're allowed to be excited for your birthday from now until the end of time 🙂
This looks amazing. I am going to add it to the meal plan next week!
Yay birthday week!! This looks delish too.. I always say never enough nut butter 😉
Happy Birthday Week!! This looks good. My best photo tip is lots of natural light that's all 🙂
Happy Birthday week you little young thing!!! This recipe looks great. I've been using almond butter more often as a sauce rather than peanut butter. I actually like it better!
WooHoo – celebrate and enjoy your week!!!
I have never cooked with Tofu – not sure how my family would react if I served them a tofu dinner.
Another tip. Don't try to take food photos when family is waiting to eat haha! Seriously. Even the most supportive family lose patience 🙂 This recipe looks delicious.
This is a wonderful month for birthdays!! Happy birthday my friend 🙂
Looks delicious! And happy early birthday 🙂
i don't even eat tofu and I want this! YUM!!
p.s. it's almost your bday!! and update me ON YOU soon.xoxo
I love spicy nut sauces! #twss Haha! One of my favorite baked tofu creations was peanut butter and sriracha. I may have to do this tonight!
This looks absolutely delicious. I try to find a good plate or backdrop and hopefully real sunlight. Something about artificial lighting makes food look a bit iffy. 🙂