There is one tofu recipe that we have almost weekly, mostly because the kids like it. It's very easy and low-fat because the tofu is baked and not fried. You can buy tofu at WalMart near the carrots and at Kroger in the front "healthy" section with soy milk. Make sure you buy organic tofu (it's usually the same price) so it doesn't contain any GMOs.
Tofu Nuggets
1 16.oz package extra firm organic tofu
cooking spray
salt
pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain your tofu. You can also press it to get out more of the water, this will make the nuggets chewier and not as soft. Place the tofu on a paper towel on a plate, put another plate on top of the tofu, and place a canned food on top. Let it sit that way for an hour, then squeeze the tofu over the sink with more paper towels to get the water out. You can also microwave the tofu with a paper towel on top for 1 minute, that does help some and its a faster method.
2. Cut the tofu into small squares or rectangles. You can make them any size, the smaller they are the faster they will cook. The thinner they are, the faster they will cook.
3. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the tofu squares in a single layer on the pan. Spray the tofu with cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake the tofu for 20-25 min. for each side. Sometimes, the tofu is done earlier than that, and other times, it takes longer. Plus, you can play around with the baking time to see which consistency your family likes best.
That's it! It's full of soy protein, and tofu also contains calcium, which can be hard to get in a vegan diet. I've read tons of studies about soy, and there are several saying soy is wonderful and lowers the risk of cancer, and others say it can cause more problems. For me personally, eating soy lowers my hormone levels in my blood which makes my depression better. More on soy later!
*I often double the tofu recipe and halve the fries recipe for my family of 5.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into fries (I leave the skin on)
2 T. olive oil (I usually use less to lower the fat content)
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. brown sugar
1/2 t. chili powder (I use less b/c my kids don't like them spicy)
1/4 t. sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, tossing gently to coat.
3. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over potatoes, coating evenly and tossing as needed.
4. Bake in over for 15-25 min. on each side, the smaller and thinner the fries, the faster they will cook.
I am tempted, especially by the sweet potato fries. But what exactly IS tofu?
ReplyDeleteTofu is made up of soybeans. It's often called bean curd, especially on Asian restaurant menus. You can cook it many different ways, and it takes the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with. It took me awhile to get used to how to make it.
ReplyDeleteYum! Baking the sweet potato fries on the bottom rack of your oven helps to make them more crispy and get a little brown, Natalie loves them. I think if you are afraid of tofu, breading cubes of tofu with flour and then pan frying them in a little bit of oil is great and then you can use that in a stir fry or whatever. And you can brush tofu with BBQ sauce before baking it. Yum girl I love your recipes. I used to tell my students tofu was like soy milk's cheese... I don't know how true that is but it helped them to get a handle on it.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think John will say if I try the nugget recipe?! I'm interested and probably will...he might pay you back somehow on the cruise, though, so watch out! HAHA! Seriously,thanks for this. I look forward to expanding my lsit of dinners.
ReplyDeleteI think you should try it, and hopefully he will at least taste one! I'm glad you can use the recipes :)
ReplyDelete