It's time for the Tofu talk...

Is there anything more awesome than Tofu? I don’t think so! It’s taking all my will power not to have it with every meal. I wish everyone would eat a little bit more tofu and a little less meat every week. There is this weird idea going around suggesting that only vegetarians eat tofu. We need to stop that so whether you find a great Tofu recipe or come up with your own, please share it with your friends! I like to eat tofu any time of the day so I usually simply marinate it, cook it and keep it in the fridge for snacks. I will be sharing with you the method I use to marinate and cook the tofu and my Tomato & Tofu Risotto.  Oh! One last thing before we begin, make sure you always buy organic Tofu because the regular soy seeds are genetically modified and trust me you don’t want that! Eeekk! While we’re at it, everything I use in my recipes is organic: vegetables and fruits, oils and flours, nuts and seeds, etc. I know it cost more and you have a more restricted selection, but not only it’s better in so many ways, it also taste better (We’ll have the talk about organic raspberries later!). Alright, back to tofu.

                                                             Simple Marinated Tofu Snacks

 Prep Time: 10 min   Waiting time: 50 min    Cooking time: 30-40 min     Servings: 4

  1 Block of Organic Extra Firm Tofu

  1/3 cup Organic Olive oil

  1/4 cup Organic Balsamic Vinegar

  1 tbsp Raw Honey

  1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard

  1 tbsp Organic unhulled Sesame seeds

Drain the water from the package of Tofu. Place on a cutting board and cut into ½ inch slices. Cut those slices in half to get the triangle shapes. Place a dish towel on a flat surface and put all your triangles on it. Place the other towel on top and cover with heavy stuff (I usually take all the heavy books I own and pile them up). Leave it for about 20 minutes to remove all the extra water that makes the Tofu soggy. Use a wide container that can fit all the pieces side by side like a 13 x 9 dish. If you don’t have one with a cover just use some plastic wrap to cover it. Mix all the ingredients together and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the tofu. The raw Honey is in a solid form so you’ll have to mix it for a few minutes for it to blend in. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes or until dark and crispy, flipping half way through. I usually try a small piece to see if it’s crispy enough. Once they are done, let them cool off and store in the fridge for up to one week (If you don’t eat it all that same day!).

                                                 Tomato & Tofu Risotto

Before you can make this recipe you will have to make some ketchup. Yes you heard me; you’ll have to make your own ketchup! This stuff is so good I use it on my pizzas, burgers, as a marinade, as a sauce, I use it on everything. This is a recipe from Brendan Brazier’s book The Thrive Diet which I would strongly recommend you read immediately!

Home Made Ketchup

4 fresh or soaked dates

1 cup chopped tomato

1 cup sun-dried tomato (If you use the ones in oil, rinse and drain them)

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup Agave Nectar

¼ cup Hemp oil (It says on the bottle that it will make you feel like a flower that flourish and it’s so true!)

2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Oregano

Sea Salt to taste

Mix everything in a food processor. Keep in a sealed container for up to 4 weeks.

Tomato & Tofu Recipe

Prep Time: 5 min Waiting time: 20 min Cooking time: 35 min Servings: 1

¼ Block of Extra Firm Tofu (Use the rest for Tofu Snacks)

¾ cup Brown Rice cooked (I use short grain non- GMO rice)

2 small tomatoes

1 Chopped Onion

2 Chopped Garlic Cloves

1 cup Spinach

3 Chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp Organic Olive oil

1 tbsp Organic Coconut oil

2 tbsp of Ketchup + 2 tbsp for marinade

Salt, Pepper and Nutritional Yeast to taste.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Cut the tofu into cubes. Mix 2 tbsp of Ketchup with the Olive oil in a bowl. Rub the Tofu cubes one by one in the marinade. Place them on a baking sheet.  Cook the Tofu for 30 minutes.

Once the tofu is cooked, heat the Coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.  Add the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and the rest of the ketchup. (I like to cook a big batch of rice in advance and freeze it to save time when I make recipes. If you use that method, there is no need to thaw the rice before making this recipe). Add the tofu, spinach and salt and pepper. Stir for 1 minute until the spinach is cooked and remove from heat. Add basil and nutritional yeast.  Enjoy!