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Tofu Nuggets with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

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 For three of four of my college years, I served as an Resident Assistant – essentially, babysitting drunk 20-year-olds in exchange for free room and board. The job was certainly trying, and I came away with a lot of funny (well, only because I’m looking back on it) stories regarding college life.

  The hands-down best part of being an RA though, was being on campus the night before a holiday break. When students had gone home for Thanksgiving and the rest of the dorms were empty, we RAs would throw a little on-campus get-together of our own. For my senior year, we decided on a BYON rule: Bring You Own Nuggets. A new vegan at the time, I brought the only meatless dish to our Thanksgiving nugget table.

  We had some Sweet Baby Ray’s original barbecue sauce in the fridge, but a quick glance at the back label showed high fructose corn syrup to be the very first ingredient listed. Since homemade barbecue sauce is stupid easy to make, I figured it couldn’t hurt to throw something together while the tofu was baking.

  The tofu nuggets are delicious and simple, but the real star here is the blackberry barbecue sauce. Blackberry preserves add unexpected sweetness to the classic tang of ketchup and vinegar, and a good sprinkling of cayenne pepper sneaks up at the end to remind you that this ain’t your mama’s barbecue sauce.

  I ate this batch for lunch with a generous slathering of the barbecue sauce and was full until dinner. Bring these to your next BYON party (or any party, really) and watch how quickly they get gobbled up!

Tofu Nuggets
Serves 1

12 oz. extra-firm tofu, pressed
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
Spices, to taste: garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tofu into desired size and shapes (use cookie cutters to add an extra sum’ sum’). Freeze and thaw the tofu before pressing for maximum chewy nugget results.

2. Spray nuggets with nonstick spray and toss with the breadcrumbs and spices*. Make sure all nuggets are evenly coated before arranging them on a greased baking sheet.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through until nuggets are brown and crispy.

Nutrition per Serving: 306 calories, 16g fat, 5g carbohydrates, 29g protein.

*After measuring the leftovers, I had only used a tiny bit of the breading. Save the rest of the breading for your next nugget adventure.

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce
Serves 2

3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar-free blackberry preserves (raspberry would be good too!)
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powderBrown sugar to taste, optional
Cayenne pepper to taste, optional

1. Combine ingredients well.

2. Dunk.

Nutrition per Serving: 35 calories, 10g carbohydrates

 

Caribbean Squash, Rice and Kale

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After enjoying several months of spring-like weather, winter has finally arrived here in New Jersey. The chill in the air is more appropriate for February, and Saturday night even brought in a few inches of snow.

The vegetable offerings are really the only thing I enjoy about winter. As much as I’d love to trade in boots for flip-flops, the produce aisle at my local grocery store makes it a little more bearable. People tend to get into produce “ruts” when the temperatures drop, relying heavily on root veggies, but just because the landscape looks barren doesn’t mean that the kitchen has to. Beets, broccoli, winter squashes, brussels sprouts, persimmons and yams are just a handful of the delicious offerings available during the winter months.

When the temperature starts to dip, I like to make recipes that remind me of sunnier times. Curry powder and lime juice combine with winter staples to create a dish reminiscent of the Caribbean. This pot of warmth, comfort and color is the perfect way to shoo away the winter blahs…for an afternoon, anyway.

And with butternut squash and kale a mere 79 cents per pound, it’ll be comforting for your wallet, too.

Caribbean Squash, Rice and Kale
adapted from Weight Watchers Versatile Vegetarian
Serves 4

1 two-pound squash, peeled, cut into 2″ chunks
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 inch ginger root, grated
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of one lime 

1. Coat the bottom of a stock pot with non-stick spray. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the squash, garlic, ginger and jalapeño. Cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the chopped kale in handfuls, stirring as the greens wilt down. Stir in the uncooked rice, salt, pepper, curry powder, nutmeg and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a vigorous boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 35-40 minutes until the water has been absorbed and the rice grains are plump.

3. Remove from heat and add the lime juice. Allow to sit, covered, for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve!

Nutrition per Serving: 268 calories, 2g fat, 62g carbohydrates, 7g protein.

Chocolate Superfood Smoothie

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   Green smoothies are pretty much all the rage in the food world right now, and with good reason. Dark leafy greens have an impressive nutrient resumé, as they are rich in vitamins K, C, E and B, beta-carotene, lutein, iron, potassium and calcium.

  I love leafy greens (read: kale chips), but at first, I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about drinking them. To me, greens were meant to be sauteed in garlic and accompanied by pasta, not made into a shake. But I gave it a shot – and I’m glad I did.

When blended with cocoa, peanut butter and banana, the “green” taste of the spinach completely disappears, and the result is a thick, frosty milkshake with a deep green color. It has all the vegetable nutrients with no hint of a vegetable taste. The addition of the peanut butter and frozen banana add a level of sinfulness that seems impossible in an under-250-calorie milkshake.

For a post-workout protein shake, I blend in one scoop of vegan protein powder before serving, adding 25 grams of protein to feed and repair tired muscles.

Chocolate Superfood Smoothie
Serves 1

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon natural nut butter
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups dark leafy greens (I used spinach)

1.  Blend the first five ingredients together.

2. Add the greens in increments and blend until smooth and creamy. Unless you have a high-powered blender, this will probably take a few minutes.

3. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

 Nutrition per Serving: 239 calories, 10g fat, 36g carbohydrates, 7g protein.

With vegan protein powder: 357 calories, 11g fat, 38g carbohydrates, 32g protein.

Simple Stir-Fry

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  When I find something I like, I stick to it – to the extreme. If I like a certain song, I play it on loop all day, every day until something new comes around to replace it. On Friday nights, my parents and I go to the same restaurant, at the same time and order the same things. Maybe it’s an inherited thing.

The same is true for my eating habits – I might make a few tweaks to my favorite tried-and-true dishes, but for the most part, they revolve around the same basic components. Introducing variety with different spices and add-ins, I can eat this stir-fry, breakfast, lunch and dinner, for weeks at a time.

  An added bonus to stir-fries is that it’s just as easy to cook for a crowd as it is to cook for one. There’s not a whole lot of extra effort involved – just chop a little more veggies, and you’re ready to serve up a family-sized meal – and trust me, when they smell it cooking, they’ll be bringing their own bowls.

 This stir-fry is a great combination of textures and flavors – crunchy carrots and broccoli, chewy marinated tofu and sweet pineapple come together in a blanket of sweet-salty sauce. You could eat this over brown rice, but it’s substantial enough to stand alone.

  The only real “rule” regarding stir-fries is to make sure that you chop everything to roughly the same size. This ensures that everything cooks at the same rate.

  My mom has Celiac Disease, so I use gluten-free tamari soy sauce in this recipe. However, if gluten isn’t an issue for you, use whatever you have on hand – soy sauce, teryaki, even your favorite marinade! The world is your oyster.

Simple Stir-Fry
Serves 2

Tofu Marinade:
1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine
3 tbsp pineapple juice
Juice of 1 lime
1-inch ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped


Stir-Fry:
2 large or 3 small heads of broccoli, chopped
1 medium onion, cut into half-moons
2-3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup pineapple chunks, drained
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed
7 oz. drained and pressed tofu, cut into bite-size pieces*
Gluten-free soy sauce
Salt & Pepper 

*If you have time, consider freezing and thawing the tofu before pressing. The result is a dense, chewy bite of tofu that soaks up more flavors from the marinade.

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow dish. Add tofu, cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

2. Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with non-stick spray. Cook the onion and garlic over medium until just soft. .

3. Add broccoli and carrots. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green, then add the tofu pieces and pineapple chunks. Pour some of the marinade in and stir to warm the add-ins and sauce through.

4. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy hot!

Nutrition per Serving: 211 calories, 4g fat, 32g carbohydrates, 13g protein.

Bean & Sweet Potato Soup

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Soup embodies everything I love about cooking. A couple of forgotten potatoes, that celery that’s been growing a little limp in the fridge, a few herbs and spices – somehow they all come together to create a warm, delicious and comforting dish without a lot of planning or effort. Everything about its creation appeals to my lazy side – which, admittedly, is a pretty big side.

Plus, soup and I go way back. The very first dish I ever learned to cook, it was an ever-present, yet unassuming, part of my culinary life – every holiday dinner, every snow day, every sick day somehow included a bowl of the steamy stuff. I think everyone has at least one childhood memory that involves Grandma’s soup. It’s a dish that’s practically synonymous with warmth and comfort, so it’s no wonder that when the temperature starts to dip, everything from food blogs to Food Network blows up with soup recipes.

As much as I do love soup, it’s not generally considered a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal. That’s where this Bean and Sweet Potato Soup comes in. It’s filling and satisfying – a soup’s soup, if you will – and is sure to fight the February blues with bold Southwest flavors.

    By pureeing some of the dish and leaving the rest chunky, the textures are almost as interesting as the flavor combinations. Sweet chili powder and smoky cumin add a little depth to the top-notch trio of sweet potato, black beans and lime. This soup would be fantastic served alongside a few hot corn tortillas and topped with a generous dash of hot sauce.

I used two different beans in this soup, black and small red, but that’s just what I had on hand. Feel free to use whatever you have in the pantry, or whatever you need to use up – some chopped dark greens would be a delicious addition.

Bean & Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 4

1 medium red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 medium sweet potato, diced
2 celery ribs
1 roasted red pepper
1 15oz. can black beans, drained
1 15oz. can small red beans, drained
Juice of 1 lime
4 cups vegetable broth
1-2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder

1. In a non-stick pan, cook onion, garlic and celery until soft.

2. Add sweet potato, beans, vegetable broth, spices and lime juice. Stir.

3. Simmer 30-40 minutes until sweet potatoes are soft. Remove a third of the soup and set aside. Puree remaining soup and combine.

4. Garnish with hot sauce and a slice of lime.

Nutrition per Serving: 241 calories, 1g of fat, 56g carbohydrates, 15g protein.