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Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu

This Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu is the most versatile thing ever. Make a batch and keep it in your fridge for the week… okay, make a few batches…
Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu

I am bowl-obsessed. I like to eat everything in a bowl. For some reason, everything just tastes better this way.

But it’s not only about taste when it comes to bowls. It’s about ease and variety.

Here’s what I mean: I prep and/or cook whatever ingredients I have in my fridge and I store them in glass containers in the fridge. Then, for the easiest meal ever, I take out all of the containers and arrange them on my counter. I look at them and decide what I want in my bowl. Then I put everything that makes me smile in it’s own little section in the bowl, and I’m good to go. Then everything goes back in the fridge and I do it again next time.

This Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu has become my new favorite bowl ingredient.

It’s so good that even those people in my house who sneer at vegan food love it too.

BUT, and there’s always a BUT isn’t there… tofu should always be organic if possible. It’s a pressed food and therefore that means it’s been manipulated probably more than is healthy. So keep it organic if possible. Also, tofu is very cold in nature. In Chinese medicine, we know that too much cold can be hard on your digestion and on your health in general, so don’t just toss all of this tofu onto a cold salad. I like to add things to mine that are warmer in property too — like hot peppers, ginger, meats…  I also like to spice it up with a tangy sauce (see the recipe below). I know this can be confusing, so ask me anything in the comments below.

Make this tofu. Keep it in the fridge. You will love it.

What are my other favorite bowl ingredients? Well, I’m pretty fickle, but lately these are my favorites:

  • This Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu (yes, it’s worth repeating)
  • Sauerkraut
  • Fermented veggies (I buy jars of beets, cabbage, carrots, etc.)
  • Avocado
  • Leftover meats
  • Salami
  • Roasted veggies
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Cauliflower rice
  • Buckwheat
  • Dairy-free cheese
  • Banana peppers
  • And… wait for it… a fried egg on top, or hard boiled eggs if I have them.

I’ll post a full bowl recipe soon, and you can see how pretty and simple and appetizing it can be.

I haven’t even gotten to the health benefits of these bowls. I customize mine for whatever’s going on in my body at the time. Whatever area needs a little extra help can be given love with a bowl. Oftentimes, my bowls are geared toward digestive benefits and contain foods that help me deal with stress or fighting inflammation. But you do you.

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If you need a little help with your digestion, please download my free Healthy Digestion ebook here.

Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu

This is the part of the recipe post where I usually tell you the health benefits of some of the ingredients. Well, there are so few ingredients in this one, but I’ll talk about the tofu itself:

Tofu is touted in Chinese medicine for its ability to help detoxify the body. It also can help you with energy and with dryness in the body. NOTE: many people don’t do well with a lot of foods that are cold in property, and tofu is cold. So, don’t eat too much if you fall into this category.

Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu

Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu
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Recipe type: vegan, vegetarian, grain free, gluten free
Cuisine: tofu, sheet pan
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
This Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu is the perfect thing to make ahead and keep in your fridge for the week. It's got the perfect texture and tangy taste.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb firm tofu
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbs BBQ sauce (store bought or homemade)
  • 1 tsp coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  3. Place several layers of paper towels or a clean dish towel on a large plate and lay the tofu on top. Cover with more towels and then place a can of food on top and let it sit for about 15 mins, so that the tofu drains a bit.
  4. Cut the tofu into bite-size cubes.
  5. Put the cubes into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Toss gently to combine.
  6. Lay the cubes out onto the sheet pan, making sure they are not touching each other.
  7. Bake about 25- to 30-mins or until they are a little crisp on the outside.
  8. Enjoy with everything.

Simple Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu

 

Vegan Stuffed Eggplant

This vegan stuffed eggplant is roasted in the oven so the veggies get caramelized and delicious!

vegan stuffed eggplant

Sometimes when I make a vegan dinner, I brace myself for complaints from my diners. When I say my “diners” I mean my family. And when I say complaints I mean I get grunts and groans because there’s no “real food” and “not enough protein.” This is B.S. But, I aim to please, so I’ve been working on more filling and “meatier” vegan recipes. This vegan stuffed eggplant is a crowd pleaser.

When I made this recipe last week, I knew the time was right because Steve had just come home from a guys trip and I know when he comes home from one of these trips, he feels like he needs to clean up his act and eat healthy. So, call me a chicken, but I waited for this time to test out this recipe on him. It worked like a charm. He loved it so much that he even took some of the leftovers with him for lunch the next day. In my book, that’s a big win!

I am not a big fan of meat substitutes. I just don’t appreciate faux foods, I guess. I see lots of recipes that look awesome using faux meat products, but I’d almost always rather eat my meals without them. And, I don’t like to eat a lot of soy, so I shy away from tofu.

I do, however, love eggplant. Eggplant, when cooked well, is as satisfying as meat.

This eggplant dish is filling, delicious, healing, and fills the need for “meat” that my non-vegan eaters look for. And I hid some semi-spicy peppers in the mix, so there are some delicious surprises inside.

In Chinese medicine, we use eggplant to help reduce inflammation, lessen pain, and smooth your digestion. What a delicious way to heal…

The filling here is made with lots of tomatoes and peppers and onions and it is amazing. The stuffed eggplant roasts in the oven and the tomatoes get caramelized and sweet. I melted some vegan mozzarella on some of these vegan stuffed eggplant and I left some plain. Melting the cheese really took them up a level… OMG this is so good!

For another crowd-pleasing eggplant recipe, try my Paleo Eggplant Meatballs.

vegan stuffed eggplant

vegan stuffed eggplant

Here are some of the healing ingredients in this vegan stuffed eggplant recipe:

In eastern medicine, eggplant is added to the diet when there is pain in the body because it’s great for relieving pain and reducing swelling. It’s especially good to eat eggplant when you are experiencing some nasty digestive issues. It relieves stomach pain, helps with dysentery, diarrhea, and painful urinary conditions. Eggplant has also been used topically to treat frostbite and canker sores… talk about a multi-tasking vegetable…

Onions are great for your immune system; they are a natural antihistamine. In the winter, I eat lots and lots of onions… I guess I should feel sorry for the people close to me! During cold and flu season, I recommend onions to everyone, and in lots of ways and forms; they actually can rid the body of bacteria.

Garlic is amazing in its antiviral and antibacterial capabilities. Garlic is actually a Chinese herb (Da Suan). It’s used to kill toxins and parasites and also to reduce swelling in the body. It’s what I call a great “A” herb: anesthetic, antibacterial, anti fungal, antioxidant, antiviral, etc….

In Chinese medicine, we use tomatoes to aid in digestion and to help detoxify the body. They are also good to combat excess cholesterol, lessen inflammation and curb asthma. Tomatoes can also quench thirst, and they can help fight some kidney infections.

It is true that spinach contains iron, but it’s this vegetable’s lesser-known qualities that really hold my admiration. Spinach contains a substance that helps eliminate prostate cancer. It’s also great for your bones and also for memory loss. Diabetic patients may find that eating spinach helps combat excessive thirst and can even be good for night blindness. Spinach can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb calcium, so calcium-rich foods should be avoided when eating this leafy green.

vegan stuffed eggplant

Vegan Stuffed Eggplant
5.0 from 1 reviews
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Recipe type: eggplant, main dish, vegetables, vegan, paleo, vegetarian
Cuisine: recipe inspired by: The Iron You
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
This is a vegan main dish that even meat eaters will love. It gets roasted in the oven, so the veggies get caramelized and sweet... it's so good!
Ingredients
  • 4 slender eggplants
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more from brushing the pan
  • 1 med onion, chopped
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1-1/2 cups baby spinach, torn into pieces
  • 8 garlic cloves, smashed
  • ¼ cup jarred sliced pepperonci or banana peppers
  • 2 Tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tsp coconut sugar
  • dried hot red pepper flakes, to taste
  • vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  2. Slice the eggplants lengthwise until they are almost sliced all the way through, but not all the way through.
  3. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt onto each half of eggplant, then place them in a colander and let them sit for 30 minutes (this helps remove some of the water and bitterness from the eggplant).
  4. Place the eggplants, partially opened, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and then place them in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbs oil.
  6. Add the onion, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, peppers, and tomato paste to the skillet and sauté, stirring until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 mins. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Stir in the coconut sugar and red pepper flakes.
  8. Open the eggplants so they are butterflied, and place them in a baking dish.
  9. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
  10. Spoon the filling evenly into the eggplant.
  11. Roast in the oven for 45 mins. (If using vegan cheese, slice some up and tuck it into the eggplants when there is about 10 mins of cooking time remaining.)

vegan stuffed eggplant