Today’s recipe is a plant-based power bowl.
It’s gluten-free AND vegan. In my house?!
This delicious Asian-inspired Sriracha Peanut Tofu Power Bowl with ginger-tahini dressing is loaded with nutrients to give your body a boost and keep you full longer. Get the recipe for this quick and healthy meal below!
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I’m kidnapping a Swiss girl.
And not just because she makes me breakfast.
Lucie and I have been entertaining Vegas for the past few days. I can’t remember ever having a more #strangebutgood Christmas. We opened presents a day early so that we could abscond to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree for Christmas.
I couldn’t let them go without anything Christmas morning though. I had the honor of giving Lucie her first Christmas stocking!
https://www.instagram.com/p/_ub-2tGjdr/
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Tis the season…
To bake all the foods.
Cookies, fudge, Devil’s food cake, ricotta cheesecake, malted walnut pie… you name it, I’ve baked it. I’ve been baking like a fool! Or maybe a ho ho ho?
#dessertwhore
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Don’t fight the festive.
My former Grinch-self is kicking me in the shins.
As advertised, Vegas and I got a tree. Vegas did the lights (after a debate over whether wrapping or running lights up and down is better). We hung ornaments. There was Christmas music and champagne.
This, after being opposed to Christmas decor of years. My former self thought it was a waste of time and money, not to mention messy.
My new smiley-self loved every minute of it.
(And that’s not just the wine talking.)…
Change is inevitable.
Except from vending machines.
One of my favorite policies it to change something that isn’t working. If you aren’t happy, make a change. Don’t sit around in a puddle of mud complaining about how dirty you are. That knight in shining armor isn’t going to show up on a unicorn and rescue you.
Incidentally, my unicorn name is Helleborine Cheeky Rump.
I realized my job wasn’t the right one for me… so I’m making a change! More on that to come. In the meantime, I’m taking a little break. The best kind of break – I’ll be traveling to Switzerland next week! The wonderful Lucie has offered to be my guide. I am SO EXCITED to meet her in person and have some adventures. She’s already living up to her blog name (Fit Swiss Chick) – we’re booked for hiking, running, and cross fit!
Naturally, I needed to make some purchases for my travels. DSW and TJ Maxx are full of deals right now… I probably spent too much but think of how much I saved! LOL!
This WIAW is week 3 working through my intolerances per my Alcat test. I’ve been pretty good about it and still happy with the results… but I’m not going to Switzerland without eating cheese. #sorryimnotsorry
Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…
I’m a big meat eater.
That’s an understatement. It’s also what she said.
Oddly enough, I went vegetarian for a while and even vegan for a hot minute. I realized my body does better with meat in my diet, but I learned a LOT about ingredients and creativity from those meatless months.
This Meatless Monday MMAZ Heather chose one of my favorite ingredients: Tofu. In honor of my meat-free days, I opted to do a round up of some of my favorite tofu recipes. I still include these in regular rotation!
Sometimes I am oblivious.
Ok, a lot of the time…
I’m not one to get too riled up over political issues. At least not in the “the world is going to hell in a handbasket!” way. I DO get fired up over discrimination and stupid political moves. When Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad aired, it didn’t cross my mind that it was controversial. I actually tweeted that it was too long and boring. My attention span only wants short, funny ads, dammit!
So why were people fired up? They thought it was offensive that “America the Beautiful” was sung in different languages, featured many cultures, and *gasp* included a gay couple.
Really?! Last I checked the English language didn’t originate in America. Next year they should air the song being sung in a Native American language with all dark-skinned people.
I’m proud of my hometown’s company for embracing our melting pot country. Even if it was a boring commercial.
This WIAW was decidedly uncontroversial. Someone at work even told me my fish smelled good. And she was sincere!
Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!
The usual apple cider morning cocktail was followed by a new-to-me oatmeal. I got Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Oatmeal as part of a deal when I ordered more Nuttzo a couple of weeks ago. I will definitely be buying more! I use it to make cinnamon-vanilla egg white oats and topped it with blueberries and Nuttzo.
This week I prepped a big batch of Chili Nutty Tofu. I followed my original recipe, except I used sriracha and made a peanut flour sauce rather than the Valencia PB. It was awesome with an Asian-inspired Napa cabbage, mushroom, and red bell pepper stir-fry (also a part of Sunday’s food prep).
Rotisserie chicken, carrots, and celery dressed with homemade BBQ sauce. My “dessert” was a Korean sweet potato topped with cinnamon. Pretty food tastes better, no?
Cod with a side of asparagus, zucchini, and parsley mixed with my wasabi-blue cheese dressing.
Trout has become a new staple thanks to SizzleFish. I broiled it for 7 mins with pepper and lemon juice. Meanwhile, I sautéed Napa cabbage and mushrooms in the juice from a jar of kimchi. Quick and easy!
Of course, I needed something sweet, so I made a pre-dessert dessert of my favorite cocoa-roasted kabocha topped with peanut flour sauce (I get my peanut flour on iHerb – use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order) and cacao nibs.
It was so good that I didn’t remember a pic until I was almost done. #sorryimnotsorry
I stopped on my way home from work for a little treat. The Cookies & Cream Quest bar. I can’t believe I had the restraint to wait until almost midnight to eat this.
Mine was broiled for about a minute with the intent of using it to scoop up a Zucchini Batter Protein bowl. The bowl was forgotten based on the favor of the bar. Best. Flavor. Yet.
(Don’t worry – I still finished the zucchini bowl.)
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I am going back for a case of those bars.
Did you have any reaction to Coke’s Super Bowl ad?
Are you a Quest bar fan? What’s your favorite flavor?
You could stuff jalapeños with the typical mixture of cheeses.
But you know I need my protein.
In a strange twist, I found the solution in the form of a vegan protein source. Tofu.
Tofu is the chicken of the vegetarian world. It is a neutral protein that can take on any flavor. I’ve use it in the past to as a cheese replacement in Eggplant Rollatini, as an egg replacement in an Indian-Inspired Scramble, a chicken replacement in baked Chili-Nutty Tofu, as a thickener in Carrot Cake Batter Protein Shake, and even a protein add in this Tofu Grilled PB&J.
I use tofu here with a delicious mix of garlic and onions cooked with Mexican-inspired herbs and spices. You can experiment with any type of filling in these poppers! It makes for a fantastically creamy, low-fat, high protein stuffing!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the jalapeños and remove ribbing and seeds. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients using a fork to smash together.
Stuff each pepper half with tofu mixture.
Set each pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for ~20 mins, until the peppers have softened.
Let cool slightly and enjoy!
How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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I’m on the road to KY for my competition this weekend! Thank you all SO MUCH for the well-wishes. I’ll be over-sharing (as usual) on Instagram. 😉
What is your favorite way to use tofu?
Have you made anything strange but good lately?
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