Tofu Taco Salad. Vegan. GF.

Looking for a fun way to use up your taco leftovers?  I got you covered.  I normally have a bunch of random leftovers after our Taco Tuesday dinner and I hate wasting food as it gets inevitably pushed to the back of the fridge to be lost for basically ever.  This salad can clearly be made with any protein of your choice but I wanted to share my taco tofu recipe that is great over nachos, in tacos or wherever you would traditionally use ground beef/chicken or turkey – great way to incorporate more plant based foods into you menu.

Ingredients:

1 block of firm tofu (pressed for at least an hour)
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
Juice from half of a lime
Water

Directions:

First, press your tofu block in a clean cloth towel and place it on a cookie sheet or platter.  Place a heavy cast iron (or heavy item) on top to press the water out for at least one hour.  When ready, add a tablespoon of oil to your sauté pan and heat it over medium flame.  Once hot, crumble the tofu into the pan.  Add your garlic and continue to break up the tofu with a spatula. Once you cook for 4-6 minutes and remove some additional water from the tofu, add your spices.  Stir to combine and keep cooking to integrate the flavors.  I add a few teaspoons of water to make a little sauce. I cooked this about 12 minutes over low/medium flame.  Then add the lime juice about a minute before you serve.

You can use this as a protein for tacos, atop corn chips in a nacho platter or as a protein in a lovely salad like I have here.  I added a bed of Romaine lettuce leaves but any salad greens would work.  I added some of my taco toppings as well – think red bells peppers, sliced jalapeños, black beans, vegan cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, olives,  green onions, corn salsa etc.  Have fun with it.  I top my salad with hummus and hot sauce.

Sunday: 10 outdoor miles
Monday: 10 treadmill miles (progression run), weights/core
Tuesday: 12 trail miles
Wednesday: Rest day

That wraps up my week so far.  Everyone here is bracing for our first dose of winter – snow totals are expected to be around 5-10 inches.  Snowblower ready for action.  I bought about 8 lbs of bananas (yes, no eggs and bread for us 😉 On other more positive notes – my oldest earned her 3rd year varsity letter in swimming last night.  Two more runs left for me and they will be done before any inclement weather arrive.  I’ve been fighting a bug or something for the past week and hopefully I’m winning.  Just feeling a bit tired.  Signing off from here.  Wishing you a lovely evening.  oxo

 

 

 

 

— Knead to Cook