Peppery Tofu

(Adapted from Archana Pidathala's recipe)

Ingredients:
5-6 Oz of Tofu - Pressed, drained and cut into thin pieces
1 tsp of Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Spices for Seasoning
1/4 tsp of Whole Black Peppercorns
1/2 tsp of Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp of Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp of Coriander Seeds

Method:
1. Dry roast all the spices for seasoning until they turn slightly brown. Be careful not to burn them.
2. Let the roasted spices cool and then grind them into a coarse powder.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cut tofu pieces and saute them on a medium heat until they are nicely browned on both sides. You can cook them a bit longer if you like crispy tofu.
4. Put the spices - you do not have to add all of it, you can add as much as you like. Add salt. Mix it well.
6. Cook the tofu with spices for a few more minutes and then serve it hot with a side of vegetables. In this case I served it with some sauteed cabbage and cucumbers.

Notes:
1. You can make this spice mixture ahead of time and store it in an airtight container.
2. You can modify the spices by adding paprika instead of peppercorns or red chilies etc.
3. The spice measurements were a bit extra for my 6 oz of tofu, so I ended up using only 3/4 of the mixture, but you can adjust it according to your taste.

Baked Tofu and Vegetables

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 pkt of Extra Firm Tofu pressed for 20-30 mins
2 Cup of Green Beans (10.6 Ounces)
11/2 Cup of Baby Bella Mushrooms (5.1 Ounces)
1/2 Cup of Bell Peppers (2.6 Ounces)
6-8 Garlic Cloves
Red Chili Flakes and Salt to Taste

For the Sauce:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tsp of Chili Paste
1 Tsp of Garlic Chili Paste
2 Pkts of Splenda
3 Tbsp of Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Method:
1. Press the tofu in a Tofu Press for at least 20-30 mins. Pat it with a paper towel and cut into 1 inch cubes.
2. Wash and cut the vegetables roughly. They need not be too fine. I did chop the big garlic cloves into a few smaller pieces.

3. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. You can taste it at this point and add more chili paste if need be.
4. Once sauce is to taste, mix the sauce with the tofu and vegetables, add salt and crushed red pepper flakes per your taste.
5. Heat the Oven to 400 Deg F.
6. Spray a glass baking dish with Olive Oil Spray.
7.Add the tofu and vegetable mixture into the glass tray and bake in the oven for 20-25 mins.

8. Baking time varies on the oven and also on how cooked you want the vegetables to be. You might see some water in the tray, that is from the vegetables, as you cook more, the water will get evaporated.

This recipe creates two servings of Ideal Protein Meal - about 7 ounces of Protein and 2 cups of vegetable for each serving. The Tofu weighed about 14 ounces after I pressed and chopped it into cubes.

Notes:
1. For this to be 100% Ideal Protein protocol, you can omit the Toasted Sesame Seed Oil.
2. You can replace the Splenda with brown sugar or agave nectar or sugar.
3. You can add any combination of Vegetables that you want.

Crispy Baked Tofu on Cauliflower Rice

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Cauliflower Rice:
1/2 Head of Cauliflower - Riced in food processor about 2 cups.
3 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 inch Ginger Minced
2 Baby Bokchoy Chopped roughly
1/8 tsp of Sea Salt
2 Tbsp of Water or Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

Tofu:
1 package of Extra Firm Organic Tofu

Sauce:
1.5 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1/4 cup of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tsp of Garlic chilli paste
2 Tbsp of Walden Farms Maple Syrup
1 tsp of Lemon Juice
2 tsp of Splenda Granular

Method:
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and keep it aside.
2. Press the tofu to remove all the water using a Tofu Press. If you do not have one, you can put it in between paper towels and put some heavy weight on it like canned beans, to remove the excess water. You need to press it for at least 30 mins to remove all the water.
3. Pat the tofu dry, cut it into 1 inch pieces and then bake it in the oven at 400 deg F for about 25 mins.
3. Let the tofu cool for about 10 mins. Marinade it in the sauce for another 10 mins at least.
4. While the tofu is baking and cooling. You can rice the cauliflower.
5. In a pan add 1 tsp of Olive oil, add the minced ginger and garlic, saute for a few mins. Add the riced cauliflower and mix well. Add a 2 tbsps of water or vegetable broth and reduce the flame to medium low. Cook the pan and let the cauliflower rice steam well. It takes about 10 mins. Then increase the flame, add 2 tsp of the sauce and the chopped bok choy and stir well. Cook for a few more minutes.
6. Remove the rice into a bowl. Now, in the same pan add the marinated tofu and saute for a few minutes until browned. You do not need any oil for this. The marinade will help brown the Tofu.
7. Add the tofu on top of the fried rice, garnish with some chopped green onions and serve hot.

Notes:
1. You can add toasted sesame oil to the sauce for extra taste. I was trying to keep this Ideal protein friendly, so I did not add it.
2. You can also add Egg to the fried rice if you want. Since, I had tofu as my main protein, I did not add egg.
3. You can also add other vegetables like Bell Peppers, Spinach etc
4. It feels like this recipe requires a lot of time, but lot of this can be done before hand and then tossed together.
5. You can increase the "hot" factor of the sauce by adding more chilli paste per your taste.
6. Soy Sauce adds quite a bit of saltiness to the sauce, so I did not add extra salt to tofu.
7. You can substitute Honey or Agave Nectar instead of Walden Farms Maple Syrup.
8. You can serve the Tofu on white fried rice as well.