Warm Quinoa with Tofu and Cranberry Dressing
Quinoa and Tofu, an unlikely pair?
Perhaps you’re not a tofu fan, but still want to use up your cranberry sauce! Click here to get my cranberry vinaigrette recipe ☺️
Quinoa, easily found in bulk at Costco and other places, is a simple grain to prepare. According to Dr. Elson Haas, in his book, Staying Healthy With Nutrition, quinoa is more related to beets and other leafy greens, like spinach.
Really?!?!
Green or grain, quinoa has a balanced amino acid profile, phytonutrients, calcium, B Vitamins, and lots of protein. Those B Vitamins are a necessity in our modern day stressful living.
When we have a deficiency of B Vitamins, it can show up in the nervous system, with lethargy, even burning feet! A sore, swollen tongue, or a burning sensation, or cracks at the corner of the mouth can signify a B deficiency. You can get B Vitamins from the germ and bran of seeds, nuts, beans peas, grains, etc.,
Nutritional yeast also contains B Vitamins, and can give your food a cheesy taste if you have trouble digesting lactose or dairy in general.
That quinoa though!
It contains B complex, antioxidants C and E, as well as bone supportive minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc for our immune system too!*
It is full of protein, which women NEED, (but not too much, oh that balance thing) and the amino acids lysine and methionine.
Why should we care about lysine? It increases absorption of Calcium from your gut! Methionine is an antioxidant, and helps support the liver, and the bodies own natural detox abilities.
Tofu takes on flavours nicely.
It blends with many foods and spices. I often marinate it and toss it in stir fry, or grill it in slices. It is easy to find non-GMO tofu in the supermarket.
Tofu contains isoflavones, which is a plant estrogen. Some studies support the use of isoflavones, while some do not. Eating a modest amount of tofu, and maintaining DIVERSITY and FLEXIBILITY in our food choices, just makes sense to me.
Experiment, listen to your body and find your unique centre in the relentless food fight over what to eat, when to eat it, yada yada yada.
Back to the recipe…
When served warm, with some walnuts, onions, garlic and diced peppers, these two plant foods spell cold weather comfort! Even in warmer weather, a meal like this is still easy on the wallet and light feeling as a spring meal.
Switch up your veggie content and use what you have on hand. Broccoli makes a nice colourful substitution, and when chopped super fine, becomes more kid friendly, as does shredded carrots.
Want a printable recipe? Just click on the picture above to access!
Gather
1/2 cup red onion
1 bulb garlic
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 package tofu, regular, firm
1 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
1/2 cup chopped orange bell pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbsp parsley, fresh
Dressing
½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp cranberry sauce (Homemade or store bought) OR throw some fresh cranberries in there! The taste will be different, and without sweetness. You can always put a dash of maple syrup or honey if you like.
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
1 pinch, salt (or to taste)
1 dash black pepper (or to taste)
Do
Cook Quinoa according to package directions to make 1 & 1/2 cup. Extra quinoa can be used or frozen for another day!
Rinse your quinoa before cooking to remove the coating it carries, called saponin.
Heat 2 tsp Olive Oil in skillet, and sauté onions and garlic until slightly soft, 2-3 minutes.
Add tofu and saute until lightly golden.
Add quinoa, diced pepper, walnuts and stir gently to mix.
Drizzle with Cranberry Vinaigrette, below.
To make the Vinaigrette:
In a blender, whir the cranberry sauce, or cranberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper together to combine. Remember you can add in other ingredients to a basic vinaigrette! Dijon Mustard, tarragon, or garlic could be great add ins here!
Drizzle on your salad!
Enjoy, and let me know if you tweaked it for the better! Kitchens are meant for gathering and experimentation.
Love,
Tanya
Maradini-Filho AM, Quinoa: Nutritional Aspects, Journal of Nutraceuticals and Food Science, 2017,
http://nutraceuticals.imedpub.com/quinoa-nutritional-aspects.php?aid=19136