With Earth Day in mind, April is a perfect time to lean into plant-based eating. Limiting your personal consumption of animal products can help reduce your carbon footprint by lowering emissions and reducing water use. It takes a lot of energy to raise an animal! Why not just eat what the animal is eating??
Thankfully, there are ways to make plant-based meals interesting, flavorful, and exciting. Here are several tips to building a better plant-based bowl:
Choose a Base: whole grains like quinoa, barley, and brown rice; cauliflower rice; wild rice; or various lettuce greens like romaine, mixed greens, chard, and kale
Amp up the Veggies: These are the real stars of a plant-based diet, and the sky's the limit in this category! Mix it up between steamed, sauteed, roasted, and raw vegetables. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cucumber, brussel sprouts, radishes, green beans, corn, yams, potatoes, cabbage, celery, squash, bell peppers, etc!
Pick a Protein (or 2 or 3!): Tofu, tempeh, beans of all kinds, lentils, edamame, nuts, seeds, hemp hearts, peas, etc
Get Saucey: your favorite salad dressing, pesto sauce, salsa, plain yogurt, or a drizzle of tahini (see dressing recipe below)
Garnish with flare: fresh herbs like parsley, dill, cilantro, etc; red or green onions, sesame seeds,
Broccoli & Tofu Bowl with Lemony Tahini Dressing:
Base: Quinoa
Veggies: Steamed broccoli and sugar snap peas; Raw shredded carrots
Protein: Roasted Tofu
Sauce: Lemony Tahini Dressing
Garnish: Green onions, sesame seeds
Roasted Tofu:
Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha
1 tsp honey
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Drain tofu and cut into three slabs. Place slabs onto a clean towel or a few paper towels, cover with a couple more paper towels, and press down to release moisture.
3. Cut slabs of tofu into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Transfer cubes to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and honey. Brush onto the cubed tofu, gently moving tofu around to get all sides.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until bubbling, watching carefully.
Lemony Tahini Dressing:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup tahini
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce or salt
1 tsp sriracha (optional)
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
1/4-1/3 cup water
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients except the water. (you can wait to add the sriracha and maple syrup until you taste the dressing if you'd like).
2. Slowly whisk in water, a couple tablespoons at a time, until the dressing is at your desired consistency.
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