chunky tales

Ever since last weekend - when I ate those delicious summer rolls with peanut sauce - I have wanted to experiment and make some type of clean peanut sauce. This has been a pretty busy week at work, and although made some great lunches, I didn’t really have time to spend experimenting at night!

When Friday night came along, I knew all I wanted to do was make a peanut sauce with PB2. PB2 is peanut flour - which is basically peanuts with their oil squeezed out, leaving 85% less fat than normal peanut butter. I love nut butters - and in no way are the healthy fats in nuts bad for you. Lets just say I could eat a whole jar of peanut butter in a sitting, so moderation is key :) And that is why PB2 is such a wonderful ingredient.

Well this is my creation

Baked Tofu with “Noodles” and Clean Peanut Butter Sauce

Okay - what you’ll need.

(Recipe will serve 1)

For the noodles and tofu:

1/4 package of extra firm tofu
1 medium zucchini
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 small sweet red pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1/2 tbsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)

For the peanut sauce:

2 tbsp PB2 or peanut flour
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)

Preheat the oven to 400. Drain your package of tofu.

Cut in 4, take one part and cut horizontally. Now you have to press the tofu to release the liquid. What I decided to use (since I don’t have a tofu press) is place between two places, and on top, put a heavy object (I used our wrought iron grill pan). Leave for 15 minutes.

While you’re doing that, grab your zucchini, which will turn into your noodles. You’ll need a julienne peeler for this part, and cut until you reach the seeds in the center (you don’t want that part). 

Set aside in a colander and let drain as much as possible.

To make your sauce for you tofu to bake in, mix 1/2 tbsp liquid aminos and 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar with 1 tsp chopped garlic.

When your tofu is done being pressed (and you’ve drained it once more), dip the tofu in the sauce and coat all sides.

Then place on a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Put in the oven for 12 minutes, flip, and then bake another 12 minutes on the other side.

Basically you want them to look crispy on the outside - and they will be fluffy inside. The best kind :)

While the tofu is baking, I went ahead and sauteed my other veggies (shredded carrots, some garlic, and red pepper), boiled the zucchini noodles for 2 minutes (thats all they need to cook), and made my peanut sauce.

To make the BEST PART of this dish - the sauce. It is pretty damn simple - and I got my idea from Laura at Sprint 2 the Table. She has SUCH great ideas and recipes! I mixed 2 tbsp PB2 with 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tsp liquid aminos.

Then I mixed 3/4 of the finished sauce with the “noodles” and other veggies.

This was a way for the zucchini to take on the peanut flavor and mix everything together to form the base. I placed that in my bowl, topped with my finished tofu, and topped the tofu with the remaining peanut sauce and some chopped up unsalted peanuts.

HOLY mother of god. Seriously. SO amazing. Perfect crunch, perfect flavor, perfect everything. And for less than 300 calories WITH a generous serving of peanuts on top, this is the perfect dinner. Veggies, protein, healthy fats, and for a post 7 pm no carb meal, enough carby veggies to keep my energy up!

I can’t wait to make more clean peanut recipes - get ready for peanut overload!!