Vegan Tofu Scramble

I used to love EGGS, but that was when I raised my own chickens.  I always had a difficult time eating eggs at restaurants or even eating store-bought eggs because they just weren't the same as my fresh, free-range and totally loved chicken eggs.  So when we had to give up the chickens, I really didn't have any issues with giving up eggs.

But I do miss a SAVORY breakfast.  I don't care for sweet stuff in the morning--at least not to eat ; ).  I started researching vegan breakfast ideas and came across scrambled tofu months and months ago.  But it was one of those recipes that I totally shied away from.  Really?  You think I'm going to buy that scrambled eggs and scrambled tofu are pretty much the same thing?!?  Even I know there are some crazy ass vegans out there who are trying to turn us all into hippies.  I didn't buy the story and resisted trying the scramble for a long time.

But I did eventually give in--not for my sake, but for my son. He also loves a savory breakfast and needs his protein and carb kick in the morning.  So I started messing with it and finally came up with a simple recipe that really is very good.  My son loves it, and it saves well.  I make up a big pan of it and keep it in the frig so he can warm it up in the microwave for a quick breakfast.  Serve it up with toast, English muffin or a bagel.  We also love it rolled into a wheat tortilla with some taco sauce for a breakfast burrito.

I will NOT try to convince you that this tastes like eggs.  I don't think it does at all.  But it is a very close TEXTURE to scrambled eggs.  Choose the firm or extra firm tofu (depending on the texture you prefer) and be sure to press it so the majority of the water comes out before you cook it. The flavor is whatever you add to it.  So if it sucks, it's all your fault! : )

We like it full of veggies.  I add in the onion and peppers and mushroom as it is cooking, but I keep the tomatoes chopped on the side. They get a little watery as they cook, so I just add them at the last minute. 

I know it sounds weird, but I really encourage you to try this recipe.  Mess with the veggies a bit and come up with a combination that works for you and your family. I use vegan butter instead of oil to fry this recipe because I like a little creaminess.  I use almost a 1:1 ratio of tofu to veggies (we like it vegged up).  For our family, we use 1 1/2 bricks of tofu.  That usually leaves one or two leftover servings for a quick before-school breakfast.

TOFU SCRAMBLE
2 T. vegan butter and/or olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 bricks of firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2 small onion (white, red or yellow), diced small
1/2 green or red sweet bell pepper, diced small
1/2 -1 cup mushrooms (any you like), sliced or chopped
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. paprika
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1-2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (for topping)

Melt butter or warm oil in large fry pan over medium-high heat.  Gently crumble the tofu into the pan keeping some larger pieces (bite-size).  Add in all ingredients except tomatoes and gently fold together being careful not to turn the tofu into mush.  Fry until most of the water is cooked out (about 5 minutes) or to desired texture, stirring often.  Serve hot.

Vegan Hashbrown and Sausage Scramble

I've been asked to make a breakfast casserole for a swim meet this weekend so I'm testing out a few recipes.  I found some for actual casseroles that you bake up and then end up needing to be cut into serving sizes.  But I wasn't too impressed.  Then I started thinking about my favorite pre-vegan breakfast options. 

I always loved those skillet platters at the restaurants.  They taste great at about 2:15 in the morning when you've been kicked out of whatever establishment you were cruising the night before. : )  Anyway, the skillet idea inspired me to make a simpler dish.

I made a simple tofu scramble with vegan sausage and hash browns.  Then I made a ranchero sauce for the side. I loved it and the child care kids loved it.  It even tasted good sober!  Amazing.

I browned up some GimmeLean ground sausage.  Then I made the tofu scramble by melting a little vegan butter in the fry pan (same pan, I actually left the sausage in it and just added tofu to it).  I crumbled in extra firm tofu and cooked it until it started to brown.  Then I seasoned it with a shake of turmeric (for color), Lawry's seasoning salt, onion powder, salt and pepper.  I layered the "eggs" and sausage in a casserole pan.

Then I used the same pan to cook up my hash browns (as directed on the package) and just put them on top of the scramble.  This was good with shredded hash browns, but I think the next time I'll use country style potatoes.

For the ranchero sauce I sauteed up some green peppers and onion in the fry pan and then added in roasted red peppers and a little pre-made red enchilada sauce I had leftover from the weekend. There are a million ranchero sauce recipes on the web or you can use your favorite salsa or taco sauce.

Easy and yummy.  I think if I make this for my own family I will add in spinach, peppers and mushroom, etc. etc. to the scramble.  But I was trying to make a "plain" version for the test. 

Good stuff!

Working on a meal plan

I'm working on a meal plan and thought I'd do a quick post with some ideas.  I'm not posting recipes today, just a list of ideas.  These are things my family will be eating in the next week or two (fall season in Iowa).  Some are recipes previously posted, some are just standards we like here.  I usually add fresh fruit and fresh veggies or salads to each meal to round it out.  If you see something that strikes you and you want the recipe, just send me a note and I'll get it posted for you.  Happy Cooking!

Mushroom Barley (posted March 8, 2011)

Mexican Casserole (layered black beans, refried beans, salsa, soy chorizo, vegan cheese, topped with green onions and olives)

Vegan Lasagna (using tofu ricotta--posted May 31, 2011, marinara sauce and lasagna noodles)

Chili (posted February 16, 2011) with Beer Bread

Potato Leek Soup (posted February 12, 2011) with Garlic Bread

Spinach Artichoke Pita Pizzas (May 16, 2011) with Salad

Tomato Basil Tart (puff pastry spread on a cookie sheet topped with tofu ricotta, fresh tomato slices, fresh basil and baked 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees) with Garbanzo Bean Salad

Tofu Foo Young with Rice, Edamame

Potato Veggie Soup (posted August 14, 2011) with Homemade Bread

Gnocchi with Marinara Sauce, Garlic Bread and Salad

"B"LT with Avocado Sandwiches

Mushroom Stroganoff over Noodles

Zucchini Bake (posted July 14, 2011) and Bean Salad

Pasta Pomodoro (posted June 23, 2011, I will add chickpeas to the recipe this time), Wilted Spinach Salad

Breakfast options for the meal plan include tofu scramble, waffles, baked oatmeal and pumpkin spice muffins as well as the ol' standards cereal and toast.

Meal Plan

This week's meal plan is listed here.  For those new to the blog, WELCOME! and a few notes.  I provide in-home child care, so I list all snacks and lunches.  My day care kids eat mostly vegan, but do occasionally have cheese or yogurt products.  My family eats vegan here at home.

I hope to add the Asian Salad recipe this week with photos.  The sweet potato quesadillas are vegan and are a version of the Forks Over Knives recipe.  The Pea Guacamole is also a take-off of a FOK recipe.  I will try to add my changes to those, too. 

There are little family notes under each day just for you to see our plans.  For instance, on Monday we have both swimming practice for our son and soccer practice for my daughter.  I have two personal training clients that night as well.  So I will make the sweet potato filling and guac early in the day (during kid nap time) and the beans are my crock pot version from an earlier post.  That way it is just a couple minutes to have dinner ready when we all meet back up at home.  I don't usually share my family schedule, but I thought it might help for you to see how I make that happen.

I often times try to cook ahead of time or cook A LOT once and then freeze the extras for future meals.  I have that "EXTRAS" spot at the bottom just in case our schedule doesn't work out some day.  Those are freezer meals that I cooked and saved in serving sizes in the deep freeze. It saves us a lot of time and money going out to eat when we can just grab a freezer meal and throw it in the microwave.

 

As always, if you would like any of the recipes just let me know.  Have a great week everyone!! 

Date	Breakfast or  Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Supper	Plan/Notes
Monday   (Swimming, soccer, PT, PT)	Cereal   Homemade applesauce	Roasted veggies, brown rice, peach salad	Oatmeal cookies or bagels	Refried beans, sweet potato quesadillas, pea guacamole	Freeze extra pea guac and sweet potato filling
Tuesday   (Field trip, PT)	Cereal or Muffins	Tacos, beans, fresh fruit	Chex Mix	Green beans w/ mushrooms and red potatoes, Grilled Tofu
Wednesday   (Swimming, football game)	Cinnamon toast or bagels	Tomato soup w/ breadsticks, green beans, fresh fruit	PB on rice cakes	Asian Tofu and Cabbage Salad, Edamame
Thursday   (Swimming, PT)	Cereal or bagels	Veggie burgers, peas and carrots, fresh fruit	Granola and dried fruit	Goulash, Spinach salad	Make goulash ahead of time
Friday	Tofu scramble, Toast   Granola and yogurt	French toast dippers, fresh fruit, veggie dippers	Smoothies, graham crackers	Make your own pizza subs, salad
Saturday   (Soccer game)	French Toast dippers, cereal	Leftovers	Kettle corn	Dinner out
Sunday   (Teach Sunday School)	Rolls at church	Chickpea Pitas, leftover veggies and fruit	Chips and Pea guacamole	Popcorn and Smoothies
Extras	Boca burgers, stir-fry veggies and rice, White beans in freezer, Chili in freezer

 

Meal Plan

This week's meal plan is listed here. A few notes. I provide in-home child care, so I list all snacks and lunches. My day care kids eat mostly vegan, but do occasionally have cheese or yogurt products. My family eats vegan. I always offer fresh fruit and a veggie tray with each meal or snack. We drink soy milk, water or decaf tea.

I try to make my meal plans DO-ABLE for anyone. I use products that I can buy in my small town grocery store and I make foods that I can handle while running around to swim practice, soccer, meetings, and personal training clients. We have a busy life, but we make every effort to sit together to eat all meals. Proper planning helps to make that happen. Otherwise, we would all eat separately. It also helps me to use up what produce we have on hand so I have minimal food waste. We save a ton of money when we stick to a food plan, so I try to do these weekly.

 

So many of these items can be cooked once and then used for leftovers or frozen for a future meal.  Think about cooking more than you need.  If you have good containers or ziplock type baggies, many items can be saved in meal-size packaging for future use.  This saves time, money and it really helps when the non-cooks in the house need to eat a healthful meal.  They can just heat up something quickly or grab leftovers.  This keeps us from running to local fast food places for greasy, unhealthful and expensive food.

 

Meals this week that are good for freezing: baked potato soup, pancakes, chili.  Meals good for the frig/leftovers: bean salad, mac 'n' cheese, sweetened couscous (I make a big enough batch for about 3 days), Brussels sprouts pasta (great the next day as a cold salad), chickpea salad (great to make ahead for a quick lunch with pitas, bread, buns, or greens).

 

Happy vegan cooking!

 

Date	Breakfast or  Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Supper	Plan/Notes
Monday   Swimming Soccer	Cereal/pancakes   Cinnamon Toast	Veggie Pizza, colorful bean salad, strawberries	Peanut snack mix	Sloppy Joes, Sweet potato fries, salad
Tuesday   Open House at school	English Muffin/Cereal   Granola bars	Baked potato soup, peas, blueberries	Popcorn	Mac ‘n’ Cheese (cheese sauce) w/ Sauteed mushrooms, kale
Wednesday   Swimming PT	Sweetened Cous Cous/Cereal   Fruit choice	Chik’n patty, rice and veggies, apple slices	Bagels w/peanut butter	Pasta with Brussels sprouts, salad
Thursday   Swimming PT	Pancakes/Cereal     Yogurt w/fruit	Bean burritos, fresh fruit, corn	Blueberry Muffins	Tofu Scramble, Toast, fruit salad	Make muffins
Friday   Work mtg Babysitter	Oatmeal/Cereal     Applesauce	Broccoli cheese rice, veggie dippers, fresh fruit	Graham cracker sandwich, fruit choice	Italian Sausage (vegan) Pasta, veggie dippers
Saturday   Soccer game Soccer party Open house	French toast dippers, fruit salad	Chickpea salad sandwiches, leftover fruit, veggie, soup, etc.	Chips and salsa	Chili, jalapeno corn bread
Sunday   Swim Meet	Bagels w/peanut butter, fresh fruit, granola snacks at meet	Out	Out	Popcorn, smoothies, leftovers
EXTRA	In freezer: white bean enchiladas, refried beans, cabbage soup, chili	Frozen veggies, fruit for smoothies, potatoes and sweet potatoes