From March 8 to 14, the National Week Without Meat will be organised in the Netherlands (https://weekzondervlees.nl/). Do you eat meat every day or do you leave it out sometimes? Eating meat is not necessary for your health and not eating meat at all is better for the climate, environment and the animals themselves!

Try this vegetarian recipe out from our sports dietitian Sandra Buijing. No meat, but full of protein and other valuable nutrients. By using ingredients like tofu, quinoa, peanut butter and lots of vegetables. You will get a lot of carbohydrates, fiber, protein and healthy fats. Ideal for recovering after an intense day. Tip: you can also eat it for lunch during an intensive day.

RECIPE FOR 2 PERSONS 

Ingredients 

  • 1 (large) sweet potato
  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 2 large carrots or 1 winter carrot  
  • 1 block of (firm) tofu (about 250 grams)
  • 120 grams of quinoa
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 50 grams peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp lime/citrus juice
  • 1 tsp sambal
  • 4 tbsp water
  • Olive oil
  • Toppings of your choice such as: spring onion, sesame seeds, peanuts, fresh cilantro
  • Pepper and salt to taste

 

PREPARATIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
  • Dice the sweet potato, slice the carrots and cut the broccoli into small florets. Mix the sweet potato with olive oil and 1tl curry powder. Mix the broccoli and carrot with olive oil and pepper, adding salt if necessary. (Not too much salt, as the soy sauce already makes the dish salty).
  • Cut the tofu stick in half lengthwise to create two thinner slices. You want to get as much moisture out of the tofu as possible. You can do this by placing it on kitchen paper and pushing on top with the bottom of a baking dish or pan. Cut the tofu into cubes and marinate the tofu in a bowl with 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp sesame oil.
  • Cover an oven tray with baking paper and spread the sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and marinated tofu on top. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. Halfway through, give the ingredients a quick stir.
  • Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the package.
  • For the peanut sauce, mix the peanut butter, lime/citrus juice, sambal, soy sauce and water in a small bowl. Stir well for a moment to make it a smooth consistency. Add more or less water as you see fit. You can use this sauce cold or heat it up. To reheat, put the peanut sauce mixture in a saucepan with +-50 ml of soy drink. Heat this over medium heat and stir the mixture well. (Add more or less water, soy milk or other plant-based milk as you wish).
  • Grab a bowl or plate and spoon the quinoa on it, top with the sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and tofu, finish with the peanut sauce. Top it off with toppings of your choice such as sesame seeds, cilantro and spring onion.

Enjoy your meal!

 

VARIATION OPTIONS 

  • Also delicious with other vegetables such as bell peppers, zucchini and/or green beans. Beans should be cooked separately (not in the oven).
  • Instead of tofu you can also use tempeh. Feel free to adjust the marinade to your own taste!
  • Instead of quinoa, you can use brown rice.

 

TIPS

  • Don't have an oven? Boil the broccoli, carrot and sweet potato and fry the tofu in a pan. Works also very well! If you like, you can briefly fry the sweet potato with a little curry powder after cooking.
  • You can always adjust quantities as you wish. Some people need more energy than others. So feel free to use more quinoa, sweet potato, vegetables and/or tofu.
  • Buy a 100% peanut butter, which has no other additives besides peanuts.
  • I found Dutch quinoa in the organic supermarket. Super cool right! Normally we import quinoa from South America. So now quinoa is also available from much closer by.
  • Do you buy sesame oil especially for this dish? Just do it! Because you can use it to prepare other Asian dishes. Fry your wok vegetables in it or use it more often as a marinade for tofu and tempeh. And you can even use it as a massage oil for sore muscles. Sesame oil has a warming effect.
  • You can buy tofu in firm variety, which you can dice well and fry in the pan or as in this recipe in the oven. There are also much softer varieties of tofu such as silken tofu. This is more suitable for desserts and breakfasts.
  • Is this recipe too heavy for lunch? You can make it a little lighter by using less of the peanut sauce. To still have a lot of sauce, you can make the sauce a little thinner with more water. A little less or no sweet potato is also an option.

 

NUTRITIONAL VALUES (PER PERSON)

  • 748 kcal
  • 32.7 grams of fat (including 5.1 grams of saturated fat)
  • 36.4 grams of protein
  • 68.9 grams of carbohydrates
  • 16 grams of fiber
  • High in: potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamins A, B1, C and folic acid (B11)