Tofu & Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

Crispy Tofu and Vegetable Stir-Fry with a delicious Peanut Sauce is a great vegan meal!

I love diet lifestyle experiments and I am going to try eating vegan for a month. It’s good for me as a Registered Dietitian to have an idea of what it’s like to be a vegetarian or vegan.

The vegan diet is a more restrictive diet than a Vegetarian one, and avoids all animal products (like eggs, dairy, honey, seafood, meat, etc). Vegetarians exclude meat, poultry and seafood, but typically include dairy and eggs.

Just to clarify, it’s a lifestyle change, not a “diet”. I am not counting calories or measuring portions. I am simply avoiding animal products and eating more fruits and vegetables.

If you’d like to join me or just want to try to eat more vegetarian meals in general, join me on my facebook page. We’ll exchange meal ideas and I’ll also plan on posting more vegetarian/vegan options for the month of January.

Research has shown that people following a vegan diet typically have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, decreased risk for heart disease and cancer. On the other hand, a vegan diet doesn’t always equates to a better diet. You could live off donuts, pasta, french fries and eat very few fruits and vegetables and that certainly wouldn’t be any healthier than a diet full of fish, eggs and other lean meats along with your fruits and vegetables. You still need to make a conscious effort to eat more fruits and vegetables even when eating vegan for the first time.

I need to sum up that I love food way too much to avoid eating entire food groups forever. Like feta in my salad, the delicious herb crusted lamb I just made and I can’t forget the cinnamon rolls (which I made over the holidays with butter)! Oh YUM!

I truly believe that a healthy diet can include all foods in moderation. The typical American diet does not follow the motto “all foods in moderation”. I plan on doing this for a month and I know I will discover even more vegetarian/vegan meals that I love and want to include in our regular diets.

Want to join me?

You’ll need to stock your pantry and fridge full of some staples:

Pantry:

• Canned beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, etc)
• Dry beans
• Nuts
• Nut butters- almond, peanut, soy
• Canned tomatoes
• Olives
• Rice
• Pasta
• Quinoa
• Coucsous
• Tortillas
• Bread (check label for eggs and milk)
• Vegetable Stock/Broth
• Oatmeal
• Oil- olive, grapeseed, coconut, etc.
• Coconut milk
• Green chilies
• Sun-dried tomatoes

Refrigerator:

• Soy, Almond or Rice milk
• Herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley, etc.)
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Green Onions
• Vegetables- all the colors of the rainbow
• Fruit- ” “
• Tofu
• Seiten
• Tempeh
• Salsa
• Peppers- serrano, jalapenos
• Lemons & Limes

Freezer:

• Vegetables
• Fruit

And I will conclude with one of my favorite vegan meals that I discovered when I experimented back with the vegan lifestyle a few months ago. It is SO yummy. The peanut sauce is delicious and really makes the meal. It would be awesome on anything really. I plan on making this next week as we kick off vegan month! I eat it just as is, but if extremely hungry or wanting to stretch it out to feed more mouths, you could serve it with some rice.

<a href="http://www.nutritiouseats.com/eating-vegan-a-recipe-tofu-green-bean-stir-fry-with-peanut-sauce/tofustirfry-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-4971" data-mce-href="http://www.nutritiouseats.com/eating-vegan-a-recipe-tofu-green-bean-stir-fry-with-peanut-sauce/tofustirfry-2/"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-4971" title="TofuStirFry-2" src="http://www.nutritiouseats.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/TofuStirFry-2-590x391.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="391" data-mce-src="http://www.nutritiouseats.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/TofuStirFry-2-590x391.jpg"></a>Tofu & Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Melanie F. | Nutritious Eats

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Tofu and Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce
• For the Stir-fry:
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
• ½ package extra firm tofu (~8 ounces), cut into 2 inch strips, pressed dry with paper towels or kitchen towel (to remove moisture)
• 2 cups thinly sliced carrots on the diagonal
• 1 cup red bell pepper strips
• 12 ounces green beans, trimmed
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
• 6 ounces mung bean sprouts
• Peanut Sauce:
• ¼ cup water
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons natural-style, chunky peanut butter (such as Smucker's)
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot sauce)
• 1 teaspoon lower-sodium soy sauce

Instructions

1. Prepare peanut sauce: combine water, brown sugar, peanut butter, sriracha and soy-sauce in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.
2. For stir fry: combine 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Sriracha and garlic in a small bowl, stir well. Set aside.
3. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, tofu and half of soy sauce mixture. Stir fry for 10 minutes or until tofu is browned and slightly crisp (flip once or twice to get an even color). Remove, cover to keep warm.
4. Return pan to stove, add remaining sesame oil. Add carrots, bell pepper and green beans to pan and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, add ½ cup water and cover for 5 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender.
5. Stir in remaining soy sauce mixture, tofu, half of green onions and bean sprouts and cook for additional 2 minutes. Serve with peanut sauce and remaining green onion slices.

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Do you want to include more vegetarian meals into your diet? Leave me a comment!!

Have a safe and Happy New Year!