Peanut Tofu Buddha Bowl

Feeling adventurous, Christopher and I spent a week in Paris this summer right in the middle of my first trimester of pregnancy.  Adventurous because I was feeling pretty sick, 24/7.  We decided our adventure in Paris would revolve around food, haha! We started each morning with some vegan croissants, tea, and juice.  We searched out the best vegan restaurants in the city and that's where we would head. We traveled our way to the lucky lunch spot, had a delicious meal, and then explored that part of the city until we found our way to another great find for dinner. We repeated this each day...and it was one of the best and most delicious get-a-ways we have had together!  At one of our lunch spots we had amazing Buddha bowls.  I have always loved the idea of throwing  a bunch of healthy ingredients into a bowl, topping them with a delicious dressing, and calling it a day... but for some reason, we've never tried this at home. Silly really.  

After some research I found this great recipe from Alex on www.delishknowledge.com.  You can really throw in whatever veggies you want because the tofu drenched in the sauce is what makes it beyond delicious!  It is really easy to make and great for a quick dinner or weekend lunch!  We have gotten about 4 servings out of it.

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Ingredients

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  • TOFU BOWL
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 16oz container extra firm tofu, cubed
  • salt & pepper
  • SAUCE
  • 2 TBS sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cubed tofu in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove when complete and place in bowl. 
  2. Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Add 1/2 the tofu to the sauce and let it sit and marinate.
  3. Drizzle the broccoli with 1 tsp sesame oil and Roast the broccoli in the oven for 20 minutes. 
  4. Heat the remaining sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu in batches, along with the marinating sauce, until crispy and golden brown.
  5. to assemble the bowls: divide the rice among 4 bowls. top each with carrots, broccoli, chickpeas, tofu, and drizzle with the remaining sauce.
  6. enjoy!
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