Jerk Tofu
I had a delightfully odd conversation after this week's indoor soccer game. A bunch of us were standing around, having a beer, basking in the glory of victory (you know, man stuff) when suddenly the conversation turned to, of all things, salad. One of my teammates had checked out our blog, tried a few man salads for lunch, and had a few questions. One of them: what are all these “plant proteins”? (Tempeh? Tofu?)
I did my best to field all the questions. Helping people eat healthy is totally new to me. But Kayli gets these kinds of questions all the time from her dude clients, especially when it comes to soy: Won't eating soy lower my testosterone? Increase my estrogen levels? Make me grow man-boobs (moobs)?
Here are her answers:
The Men/Soy Myth
How did this myth begin?
Why is this a myth?
Why should dudes eat soy?
Bottom line:
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 3 cups rainbow chard or other leafy green, chopped
- 1 block firm tofu
- ½ an avocado
- 1 recipe Jerk Sauce (see below)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- juice of 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 5 teaspoons jerk seasoning mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional: habanero or jalapeño pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set aside
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- After rice is cooked and drained, stir greens into warm rice to wilt
- Drain and press tofu with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Cut tofu into small cubes.
- Toss tofu in Jerk Sauce.
- Spread sauced tofu in one layer on large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, tossing once after 15 minutes.
- Cut avocado into small cubes.
- Combine rice/greens, cooked tofu, and avocado. Divide among four bowls to serve.