grill baked
April 12, 2011 I experimented with protein powder #2 today, in my quest to find my favorite plant-based powder. Like I said previously, I don’t plan to rely on this for my main source of protein. However, my hunger has been out of control lately, and I’m testing different methods [like adding more protein] to see which works best.
Enter: Vega Sport Protein
While this boasted 20g of protein, organic sprouted brown rice, organic pea protein, hemp protein, organic alfalfa juice protein + spirulina, it also contained stevia. My protein powder enemy! I’m not one to just mix protein powder + water together, so I thought maybe I could hide the fake sweetener taste in a smoothie.
Nope!
What would be a typical smoothie for me, was way too sweet with this product and had an definite stevia aftertaste. I also thought this was chalkier texture, in comparison to the Food for Life Raw Protein. I’ve also tried a few other Vega products and have unfortunately, been disappointed.
My search continues. So far, Raw Protein is #1! I appreciate all of your comments + suggestions on your experiences with different protein powders. It’s fun to hear what works for all of you!
I ate slurped this medium-sized breakfast, because I wanted to go for a swim first thing, and then have a snack afterwards. Swimming always leaves me ravenous! It felt great to get back to the pool. I swam for 40min and my arms + legs felt like jelly after. Definitely had a little set back, since not going for over 2 weeks.
Dinner time was calling for two things: the grill + tofu
Instead of putting tofu directly onto the grill, this time I decided to “bake” the tofu in the grill. It worked fabulously!
The texture was awesome! I attribute that partially too pressing the tofu for a full 20min. My method for pressing is pretty standard. I cut the block into 8 slabs, double up a towel and lay the pieces out. Then, I top with another doubled up towel and place a cutting board over top. Then I stack heavy books on top and let it sit for 20min. Pressing out the liquid really helps with the texture! Promise it’s worth it.
While tofu cooked, I showered, cleaned dishes in the bathroom, and made salads. This is what our obligatory dinner salad typically looks like. Although I forgot to add the pepitas tonight!
Drizzled on top: equal parts balsamic, apple cider vin + hemp oil
And here was our completed dinner! This was the best mock-kitchen dinner yet!
I defrosted the brown rice last night, from the big batch I cooked 2 weeks ago + froze. I sprinkled it with water, before reheating and it turned out chewy + delicious. The rice was topped with organic pasta sauce [Whole Foods brand] and the grill-baked tofu. Typically, I make my own pasta sauce, but I went for convenience this time. :)
So what exactly is all over the tofu? I didn’t measure, but here are the approximations.
Grill-Baked Tofu
- 1 block extra firm organic sprouted tofu
- 2T olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 heaping Tbl dried oregano
- 1 heaping Tbl dried parsley
- ~1/4t salt
- generous amount of black pepper
- Cut tofu into 8 equal slabs and press per instructions above, for 20min.
- Preheat your grill to medium/medium-high, or 375*
- Cut tofu into cubes and place in a bowl with all other ingredients.
- Carefully mix, until well combined.
- Line a baking sheet [that will fit on your grill] with parchment paper and spread mixture in a single layer onto the pan. *Do NOT use foil or wax paper.
- Place pan on the grill for ~15-20min. If your grill has hot spots, rotate the pan 1/2 way through.
- After 15min flip a few pieces of tofu over and see if they are browned. If so, remove the pan from the grill and close the grill to keep it hot. Flip each piece of tofu over. If it’s not yet browned, give it another 5min.
- Cook for 15-20min longer, rotating pan again if needed.
- Cook to desired crispiness.
The tofu wasn’t dried out at all. It was the best tofu I’ve ever made! The herb mix was delicious and the crunchy grilled onions were a great addition. Fabulous kitchen-less dinner.
In other news…
I got to work on our nightstands.
I built both in just over an hour. Booyah!
After a seriously exhausting day [didn’t sit down to dinner until 9:30pm!], this girl is ready for some serious sleep.
Night!
Ashley
p.s. The lovely Heather has a raffle going on, on her blog right now, that is helping to raise money for Relay for Life. The raffle runs from this Friday, April 8th, until April 16th and there are 18 prizes! The prizes range from foodie things to fashion accessories and more. For details, head on over to Heather’s blog. Thanks guys!
Reader Comments (77)
I love baked tofu because it makes the texture more firm!
Also I have never tried raw protein before, but that smoothie looks so good. I loooove smoothies. The color is so pretty :)
Have you tried Sproutein powder? It's sweetened with yacon and lucuma rather than stevia......
I used Nutribiotics brown rice protein, though I wasn't crazy about the flavor at first (I can't do pea protein). The best one I tasted was Jarrow, but it was hard to find, and I didn't like having to drive to our nearest Whole Foods (which isn't all that near). If you can find Jarrow vanilla or chocolate, I think it's worth a try! Hope you find one soon. :)
P.S. Jarrow is also brown rice.
Now I know what to do with the big block of tofu I just bought! I would have never thought to add pasta sauce, but this looks YUM-AZING!
I wish I could help with plant based powders! But I usually just take MRM from health food stores, or GNC's wheybolic!
Have you ever tried pea protein? The brand I have is "Phyto Protein" and it's vanilla pea protein... I love it!! Only two ingredients :)
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this one by I've been using Interactive Absolute Veg protein. 110 cals with 25g of protein. Soy, pea and brown rice. It does have stevia leaf though but I don't find it sweet at all. Then again, I like stevia :)
What a great new way to cook tofu!
Hi Ashley,
You might want to consider the pro-optimal whey or miracle whey protein sold by Dr. Mercola on his website. I know you mentioned that you are trying to avoid whey protein, but his protein powder is incredibly high quality. It "keeps the full range of all the fragile immune balancing and restoring components of fresh raw milk" and comes from ethically raised cows that "graze on pesticide-free, chemical-free, natural grass pastures." Plus the powder is unsweetened (I hate stevia too)!
Wow, go you!! I always feel so accomplished when I can do DYI projects. They always seem easy but then I end up spending hours and hours on them.
you built 2 nightstands in an hour??! you rock!
as for Vega..I like their bars and Brendan's books,but the powders...meh.
And the baked tofu, I am a bake it fan myself.
Gorgeous side table!! I love the color.
I press tofu in the same method you use! It works the best, I think!
Well that smoothie certainly looks fabulous! Sorry it wasn't the greatest though. It's all about experimenting though, and you're doing just that! :)
Awesome tofu bake recipe too! Thank you for sharing it!
I like the flavor of some stevia, but I can't stomach the price of Vega. Your dinner looks delicious! Oh and you are going to be a pro at furniture assembly when your done with all this!
Love the nightstands! I love the feeling of building something myself, you know?
Sorry you do not like vega, I love it! Well I am not really a fan of many protein powders out there, but over time I have gotten used to many of them. Not sure if that is good or bad, haha
i love ikea's simple designs...your night stand is so cute!
I love the grill baking idea! Looks very flavorful.
I appreciate reading your quest for the perfect protein powder. Like you, I can't stand the taste of stevia and can detect even the smallest amount (I have a large tub of Vega in my pantry waiting to find someone to give it to.)
I just saw you'd posted this link on FB and had to run over.... I've been vegan for a year and am banging my head over the protein. It would help if I didn't keep finding different websites giving me different numbers for ideal intake! Socially/ethically speaking, I'd rather find a farmer I trust and eat their eggs than to eat soy. I'm not sure how I feel about depending on a powder, since I was also trying to not eat a lot of processed foods. But maybe I'll run over to Whole Foods today and try the one you liked yesterday to see how it makes me feel.
I have been OBSESSED WITH pea protein powder lately!!!
Mmm your dinner looks awesome! The only tofu I've had is very soft, if I put heavy books on top, it would get smashed!
I'm sure you've heard this already but Sun Warrior is great!
Your tofu looks awesome! I was just thinking to myself last night that I need to learn how to cook tofu and eat more of it and then I read your blog! It's a sign. I've bookmarked this page and can't wait to try it! Yum!
I agree that I have a strong dislike for stevia...I can detect it immediately when it's in something I'm eating!
Grilled tofu, baked, roasted, anything! I adore it :)
i'm a carnivore, so i'm all for getting protein from the source (ethical animals). if you can stomach it, i'd try throwing some egg whites from a carton into your smoothies. it didn't alter the taste for me, and a little goes a LONG way. 1 cup of egg whites has about 27g of protein (not that you'd need that much, but half a cup is definitely doable), and it's not processed!
Wow that tofu looks so yummy. I have a feeling it will be making an appearance for dinner at my house this week :)
I was just thinking about how I was going to prepare my tofu today for lunch!
I'm lost when it comes to putting together Ikea furniture. I have wonderful people in my life who are more gifted at assembly.
I love swimming!!! :D
Your grilled tofu sounds AWESOME! :D I have to make it! (and I happen to have some tofu in my fridge RIGHT NOW! :))
Everything looks delicious as usual and I love the table!
I am a big fan of Brendan Brazier and was fortunate to hear him speak at a Raw Restaurant here in Chicago. He was so thoughtful and not at all into pushing his products. it was refreshing to see! :)
I love bakes tofu...WAY better than just stir fried or raw. It takes that gumminess away.
The tofu looks delicious!
I am so happy that you have the Hemnes set, I can't wait to see it all set up (we were thinking of getting the same set!)
Pressing the tofu makes sooo much difference. I swear, if someone says they hate tofu, 9 times out of 10 they've never had it pressed. I love the baked grill method- need to remember that for this summer!
Using canned pasta sauce is perfectly acceptable when you dont have a kitchen! :)
I wish I could stomach powders of any kind--but they all taste so chalky to me!
That dinner looks yummy! Did you "bake" the tofu on aluminum foil or on a baking sheet? With the summer coming I plan on cooking tofu on the grill. In the past it was never fully successful because it would stick to the grill.
Have you tried Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion? I have a sample pack and haven't tried it yet. I too dislike stevia and this one doesn't have it so I'm excited to try it. It's gluten/dairy/soy free.
You have just planned my dinner for me! Looks great!
Love the nightstands! These must be from Ikea too by the looks of the name....have you ever been able to go into an Ikea and request one of the products by name? I tried once, it didn't go over to well.
Can't wait to see your house finished :)
that's my go-to tofu press, too! cookbooks aren't just for recipes. :) your tofu looks delicious!!
Have you tried nutribiotic plain rice protein? They sell samples at Whole Foods and other natural food stores. I didn't seem to like to taste in comparison to Sun Warrior, as it wasn't sweet at all. But maybe you'll like it, as you don't like stevia :)
OMG, that italian- herb tofu looks UHmazing. I'm still confused on how to grill the baked tofu. Wouldn't the pan burn when put on the grill?
Hmm, I don't think I've seen that at WF. I'll have to look again. I definitely want to try Sun Warrior, in the plain flavor. If you're using a pan that can go in your oven, then it can also go on the grill. Like a baking sheet pan, not a skillet-pan. Although a cast-iron skillet can go on the grill, as well as a stainless. Basically anything that can go in the oven can go on the grill. I had it set around 375* just like when I make it in the oven!
Yes...any furniture you see on the blog in the next few weeks, you can assume is from IKEA. :)
Oooh, no, I haven't. Is that a meal replacer or just protein? I'll definitely check it out! It's funny how people either love or hate stevia!
Details are in the cooking method of the recipe. Thanks!
I thought so too ;)
I am too!! I should have mentioned that I really like Brendan and the book Thrive, but am just not a fan of the products...although I haven't tried his bars yet.
Yak! I'm with ya, girl!
Yes!! I'm going to email them to get some samples. I can't find any single packets around here.
I totally know what you mean, even just being vegetarian. I definitely try to limit my soy intake and keep it to things like tempeh + organic sprouted tofu. I am not looking to increase protein with soy protein and it tends to not agree with my stomach, when it's so highly processed. I am an egg LOVER, but just want 1 protein powder that I love and can rely on when need-be. If you don't read Gena's blog, Choosing Raw [high-raw vegan], she just wrote a protein post the other day! It was really helpful, as I value Gena's opinion a lot! http://www.choosingraw.com/quinoa-protein-bowl/