Meal Prep: Thai "Chicken" Salad with Sesame Tofu- Vegan and Gluten Free

Happy Monday! How did the weekend seem to go so fast?! It seems like summer is flying by and it's only just begun! 

This weekend I went to my first piyo class with my cousin and it was so much fun! I like how fast paced it was and holy moly there was a lot of booty work involved. By the end my cousin and I were both dripping in sweat and my arms were shaking because I had spent 2 hours at the gym lifting- it was bicep/tricep day- and I did cardio. Needless to say that mistake will not be repeated, haha! 

One of my friends inspired part of this week's meal prep. She's a full vegan and between the two of us going out to eat can be difficult. She is awesome at recreating restaurant dishes, but putting a vegan twist on them.  I used to get Panera's Thai Chicken Salad, but it has gluten containing ingredients and presently I'm avoiding meat- minus fish- so I recreated the salad with tofu! With a little wisdom from my friend on how to cook tofu I am really happy with the results. Thus I present a vegan and gluten free version of Panera's Thai Chicken Salad for this week's meal prep!

Thai "Chicken" Salad with Sesame Tofu

• 6 cups organic kale, spinach, spring mix lettuce blend
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 medium carrot or 7 baby carrots, finely diced
• 1 heaping cup frozen edamame
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 14 ounce super firm cubed tofu
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil (found in the baking or international aisle)
• 1 Tablespoon low sodium gluten free tamari (found in the international aisle)
• 1.5 Tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1.5 Tablespoons gluten free cornstarch 

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick cook spray and preheat oven to broil- 500F degrees. 

Place frozen edamame, diced carrots, and diced red bell pepper on baking sheet.

Drizzle olive oil over all of the vegetables.

Put vegetables in oven and broil for 8 minutes. Stir or shake the pan every 2 minutes so the vegetables don't burn. 

When the vegetables are done remove and allow to cool. Turn the oven temperature down to 400F degrees.

Cut open the tofu package and drain the water. 

Dump the tofu onto paper towel or a towel and squeeze the excess moisture out.

While the tofu is drying, in a small bowl whisk together sesame oil and tamari sauce.

Place dried tofu in small mixing bowl. Pour sesame oil/tamari sauce blend over the tofu and gently stir until all the tofu is covered.

Sprinkle sesame seeds over tofu and stir again.

Finally sprinkle cornstarch over tofu and stir until combined- you shouldn't be able to see any of the white powder anymore. 

Line a baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cook spray or coconut oil. Evenly dump tofu onto the baking sheet.

Bake at 400F degrees for 25 minutes. Stir the tofu halfway through cooking so it doesn't burn.

While the tofu is cooking get four containers or bowls and place 2 cups of lettuce blend in each. Place 1/3 cup roasted vegetable mix in each bowl/container. 

If you're using the tofu for meal prep allow it to cool before placing heaping 1/4 cup in the containers, otherwise serve immediately. 

Nutrition per serving for sesame tofu (makes 4 servings):
MACROS: 7C/9F/8P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 143
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 9 g	14 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	6 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 141 mg	6 %
Potassium 0 mg	0 %
Total Carbohydrate 7 g	2 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	7 %
Sugars 0 g
Protein 8 g	16 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	9 %
Iron	10 %

Nutrition for roasted vegetables (makes 4 servings):
MACROS: 10C/4F/3P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 93
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 4 g	6 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	2 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 21 mg	1 %
Potassium 132 mg	4 %
Total Carbohydrate 10 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	14 %
Sugars 4 g
Protein 3 g	6 %
Vitamin A	16 %
Vitamin C	79 %
Calcium	2 %
Iron	6 %