Today is #WorldMeatFreeDay, which is every day in my household… but hey, it’s a great step in the meatless direction!
I wanted to feature the item in my house that most often replaces the “protein” need in a meal.
TEMPEH!
While we consume a variety of protein sources, I do turn to tempeh often and use it in lots and lots of forms.
Tempeh is kind of like the friend that grows on you. The first encounter is usually a little unique. Depending on how its cooked it can be a little grainy (undercooked) or a little chewy (overcooked). The texture can be a little off putting. But then you get a taste where someone cooks it just right and you have a new appreciation for tempeh, one where you like want to have it for every meal.
The great thing about tempeh is that it’s super versatile and super good for you. It’s rich in beneficial bacteria and fully digestible B vitamins and proteins, and it actually decreases chances of disease and dementia. It’s fermented soy, which sounds kind of gross, but fermentation is really just conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desirable.
Point is, it’s the best kind of soy out there and you should totally be eating it. Period.
I cook tempeh a lot of different ways, but this recipe is a great intro to it’s texture. This recipe is super flavorful because it’s pre-cooked, then marinated– optimizing tempeh’s ability to soak up the flavor. I pre-cook by steaming for about 5-10 minutes, the same way you would steam your veggies. The steaming helps open up the pores of the tempeh and really lets the marinade soak through.
Then, I marinade for about 30-60 minutes. Here’s the marinade:
- Veggie Broth
- Chili Powder
- Nutritional Yeast
- Turmeric
- Himalayan Salt
- Fresh Garlic
- Grade A Pure Maple Syrup
You can speed up your marinade process by baking the tempeh in the marinade for about 20 minutes at 375° (flip it halfway through).
When you remove your tempeh from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes and then dice into small little rectangles, preparing to crisp it using a sauté pan.
This recipe is great to make in bulk because it can be used in a bunch of different recipes- add it to salads, roll it up in a wrap, throw it in bowl with some rice & steamed veggies or even eat it by itself with a few slices of avocado! The options are limitless.
I am featuring it here in a loaded salad, that is PACKED with goodness and nutrition.
Enjoy!
- 1 package tempeh
- 1½ cups veggie broth
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Tumeric
- 3 cloves fresh garlic-minced
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan Salt
- ½ cup fresh spinach - chopped
- ½ cup fresh kale - chopped
- ½ cup romaine - chopped
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup raw broccoli- chopped
- ½ avocado
- 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1-2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ lemon- juice
- Heat pot of water to boil, slice tempeh into ¼ inch strips and let steam over boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Flipping tempeh at least once.
- Combine veggie broth, chili powder, nutritional yeast, tumeric, minced garlic, pure maple syrup and Himalayan salt into bowl- mix until combined.
- Place steamed tempeh into bowl (making sure all tempeh is covered in marinade, cover and let sit for 30-60 minutes.)
- While tempeh is marinating- heat oven to 375°F.
- Place tempeh and ½ marinade into baking dish and bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven- rotate tempeh, bake for another 10 minutes. (Option to continue repeat this step 1 more time- for a total backing time 40 minutes.)
- OR you can add a splash of coconut oil into pan on stove, break tempeh up into smaller chunks and pan cook until slightly crispy.
- Take chopped kale, spinach and romain and place in large salad bowl.
- Add pomegranate seeds, broccoli, avocado and ¼ yield of your cooked tempeh.
- Drizzle with avocado oil, lemon juice & top off with hemp seeds,fresh cracked black pepper and Himalayan salt to taste.
PIN IT FOR LATER
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