5 Minute Vegan Buffalo Bites!

I was feeling mighty snacky yesterday and wanted something along the lines of the Vegan Buffalo Wings from my favorite vegetarian restaurant, Watercourse in Denver. Speaking of which, please do yourself a favor if you're ever in the Denver area and stop on by that place. Mmm mmm goodness!

However, I wanted a relatively healthy and uber-quick version of their yummy treat (they make theirs with breaded, deep fried seitan). This is what I came up with - it's a keeper in my book and I hope you enjoy it as well!

14 oz. container extra-firm tofu (use sprouted tofu if possible)
3 tablespoons non-virgin coconut oil

3 tablespoons tamari
1/4 cup hot sauce (a basic, inexpensive cayenne hot sauce works well)
1/2 cup cornmeal or dry polenta

1. Cut the tofu into 8 slabs and press with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Cut the tofu into strips, then into small rectangles (about 1/2-inch x 1-inch in size).
2. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.
3. Sprinkle the tamari and hot sauce evenly over the tofu.
4. Add the tofu to the skillet and sprinkle the cornmeal on top. Stir-fry immediately to coat the tofu evenly with the cornmeal.
5. Continue to stir-fry until the tofu is golden-browned on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Serve plain, with additional hot sauce, or vegan ranch dressing for dipping. Yeah baybay!!

Serves 4
GF/Blue (according to the guidelines in my books)
30 Minutes or Under!

Tip: For the vegan ranch, I'd suggest using Vegenaise lowfat vegan mayo as the base - I love it because it's made with flax and olive oils (And it tastes great, despite being lower in fat!). If you need a recipe, check out this one from VegWeb - OR buy my new book next month! There's a recipe in it for "Guilt-Free Ranch Dressing" that's yum!

Raw Moroccan Quinoa Spinach Toss

This recipe has been adapted from my book, Radiant Health, Inner Wealth. The recipe in RHIW calls for barley, but I'm loving it with this quinoa variation! I recently demonstrated this at a local health food store, and everyone was really impressed with how delicious it was, given how healthy and easy to make it is!

Raw Moroccan Quinoa Spinach Toss

I could live on this stuff! It’s fat-free, raw, nourishing, easy to make, and tasty! If you haven’t guessed yet by now, I’m a big fan of Moroccan seasonings—sweet, tart, and savory all at once. Yum!


1 cup dry quinoa, soaked overnight, then rinsed and drained well

Sweet-Savory Sauce:
1 teaspoon each: ground cumin and minced organic orange zest
¾ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
4 teaspoons each: fresh lemon juice and very finely minced onion
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar

Simple Salad:
½ cup raisins
1 cup (packed) baby spinach, cut into very thin ribbons or minced

Optional:
Fresh mint, minced (about 1½ tablespoons)
Sea salt to taste (even I don’t salt this one, though!)

1. If you haven’t yet soaked the quinoa, you will need to do that first.

2. Stir the sauce ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until well combined.

3. Add the quinoa, raisins, and spinach to the sauce and toss to thoroughly combine.

4. Allow the mixture to marinate for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to saturate the sauce into everything. If you do have the time to marinate this for an hour, that’s even better.

5. After the dish has finished marinating, you can add the mint and/or some salt if you like. If you have leftovers, this will keep for a few days in an airtight container, refrigerated.

Serves about 4-6
GF/SF/Green (according to the health guidelines in my books)