Healthy Vegan Tofu Lettuce Cups

Spring is here!

While we are mostly stuck at home due to the coronavirus, that doesn’t mean we can’t go outside! I have been finding myself needing to get outside and take in fresh air much more than usual, something I’m not unhappy about. Whether it’s a quick walk at lunch or a post-work bike ride, I’m consciously making the choice to get out there as much as possible. I think it’s the only thing keeping me sane!

Now that the weather is getting better (for the most part), I have been craving some lighter food on the warm days. I love lettuce cups during this time of year.

Typically, I would just go to one of my favorite local vegan restaurants called Tasty Harmony. With the social distancing, I’m trying to avoid dining out for the most part and make things at home.

I found a recipe from Kirbie Cravings and lightened it up a bit. I try to pack as many vegetables into my recipes as possible. Bulking with veggies is a great way to keep you fuller longer and get those essential vitamins and nutrients while still having great flavor.

This recipe isn’t necessarily a “pantry staple”, but my grocery stores all seem to have recovered from all the panic buying and I haven’t had a problem finding things lately. I’ve been aiming to shop for about a week at a time, so if you want to try this recipe, just add these ingredients to your list for the next grocery trip.

One hack for this recipe is to use a food processor instead of chopping everything by hand. A mini food processor is one of my favorite kitchen tools; I use it nearly every day. You can just throw the mushrooms, zucchini, and water chestnuts in, pulse for a minute, and you’re ready to go. It saves you SO much time. Here’s one similar to what I use.

On to the recipe!

Healthy Vegan Tofu Lettuce Cups

• Author: Fueled For Adventure

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Base

• 1/2 tbs of sesame oil
• 1 container of extra firm tofu (16 oz)
• 6 white mushrooms, diced extra small
• 1 small zucchini, diced extra small
• 1 can (8oz) of water chestnuts, drained and diced extra small
• 1 head of butter lettuce

Sauce

• 1/8 cup of hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs of coconut aminos
• 1 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tbs of sesame oil
• 2 tsp of grated ginger
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/2 tsp of vegetable Better Than Bullion paste
• 1/4 cup of hot water
• 1/8 tsp of ground black pepper

Toppings (optional but suggested)

• 2 shoots of thinly sliced scallions
• 3 tbs of fried onions

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Instructions

1. Begin by heating up a large pan to medium heat. Add 1/2 tbs of sesame oil.
2. Crumble your tofu into small pieces into the pan and mix with the oil. Stir this occasionally until most of the pieces start looking golden and there isn’t any water in the pan. This takes about 10 minutes.
3. Using a food processor, finely chop the zucchini, mushrooms, and drained water chestnuts. Add to pan with tofu and continue cooking until mushrooms and zucchini are cooked, 5-7 minutes.
4. While the base is cooking, create the sauce. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl: hoisin sauce, coconut aminos, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, shallot, Better than Bullion, water, and pepper. 
5. Add sauce to pan and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Scoop into the lettuce leaves and enjoy! I like to add some extra shallots, green onions, fried onions, and Sriracha on top.

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Nutrition

• Calories: 272
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 309mg
• Fat: 13g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 23g
• Cholesterol: 0mg