[Version française plus bas]
Its Junk free June… yes I am actually really excited to participate in this challenge and go junk free for an entire month. Confession time: I haven’t ever done this before, nor have I ever followed a diet… I am a big time foodie but also a health freak and a vegetarian. Hence, experimenting in the kitchen has always been my thing.
Those of you who know me, know how much I love my BA classes and my recognition towards the Les Mills Fitness industry. It wouldn’t come as a surprise for you, if I said that
I learnt about this challenge thanks to Lisa Osborne who herself is going « sweet nothing » this month. So I along with my friends from La Ruee des Nanas here in Toulouse are joining forces with her to spread a healthy lifestyle and more importantly help raise money for the Cancer Society NZ.
Since I am part taking in this challenge I saved aside a few recipes for me to try over the month and I am happy to share some of them with you. Here is my version of non starch pasta dinner. A meal that counts below 500 calories a serving. I have equipped myself with a vegetable spiral cutter which is very handy and super useful for going starch free.
This is one of the recipes where I substitute the traditional pasta noodles / spaghetti with Zucchini spirals.
Ingredients 
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup sesame oil
- ⅓ cup light low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chili paste
- 2 tablespoons sugar (substitute of sugar Agave sirop)
- 2 spoons of ginger garlic paste
- 12 ounces firm organic tofu (non flavored)
- 4 zucchinis
- some sesame seeds and scallions
- I begin with preparing the sauce. I took all the sauce ingredients (peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, chili paste, ginger garlic paste) and mixed well in a bowl with a fork. Yes a fork allows you to break the peanut butter lumps if at all your bottle is a opened one and has one dry. And it gives an even texture. Or else a quick whirl in the blender could do as well.
- Cut the tofu in even square pieces and toss them in a non stick pan with a little bit of sesame oil. The tofu should turn golden brown. Now is a good time to add half of the prepared sauce and let the tofu take in the sauce. Whilst you let is simmer for a couple of minutes on medium heat, do not forget to flip from time to time and scrap off the the browned bits.
- You can add your spiralized zucchini to the same pan by adding the remaining sauce. Or toss it separately with the remaining sauce.
- While serving place the zucchini spirals in the service bowl first, topping with the tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions.
It tastes equally good when served warm or even cold as a salad with eventually some sprouts as a topping!
[Version Française de la recette]
Ingrédients :
4-6 courgettes pour en faire des nouilles (pour les non végan option pâtes à la place de nouilles de courgette)
Tofu nature ferme
Graines de sésame
Pour la sauce :
- Commencez par la sauce. Mettre tous les ingrédients listés dans la préparation sauce y compris le gingembre et de l’ail, dans un bocal et bien agiter jusqu’à ce que l’ensemble des ingrédients sont bien mélangé. Vous pouvez aussi le passer rapidement dans le blender.
- Couper le tofu en morceaux (en carrés). Dans une poêle, faites chauffer un peu d’huile de sésame et rajouter les morceaux de Tofu. Faire dorer le tofu et puis rajouter la moitié de la sauce préparée. Il faut laisser le tofu prendre la sauce et que les morceaux de tofu deviennent un peu croquants.
- Avec l’aide d’un coupe légumes qui possède une lame a spiraliser, faites des spirales de courgette. Ils ressemblent aux spaghettis. Passer dans une pôele pendant 2 minutes en y rajoutant le reste de sauce, graines de sésame.
