Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian
Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Description

I cannot tell you how much I love these veggie skewers!

Its summer time, and for those of you who are vegan, vegetarian, or simply want to incorporate more plant-based meals within your diet, these work as a great filling and nutritious dish for a BBQ. They not only taste delicious they are incredibly healthy, packed with veggie protein in the form of tofu and a good amount of fibrous vegetables.

Tofu contains all 8 essential amino acids and is made from condensed soy milk and has sparked some debate. This is because whilst there are mostly a lot of pros there has also been some unwanted health link such as studies that show high consumptions of soy affect women’s thyroid function (Tonstad et al. 2016), although there needs to be more extensive studies carried out. Overall soy has been shown to help lower LDL-cholesterol levels as well as thought to help lower blood pressure (Messina 2016). Soy also has a high isoflavones content which has evidence that shows this can help with alleviating hot flashes along with boosting arterial health in menopausal women (Messina 2016).

Our stance at ARDERE is that tofu is a nutrient dense food which contains all 8 essential amino acids which is great news, and an easy way for vegans to obtain a good source of protein. We however, believe this shouldn’t be a staple food but more a food that is incorporated into the diet in moderation. This makes these skewers the ideal means of eating tofu. With only two cubes of tofu per skewer and shared amongst a group you get just enough.

When choosing tofu always opt for organic and fermented. Why? Because tofu is from soybeans and most soybeans today have been genetically modified which we know present some unwanted health concerns, we should be eating foods that have not been genetically modified but are grown organically from nature.

Ingredients

• 2 Courgette
• 2 Red Onions
• 2 Bell Peppers
• 200g Firm Organic Fermented Tofu
• 10 Skewers (long ones make 10, short will make 20 skewers)

Dressing

• 4 tbsp Sesame Seed Oil
• 2 tbsp Tamari
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt and Pepper to season

Method

1. Chop the ends off of the onions and peel. Chop the onion into quarter chunks then chop each chunk into thirds so you have roughly 16 chunks.
2. Slice up the courgettes into whatever thickness you would like on the skewers. Chop the bell peppers into square like pieces along with the tofu. (If you are after a more roasted finished for the vegetables than using a griddle pan then skip steps 3-6 and jump to the step in the category below).
3. Place the alternating vegetables and tofu on each skewer.
4. Put some olive oil in a griddle pan or BBQ and put on a medium heat. Once hot, place the skewers on and cook for 5 minutes then turn over and cook the other side for 5 minutes. Repeat until they are lightly charred.
5. Whilst they're cooking, mix the dressing ingredients together and leave on the side.
6. Once done, place the skewers on a plate and drizzle over the dressing before serving.

For a more roasted finish:

1. Before putting the vegetables on the skewers and roasting, simply lay them all out on an oven tray with a drizzle of olive oil and put in the over for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees. Once roasted and soft, place each of the vegetables along with the tofu alternating on the skewers. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.

 

References:

Messina, M. (2016). ‘Soy and Health Update: Evaluation of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Literature’, Nutrients, (12), NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270274/ (Accessed 22 August 2019).

Chorazy, P. Himelhoch, S. Hopwood, N. et al. (1995). ‘Persistent Hypothyroidism in an Infant Receiving a Soy Formula: Case Report and Review of Literature’, (96), [Online]. Available at: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/96/1/148?sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token (Accessed 22 August 2019).

Tonstad, S. Jaceldo-Siegl, K. Messina M. et al. (2016). ‘The association between soya consumption and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations in the Adventist Health Study-2, pp. 1464-1470, Cambridge University Press, [Online]. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/association-between-soya-consumption-and-serum-thyroidstimulating-hormone-concentrations-in-the-adventist-health-study2/6363E77480EA431223E8ECB472D75AA0/core-reader  (Accessed 21 August 2019).