Tofu, Mushrooms and Courgette in a Miso Broth with Noodles

So an April Fool's Day prank kind of backfired, and now we're aiming to eat vegan and vegetarian meals for the next month (as well as go sugar free!)...

Fortunately, I had a pack of firm tofu in the fridge on the day it happened (April 1st, of course...) so we were able to dive straight in with a tasty vegan dinner that everyone enjoyed! However, I am since discovering that planning and cooking meals for four people who all love their meat, fish and sugar is no easy feat - especially when you take out dairy and eggs for some of the meals too!

As it was so simple and tasty (and healthy!), I thought it would be nice to share it. It's based on the kind of thing I often throw together, but I wrote down the ingredients and quantities as I went for future reference (after all, we might be needing this meal again in the next month!). You can of course substitute any vegetables you fancy, just cook them to your tastes - you could even buy a pack of nice stir fry vegetables (you know, like the ones with tender stem broccoli and squash in) for total convenience!

Serves four, 185 calories per portion for the tofu and vegetable broth. Add 228 calories per serving for a nest of wholewheat noodles (making a total of 412 calories a portion) - or if you're on a fast day you could have zero / magic noodles for only a handful of calories, or make courgette noodles (and maybe substitute the sliced courgette for a different vegetable!).

Teriyaki Chicken Meal with Sesame-Miso Green Beans, Cucumber-Radish Pickles and Rice (or Cauliflower Rice)

If you want a guide to cooking the whole meal in under half an hour, here it is...

Obviously, the time might vary a little depending on a couple of things, but there's really not that much to do, and it can certainly all be cooked in under 20 minutes once you've prepared your ingredients.

This serves two people, at 304 calories per serving for the teriyaki chicken (breast), green beans and cucumber-radish pickles, plus 76 calories if serving with 200g cauliflower rice per person (380 calories in total), or add on 175 calories for a 50g (raw weight) serving of rice (479 calories - although I find that I can only eat half of this quantity of rice with everything else on the plate, so it's 391 calories for me!). Oh and 3 calories a serving for the spring onion with the rice, if you're counting... ;)

Soy, Ginger and Sake Marinated Tofu Steaks

Give tofu a try, with this flavour-packed recipe... ramp up the spice with a good shake of schichimi togarashi!

If you've never tried tofu, or you have tried it but been left unimpressed by its delicate flavour and texture, this is a great recipe to showcase it's versatility and lend it flavour and texture from a umami-rich marinade, with zing from the ginger, and nuttiness from the toasted sesame oil, together with texture from being browned in a pan and crunchy spring onions.

Serves 3, 142 calories per serving.

Serve it with your choice of rice or noodles, together with something like pak choi, wilted with garlic and light soy sauce in a pan and finished with a drizzle of sesame oil, or with my delicious wakame and shaved vegetable salad with a ginger soy dressing and toasted seeds (pictured). [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting].

Miso Soup

There's no question about this. Miso soup was one of the discoveries of last year for us. Something so simple, and yet so pleasurable. And versatile too.

I'm not going to pretend that everyone will like miso soup, because if you're Western, these ingredients are going to be pretty alien to you! Dried, fermented smoked tuna, seaweed, fermented soy beans, and that 'tofu stuff'? What is that all about? OK, there's spring onion in there, you'll know that one, but the rest... well, keep an open mind, because you might just decide it's rather delicious. So don't let that put you off! (And you can always make my dashi stock substitute as a base, which doesn't contain fermented tuna or seaweed - and the vegetarian version of dashi stock has dried shiitake mushrooms in it).

It's also incredibly healthy. Miso (paste) is a bit like the mythical 'apple a day'. It's very good for you. And very tasty too - if I say it's a bit like marmite, it's not because you'll necessarily love it or hate it, but it's full on umami flavour which gives a real depth to dishes. There are various different coloured miso pastes - the lighter, the milder and sweeter; the darker the more savoury and stronger. With miso soup, it's somewhat down to personal taste. I'd recommend a medium/red miso paste. Something between the colour of a cheap milk chocolate, and David Dickinson's mahogany tan (red miso). If you're trying to avoid gluten or soy, there's a little information here which might help you in what you select to cook with, and/or Clearspring make organic (white) miso which is gluten free - see here.

So here's my basic miso soup recipe (with tofu and wakame in it). I also like to add mushrooms to this, in fact, you can add in any vegetables. If you don't fancy wakame (give it a go first, it's amazing stuff! Plus it's amazing in this Wakame and Shaved Vegetable Salad in a Soy-Ginger Dressing with Toasted Seeds, too!) then wilt some spinach into it, instead. Oh, and if you like your spice, shake some 'Shichimi Togarashi' over the top, a Japanese spicy seasoning containing chilli and sesame seeds amongst other things. But beware, it likes to lurk at the bottom of your soup, waiting to burn your throat on the last mouthful!

                                              Miso Soup

Serves two, 79 calories per portion (with home made dashi stock)