Sweet and spicy, tangy and luscious. This healthy vegan meal prep bowl is everything! Sweet mango with tangy lime and spicy chili powder, crunchy cucumbers, creamy avocado, tangy protein-rich tofu, and hearty quinoa. I'm happy to have this lunch on repeat all week long.
Ingredients
- quinoa, tofu, cucumbers, cilantro, mango, avocado, chili powder, olive oil, and fresh lime juice.
When my schedule gets overly crazy I jump head first into meal prep lunches. It is wholly satisfying and reassuring to know there is something delicious for me in the fridge.
With spring officially here and sunshine standing in as my new BFF I have been craving lighter flavors. Mango, cucumber and avocado is one of my all time favorite flavor combinations, I make a stuffed avocado mango salad in the summer that is so yummy. This meal prep is a riff on that salad, with the addition of quinoa and tofu for a perfectly balanced lunch.
It honestly couldn't be easier to put this vegan, protein-packed lunch together.
How to Make Perfectly Cooked (and EASY) Tofu
- Tofu is optional in this recipe, but honestly, it works so well with these flavors I think you should try it!
- Many tofu recipes require draining the tofu of most of it's liquid, although this does produce a firmer texture I find this step to be laborious and unnecessary.
- To prepare my perfectly cooked tofu simply dice tofu into squares (you can dice yours smaller than what's shown in the picture but I like bigger bites of tofu) and toss in a hot skillet with olive oil, chili powder, and lime juice.
- Cook for 4 minutes, stirring (or just giving your saute pan a good shimmy — chef style), often.
- That. Is. It. So simple, so yummy, and now you have a plant-based protein ready for 4 -6 meals!
Is Soy Bad For Me?
- By 2012 over 94% of soy grown in the United States was Genetically Modified. This means that not all soy is created equal. First and foremost when you are buying soy products you must buy organic to ensure it is not Genetically Modified (source)
- Over 2000 soy research papers are published each year, but there is a great divide between research done on isolated soy supplements (isoflavone research) and soy foods. You cannot assume that research on the effects of soy foods can be generalized to isoflavone supplements. In other words, when soy is studied as a traditional food (i.e. tempeh, miso, tofu) some beneficial/protective effects have been found, including reduced risk of breast cancer (study). However, there is very little data to support the use of isolated soy phytochemicals (study).
- All of this to say that not all soy is created equal and soy is a highly debated topic. I am personally in favor of using some fermented soybean products (like tempeh) as fermented soy contains secondary metabolites that may have additional beneficial physiological effects beyond soy itself.
- Dose matters. A serving size of tofu is 1/4 of a block, this is actually quite a bit. If you are using fake soy meat, and drinking soy milk, and having tofu daily…well then yes, you are probably consuming too much soy it may not be supportive. A little bit of soy, like organic tofu, is an excellent way to get in the benefits of a plant-based protein without overdoing it.
- If you are sensitive to soy then just replace it in this recipe with chicken or shrimp, both would work quite well.
Once you have cooked your tofu, you will simply combine cooked quinoa, tofu, mango, cucumber, and fresh cilantro. Toss that all together with a little bit of olive oil and lime juice.
A simply satisfying lunch. All ready to go.
Crunchy cucumbers, zesty lime, sweet mango, and spicy chili powder. Yum and Yum and Yum!
Ok, gotta run and eat more of this, my mouth is literally drooling writing about it 🙂
Chili Lime Mango Quinoa Meal Prep
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 3/4 cup water
Tofu
Salad
- 3 small cucumbers (about 1.5 cups, diced)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 cup mango, diced (plus extra for top, about 2 large mangos)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 medium avocado sliced
Instructions
Quinoa
- In a medium saucepan combine (rinsed) quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once finished, turn off heat and set aside.
Tofu
- Add olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add tofu, salt, and chili powder and cook for 4 minutes. Stir tofu a few times while cooking. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Toss to coat, set tofu aside.
Salad
- In a large bowl combine quinoa, tofu, mango, cucumber, and cilantro. Top with olive oil and lime juice and stir to combine. Portion into 4 containers. Top with extra mango sprinkled with chili powder, sliced avocado, and additional lime.
- Will keep in fridge for up to 7 days.
Notes
- If you are sensitive to soy replace tofu with roasted chicken
