This post is brought to you by a partnership thanks to Nasoya. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog!
Convenience foods can fall into two categories: actually convenient, and junky food parading as convenience. An example of the latter being frozen microwave macaroni and cheese where it smells and tastes like burning plastic, looks like orange rubber, and is loaded with salt. If anyone is that hard up for macaroni and cheese, just take the 10 minutes to make the boxed kind and at least get something edible, right?
But falling into the former category are these pre-seasoned, pre-cut tofu cubes by Nasoya, cutely called Toss'ables. Because you're supposed to toss them with salads, yeah? Ok, so the name is a bit silly, but these are pretty useful to add an extra boost of protein to any salad or other meal. They come in two flavors, balsamic vinaigrette, and garlic and herb.
These are available at select grocery stores, and the only one in South Carolina I could find these at was Wal-Mart, and not the community markets, just the straight up large-scale Wal-Mart. They had the balsamic ones available on my last visit there so I picked them up for some leafless salads. And I'd like to share one with you today.
Balsamic Vegetable Tofu Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes any variety
- ½ large cucumber sliced in halves
- 2 shallots cut into slices
- ½ a bag of Nasoya Toss’ables in balsamic vinaigrette
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ to 1 avocado diced
Instructions
- Mix together the white vinegar and cold water in a bowl that can hold the shallots. Put the cut shallots into the bowl and stir so that the shallots are covered. Let them sit while you chop the rest of the vegetables, saving the avocado for last.
- Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper in a small sealable container. Shake well until emulsified.
- Remove the shallots from the vinegar water and add the shallots to a large bowl. Add the tofu and remaining vegetables, save for the avocado. Pour the dressing on and lightly toss to coat.
- Put the avocado chunks on prior to serving and eat immediately.
Notes
A few notes, you don't have to be precise in your vegetable amounts, I just included them to give a rough estimate of the ratios you might want to aim for.
If you're taking this salad for lunch to work the next day, I recommend draining the remaining dressing and putting it in an extra sealable container to add back in prior to serving. And for the avocados, dice them and dress in lime juice and put in their own separate sealable container to stave off (though you may not totally prevent) any browning thanks to oxidation.
