BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

This weekend was jam-packed. It seems that every weekend is precious, because we have so...

BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

This weekend was jam-packed. It seems that every weekend is precious, because we have so much to do before the baby arrives!

I’ve got to give major props to my husband who has to build and lug around a LOT lately. From building our crib to carrying home shelving from NYC, he’s been a real trooper.

It’s been fun putting together the nursery. It’s making me feel much more at ease about having a baby. Having everything ‘ready’ makes me feel more ready and composed.

My goal is to have the nursery and all the necessary baby gear ready by 36 weeks. I don’t want to have to worry about a think in the last month. I want to focus on enjoying my time with Lu, giving myself enough time for exercise and healthy eating, and really just relax – I’m told that once that baby comes, I’ll wish I had relaxed MORE, haha! Makes sense.

BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

I’m 31 weeks on Wednesday (where has this time gone?!), so that just leaves us with just about a month to get everything done. Until then, we have Lu’s mother coming into town, then my baby shower, and then we’re doing babymoon part two in Bermuda the first weekend in August. That will be last trip, of course, until the baby comes!

As I near the end of my pregnancy, I’ve really been focusing on trying to eat as nutritiously as possible, especially because somewhere in the middle/end of my second trimester, I couldn’t help but eat every single sugary treat out there, and I wasn’t feeling my best.

Tofu is high in calcium and a great source of vegan protein, so I’ve tried to incorporate it more into my diet – at least once a month! The same goes for whole grains, hence, brown rice today!

BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

For those of you who don’t love tofu, just know this: if you properly cook it, it can be delicious! I love roasting it until it’s slightly crispy and nice and firm.

These tofu and brown rice bowls are the perfect bring-to-work lunch or dinner. The BBQ tahini brings all the flavors together and there’s such great texture in this meal!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and most importantly, has an amazing week!

Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a zucchini using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:

 

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 9 points

*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.

BBQ Baked Tofu and Brown Rice Bowls with Zucchini Noodles

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 oz extra firm tofu
  • ¼ cup barbecue sauce
  • 2 medium zucchinis
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • pepper
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1 avocado peeled, pitted, insides cubed or sliced thinly
  • For the dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
  • 2 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • water to thin if needed
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Press excess moisture out of the tofu by squeezing between two layers of paper towels (or other preferred method.) Repeat until moisture is absorbed.
  • Dice the tofu into cubes and place in a medium mixing bowl along with the barbecue sauce. Toss together and arrange on the prepared baking tray, using tongs or your fingers. Bake the tofu for 30 minutes or until browned and stiffened, flipping the tofu pieces over halfway through and brushing with extra barbecue sauce.
  • While tofu bakes, spiralize the zucchini with Blade C and prepare the dressing. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl and whisk together. Add water if needed, to thin the dressing. Set aside.
  • Five minutes before the tofu is done, set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the zucchini and garlic and let cook for 3 minutes, tossing, until zucchini is softened. Season with pepper.
  • Divide the brown rice into bowls and top with zucchini noodles, tofu, and avocado. Drizzle with dressing. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Per serving (1 out of 4) - Calories: 253, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Carbs: 33g, Fiber: 6g, Sugars: 13g, Protein: 11g, Sodium: 280mg

with love, Ali

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comments

  • Is there a secret to not having a lot of liquid from Zucchini noodles?? Overtime we use them as pasta in spaghetti dishes there is lots of liquid on the plate. This makes the sauce thinner and less tasty and the dish does not look as appealing. Thanks!!
    • This will help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mILFcumUbuk&list=PLHrn9LMSJIB9adBUxsBq4MG9TDLZMcgpf
      • Ali: thank you so much for your quick response. These are great tips. Are they in your cook book?
    • Don't even cook the zoodles, put the heated sauce of choice directly on the zoodles and that should be enough to heat them without all the liquid. I learned this from a vegan chef at his restaurant. I asked the same question you did to him.
      • Debi: thank you! Great idea would never have thought of it.
      • I actually discourage people from that! If you do that, the noodles will have a LOT of excess moisture and be very watery. The more moisture you can reduce before adding a hot sauce (which causes the moisture to release even more), the better!
  • This looks great! During your last few weeks, I recommend that you do some batch/freezer cooking! Most likely people will bring you food the first few weeks but after that you'll really want quick food! And hey, you can make a blog post about your recipes that work well for this! I have a one year old and do much less spontaneous cooking now and it's more about meal prep and planning! Good luck!
  • I will definitely try this. It looks and sounds delicious. I'll use turnip rice, however, or maybe cauliflower rice. My body just doesn't know what to do with grains. Thanks for this one. Question: Do you think I could bake extra tofu and freeze it for later?
  • Aren't you nervous to go to the Bahamas? I can't wait to try to this recipe.
      • Bermuda I meant Bermuda.
  • This looks great! Sorry if you mentioned this already, but do you have favorite/preferred BBQ sauce?