I had a baby this past week and honestly, food hasn't played a big role in my life since then. I suffered through hospital food (I gave birth in New York City and the food service staff had no idea what "vegan" meant, which was shocking to me!) Once I got home, I ate whatever decent food was leftover in the fridge along with food that people brought to me.
Today, 6 days after my daughter was born, I realized that it is so easy to get into a routine of not eating well- all it takes are a few distractions and healthy eating can easily fly out the window! I stopped everything I was doing to prepare a few easy dishes for the week ahead- I made a batch of quinoa, I soaked black beans to be cooked tomorrow, made a large batch of chia pudding, washed all my apples (this sounds stupid but I appreciate it when I can just toss an apple in my kid's lunchboxes tomorrow!) I also made 3 packages of tempeh each with their own marinade. I ate this sweet and smoky tempeh for lunch and placed the other 2 tempers in the freezer for later in the week.
Just like most of my recipes, this tempeh one is infinitely adaptable- you can reduce the oil, and/ or the sweetener and add a little more water to compensate. You can eliminate the liquid smoke if you don't have it at home, but I HIGHLY recommend it since it adds a flavor that you cannot get from any other ingredients. I will post the other 2 tempeh recipes as well, because options are always a good thing!
Here's a look at my lunch today- sautéed spinach + sweet potatoes + the tempeh!
Sweet and Smoky Tempeh
1 package tempeh
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons tomato sauce (I used homemade but store bought sauces with only a few ingredients and no added sugar are ok as well)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of water (more or less depending on how thick your tomato sauce is. Mine is chunky-ish).
salt and black pepper, to taste
Slice tempeh into thin triangles. (Any shape works, but triangles are my favorite!) Place into a square pyrex. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over tempeh. Use your hands to coat the tempeh well with the marinade on both sides. If you have the time, allow tempeh to marinate 30 minutes or more. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake tempeh, covered, for 35 minutes. Uncover for the last 5 minutes.