Tofu "Egg" Breakfast Sandwich

Tofu Egg Breakfast Sandwich:

1 organic english muffin
1 package extra firm organic tofu
vegan cheddar cheese (for this dish I prefer to shave some of Daiya's Medium Cheddar Block)
organic extra virgin olive oil
organic turmeric
organic cracked pepper
optional garnishes: sliced tomato, vegan bacon, avocado, salsa... make it your own!

Drain and press the tofu well then cut into 4 filets (once lengthwise, and once widthwise). To save time, I would suggest doing this the day or night before and storing it in the refrigerator overnight so it's already prepped for the morning.

Heat a fry pan over medium heat then coat the pan generously with olive oil and allow the oil to warm. Sprinkle some turmeric and cracked pepper into the oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Place a single filet onto the pan and immediately press down firmly with a spatula and move the tofu in small circles preventing it from sticking to the pan. If it begins to stick, reduce heat further and continue to move around while pressing firmly. Continue to press down and move the tofu around the pan. During this time, sprinkle some turmeric and cracked pepper on top of the filet as well.

Once the filet has been cooking for about a minute, add a second filet a repeat the same process ensuring it does not stick to the pan. Once the bottom has begun to very lightly brown and crisp, flip over and repeat the process on the second side. One side should take anywhere from 2-5 minutes.

Depending on how large your pan is, it may be best to cook two filets at a time.

Once the filets have been cooking for about 1 minute on the second side, add the cheddar cheese to the top side of the tofu, reduce heat to low and cover so that cheese can began to melt. Make sure to check and move the tofu around occasionally during this time to ensure it does not stick - be careful not to rush the melting process and turn up the heat - the tofu will stick.

While the cheese is melting, toast your english muffin, then add your tofu to the english muffin, add any extra garnishes, and enjoy!!

Tofu Breakfast Bake

Pepper, Mushroom, and Onion Breakfast Bake: 

2 packages organic extra firm tofu, drained well

1 organic yellow onion

1 organic green pepper

1 lb organic white (or portobello) mushrooms

8oz chopped green chilies, mild or hot - your choice
1 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional)
2 tbsp organic turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon organic onion powder

1/2 teaspoon organic garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon organic paprika 

5 twists organic black pepper

2 twists freshly cracked sea salt (pink himalayan is my favorite!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

First, drain the tofu then crumble into a bowl. Don't drain all of the water out, just most of it. Retaining some of the moisture will help while it bakes.  

Chop the pepper, mushrooms, and onion and sauté until soft. I like to sauté using water, instead of oil or butter not only because it's healthier, but once the veggies are done, there will be some flavored water left over that I like to add to the dish for extra flavor. I would use about 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed when sautéing. When sautéing with water, I also use a lower heat for slightly longer to avoid burning off all of the water. Once the veggies are soft, remove the pan from heat and set aside.

While the veggies are cooking, add the dry spices to the tofu and combine well with the tofu continuing to crumble the tofu as needed. I like to use my hands for this so that the spices really get mixed in with the tofu, but make sure to either use a glove or a plastic baggie as the turmeric will turn your hand/nails yellow.

Once the veggies are cooked, add them and the remaining water they are in to the tofu and mix together. Finally, fold in the shredded cheese.

Once mixture is complete, add to a deep glass baking pan. Using the back of a spoon, compress the mixture together firmly (this is critical to it remaining as a bake when complete so you can cut it into pieces, and not have it crumble). 

Cover with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. If you want a crispier top, after the 25 min, broil as desired.  

When finished, remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. I love to prepare this dish a day in advance, as I feel the flavors tend to enhance and blend together overnight. This dish also reheats very well! 

Either way, enjoy! Great for serving to a group! 

Healthy Life Tip: Make this on a Sunday and box individual servings for breakfast (or even lunch) to have throughout the week! 

Baked Balsamic Tofu Cubes

Balsamic Tofu. I really can't say enough about it. Grilled, baked, fried, sautéed, whatever. A staple in my kitchen for sure. It can go on salads, as a side, on a pasta salad, in a wrap, as a snack, whatever you want. So easy to make and so many things to have it with! 

Try them, you'll be instant best friends. 

Baked Balsamic Tofu Cubes:

Organic extra firm tofu - as much as you want!

Your favorite organic balsamic dressing 

Organic Italian seasoning (optional)

First, drain the water out of the tofu... yes you have to do this. Either wrap the block of tofu in paper towels and place between to dishes, trays, whatever you want and put something on top to gently squeeze out the water (sometime I use 3 soup bowls) and let stand for about 20-30 minutes, or use a tofu press. 

Once the tofu is drained, cut into 1 inch cubes, or whatever size you're into at the moment, and toss into a baggie, cover with marinade, and marinate for 30 min or longer. I like to get all of this done the night before and let it sit overnight, but it turns out great either way!

Once you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 and place tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure there is space in-between each piece of tofu. I also like to sprinkle a little extra Italian seasoning onto the pieces at this point! Bake for about 10-15 minutes or longer, until they are golden brown along the edges, watching to make sure they don't burn. Once you see the golden edges, remove and enjoy warm or cold!

I LOVE to use these to top one of my favorite pasta salads recipes:

White Bean & Basil Soup

White Bean & Basil Soup:

6-8 servings

56 oz organic, low sodium, vegetable broth
30 oz organic, white northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup organic barley
1 organic medium yellow onion, chopped
3 organic garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups of organic deseeded and chopped plum tomatoes
1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped organic fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons organic Italian seasoning
Ground organic black pepper to taste


First, set the barely to cook by adding it to a pan with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, cover, and let simmer for 35-40 minutes. I like to set a timer and check it around 30 minutes to make sure there is still enough moisture and none is sticking to the bottom of the pan. At this time I also usually reduce heat to medium-low for the remaining 5-10 minutes.

While barley is cooking, heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is briefly heated, sauté the onions and garlic together for about 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften. Do not allow them, or the garlic, to brown, but do enjoy the beautiful aroma this will make in your kitchen!

While the onions and garlic are sautéing, it's time to chop your tomatoes. Make sure to remove all liquid and seeds. While the tomatoes cook in the soup, the skin will separate, and, if you're like me, and don't enjoy that in the soup, you can pick up 2 large cans of organic whole peeled tomatoes instead. If you do, open the can and strain out all of the liquid first, then gently chop each tomato until you're left with what you need!

Once the onions and garlic have softened, add in the vegetable broth, Italian seasoning, and ground pepper. If you've chopped fresh tomatoes, add those in as well, but if you've used the canned tomatoes, hold onto them a little longer! Either way, bring ingredients to a low boil for about 5-10 minutes.

While those ingredients are getting to know one another, it's time to chop your basil and check on your barley. Once the barley is softened, strain out any extra water and set aside with your basil and northern beans.

Finally, add your last ingredients (chopped basil, northern beans, and barley and possibly the chopped canned tomatoes) to your soup and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then enjoy!!


Healthy Life Tip: When making soup, always try and make extra! Soup is great after a night in the fridge and even freezer! Save some to take for lunch the next day, or later in the week! Or freeze some for a quick dinner when you may be running late or don't have anything prepared!

Crispy Lemon Tofu

Crispy Lemon Tofu
Serves 4

2 packages organic extra firm tofu
3 organic lemons
1 teaspoon organic extra virgin olive oil


Drain the water from the tofu and cut each package into 6 filets. Add them and the juice of one and 1/2 lemons to ziplock bag. Save the other half of the lemon for later. For this recipe I usually start marinating the tofu in the morning when I make breakfast so that they have the opportunity to marinate all day.

Using a large sauté pan, (I like to use one with straight sides so that the liquids are contained), add the tofu to the pan one filet at a time. The more filets they are able to touch the bottom of the pan the better. Add the juice of the the third lemon to the pan and turn on heat to low-medium.

Gently coat and preheat oven to broiler setting.

Allow the tofu to simmer in the lemon juice until the juice is almost reduced completely while not allowing the tofu to stick to the pan. The key to this is the adjusting the temperature accordingly as the juice begins to reduce (less juice = lower temp) and gently moving the tofu occasionally to make sure it is not sticking.

Once the juice is reduced, add tofu to the broiler pan, top with the remaining 1/2 of a lemon, and broil until golden or desired crispiness is reached on one side, about 5-8 minutes, then flip and brown the second side if desired.

I love pairing this tofu with my Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta recipe:

The Healthy Life Blog is Under Construction!

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for your continued subscriptions, shares, viewership, and support. Temporarily, please excuse any missing posts or broken links to recipes on The Healthy Life blog as it undergoes some restructuring.

When I started the recipe section of this blog, my intention was to take typically unhealthy food favorites, and create healthy versions of them. All of my recipes were predominantly vegetarian/vegan as I have never been fully comfortable consuming any meat products. As I have continued to explore the world of healthy living and eating, I have become increasingly aware of the ethical implications of even vegetarian choices.

For some time now I have been phasing out these vegetarian options in my own life and it is time that my blog reflect that. Until now I had been keeping the old vegetarian recipes up and making all of my new posts vegan because the majority of views to this blog came through those older recipes. That's just not a good enough reason anymore.

Part of living a healthy lifestyle includes living a mentally healthy life as well. I have always been passionate about the environment and animal rights and tried to ensure that my everyday choices aligned with those beliefs. Choosing to follow a vegan diet is just another step. The health benefits of a plant based diet are undeniable and I have always strived to incorporate them into my life and this blog. I now feel I have the tools I need to share a fun, healthy, and realistic whole foods/plant based lifestyle with all of you as well.

Eventually all of the old links to non-vegetarian recipes (just 2), and vegetarian recipes will be restored with vegan versions of those favorite recipes. Until then, please enjoy the recipes that are live on The Healthy Life Blog and I would love to hear from you regarding any of your own food favorites you would like to see made vegan.

Thank you for your patience and I look forward to sharing many more exciting recipes with you!

Ashley