Updated 01/17/24 1:30 AM

Nutrition and Recipes:
Mediterranean Style Tofu Scramble

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 tsp oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Za’atar seasoning
4 oz. Reduced fat feta, crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 whole wheat pita, toasted and cut in half

Directions

1. Press tofu. While tofu is being pressed heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add tomatoes and Za’atar. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes.
4. While tomatoes cook, add tofu, garlic powder, and turmeric to a bowl. Using your hands, crumble the tofu and mix the seasoning evenly throughout.
5. After tomatoes have been cooking for 5 minutes, add spinach and stir. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
6. Add crumbled tofu to pan and stir. Heat through, about 2 minutes.
7. Add feta to mixture and stir. Heat through, about 2 minutes.
8. Open pocket in pita half and fill with mixture.

Tofu has sort of a bad reputation. I personally used to hate the idea of tofu and everything it stood for. But then I tried a few things with it and started to realize its potential. Tofu is pretty bland and it doesn’t have much in the way of texture, and this is something you can use to your advantage.

By changing what we add to the scramble, we can give it a variety of tastes. This recipe is
more of a Mediterranean feel. Swap out the ingredients and you can easily get a southwest feel.


Tofu is used here because it allows this to be prepped ahead of time. Eggs do not reheat well at all. Tofu on the other hand can be warmed in the microwave without turning into rubber.

The vegetables in this recipe are really just suggestions. Try adding anything, or if there is
something you don’t like, go ahead and remove it! Some possible additions would be olives or capers.

This recipe is chock full of veggies with good reason! They provide fiber to fill you up and keep your gut and heart healthy as well as lots of vitamins and minerals. I always recommend getting them from food first, because they are more absorbable and you get a whole range of benefits and enjoyment from eating real whole food. In particular, the bell peppers and tomatoes contain vitamin C, the spinach contains iron. Vitamin C is important in immunity. It also helps the absorption of iron from plants. Iron is important for runners because it is a critical part of heme, the part of hemoglobin and myoglobin. These proteins carry oxygen in the blood and store a small amount in the muscle. Believe it or not, we crush our red blood cells with each step we take when we run. This increases iron requirements for all athletes. And those of us who menstruate also have a higher requirement.

Some ideas on what to eat, how to make it, and how to eat it.