This colourful, chilled and refreshing crispy tofu avocado bowl is packed with fibre, protein, antioxidants, heart-healthy fats, minerals and vitamins. It is the perfect summer dish, especially during the current heatwave (summer 2022).

Topped with a creamy balsamic vinaigrette, it bursts with flavours and texture. It is one of my favourite ways to prepare and enjoy a healthy meal to beat the heat!

This summer, you can keep your meals simple but still be creative. Choose whole foods from different groups such as protein or legumes, fruit, grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Add crumbled Greek feta cheese and olives for extra flavour.

You can mix and match the ingredients as you prefer. For example, instead of crispy tofu, you can add grilled chicken or smoked salmon slices. You can replace the quinoa with cooked brown rice, noodles or farro. And, you can swap the blueberries for strawberries or peaches or melon slices.

In this recipe, the crispy grilled tofu and red quinoa were made the day before and kept stored in the refrigerator. These foods taste great chilled and are great additions to all sorts of salads or Buddha bowls. Should you want to make the tofu and red quinoa, the recipes are here and here.

The ingredients for the Tofu Avocado Bowl and Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette are below.

Crispy Tofu Avocado Bowl

• rocket or arugula leaves
• red cooked quinoa
• avocado slices
• crispy tofu slices
• cucumbers
• blueberries
• black sesame seeds
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

In small blender or NutriBullet, blend together:

• 4 tablespoons (tbsps) balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbsps water (add more later for a more fluid consistency)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsps liquid honey or 100% maple syrup
• 1 tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

Put all ingredients above in the blender and blend for several seconds until creamy. Add some extra tablespoons of water for a more fluid consistency, as needed, and quickly blend again. Store in a sealed glass jar or bottle in the refrigerator. Drizzle over salads.

Enjoy!