work snacks and weird snacks.
tofu feta cups and why you can skip the snack aisle. How-to video inside!
Snacks. They’re baffling.
Even more confusing? The dreaded snack aisle. The packaged snack options are endless and are mostly (and objectively) garbage.
I’ve always struggled with having a “snack” chapter in my cookbooks or snack category on my website or here in our foodie club. After all my dietary experimentation, holistic and western education, time in my kitchen, others’ kitchens, and professional kitchens, after having all the time in the world as a work-from-home-freelancer and having absolutely no time as a stay-at-home-mom-work-from-home-freelancer, here are two things I’ve learned and know for sure:
First, the fewer packaged snacks, the better. You already know this one.
Second, snacks are easier to choose and prepare when they’re not considered a separate food category.
In my humble opinion, we’re better served (and fed) by thinking of snacks as smaller portions of foods we already eat.
Read again, snacks can be smaller servings of other meals.
This reframing has released the pressure valve on planning snacks for me and my family. Because when we unpack the beloved snack, its purpose is to satiate our hunger until the next meal rolls around.
Somewhere along the way snacks became treats — sugary cookies, chocolate covered granola bars, sodium-soaked crackers and cheese. I cringe at the thought of my lunchbox all the way from elementary school to college. It was a grab bag of processed stuff.
Thankfully, we’ve evolved and forced the mega food manufacturing machine to make changes too. Now there are better, crap-free packaged snacks available. Depending on where you live, you may have also noticed that the snack aisle has had at least a partial makeover with fewer processed and more sugar-free options. Some snacks I like are Mary’s Crackers, Rind baked fruit chips, and Luna Bars.
If you live near a Whole Foods or similar food market, you’ll likely find even more options.
However, even if these upgraded snacks are available to you, they might not be a practical solution as they’re much more expensive than their less healthy counterparts.
Much.
More.
Expensive.
On a summer trip to California (to see Queen Beyoncé), we needed car snacks and dropped into a Whole Foods. We bought some flax crackers, oil-free cashew cheese, and almond yogurt and it was almost 70 bucks (USD).
What in the actual flax!?
This brings me to my point and entire purpose of this post: you can make your own snacks and it can be easy and low maintenance and affordable.
Of course, fruit is an excellent option as is whole food crackers and hummus, bliss balls, or a handful of nuts or seeds but here are some other, less conventional, snack ideas:
Half to one cup of whatever you had for dinner the night before. I do this all the time!
A smaller serving of reheated soup.
Half a bean burger. Or even a full bean burger!
A half serving of overnight oats.
A phytonutrient-packed smoothie.
Baked tofu cubes, eaten right from the fridge.
One frozen pancake, popped into the toaster. This one’s a personal favorite. I make a double batch of the teff pancakes from Plant-Based Delicious or the buckwheat pancakes from The Plant-Based Cookbook and freeze them with parchment in between so I can easily take one when needed.
My latest snack obsession is the marinated tofu in these tofu feta cups.
The combination was inspired by my husband who can never get enough tofu and who would choose a savory snack over a sweet snack 11 out of 10 times. I added some extra flavor and nutrition with arugula, tomatoes, and cucumber.
They’re delicious! Marinate the tofu overnight and in the morning construct your cups. Grab and go!
How-To Video
Tofu Feta Cups
Makes 4 servings
This tofu feta is the perfect afternoon snack, especially when those savory cravings are calling. It takes minutes to make and can be served many ways; eat it on its own, add it to a salad, mix it with some cucumber and tomato for a Mediterranean-inspired snack, or add it to your next charcuterie board. I suggest making the cups ahead of time so they’re an easy grab and go option.
INGREDIENTS
1 (14 ounce/397 g) block extra firm tofu
1 teaspoon (6 g) white miso
1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) brine water from a jar of capers or olives
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon (4 g) nutritional yeast
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt, optional
For the cups
1 cup (110 g) diced or thinly sliced cucumber
2 handfuls baby arugula
1 tomato, diced
HOW-TO
Drain the tofu and give it a squeeze over the sink or a bowl to remove any excess water. Then cut the block into ¾ inch (2 cm) cubes and place them in a medium sized bowl or container. You can also press the tofu to remove even more water, but I usually skip pressing — it’s not necessary.
In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, vinegar, brine water and lemon juice until the miso is dissolved. Then add the basil, oregano, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes and mix.
Pour this mixture over the tofu and gently toss with a spoon until all the tofu is coated. Cover the bowl or container and let the tofu marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight is ideal. Mix once or twice while marinating if possible.
You can add the tofu to salads, wraps, or make your own feta snack cups: Divide the tofu between 4 small jars or bowls and add some chopped cucumber, baby arugula, and diced tomato to each.
Notes
You can make the cups the night before just be sure to layer the fresh veggies on top of the tofu as the acid in the marinade will make the arugula wilt.
These cups will last for up to 3 days in the fridge.
There are so many other ingredients you can add. Try sundried tomatoes, chopped bell pepper or roasted pepper, carrot ribbons, sliced scallions, or chopped artichokes (packed in water).
I also wonder if it would work, to add capers into the marinade, as I’m addicted to them?
I can’t wait to try this, I must admit I loved cheese before going from vegetarian to vegan. Do you think you could roast this tofu feta, or put it on pizza?