Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 package Wildwood extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled
- 1 package (10.8 oz) Mori-Nu silken tofu
- 1 small onion, diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- About 4 serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
- 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1½ cups frozen kale
- 2–3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, or 1–2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A small amount of kala namak (black salt), to taste
- 1 teaspoon white or mellow miso
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- Juice of ½–1 lemon
- A little olive oil or water for sautéing
Preparation
1. Cook the vegetables.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil or water. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook for about 3–4 minutes.
Add the serranos and shiitake mushrooms. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender and beginning to brown, about 4–5 minutes.
2. Add the kale.
Add the 1½ cups frozen kale directly to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until completely thawed and most of the excess moisture has evaporated.
3. Add the tofu.
Crumble in the extra-firm tofu. Add the nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic and black pepper. Add just a small amount of kala namak, remembering that the miso you’ll add later is also salty.
Cook for several minutes, allowing the tofu to heat through and pick up some color.
4. Add the silken tofu.
Gently fold in the silken tofu, breaking it into fairly large pieces rather than completely mashing it. Cook just until heated through. This gives the scramble a softer, almost egg-like texture while the extra-firm tofu provides some chew.
5. Finish with miso and lemon.
Mix 1 teaspoon miso with 1 tablespoon warm water until smooth.
Turn off the heat and gently stir the miso mixture into the scramble.
Add the juice of ½ lemon, stir and taste. Add more lemon—up to the juice of the whole lemon—if you want it brighter.
Taste one final time before adding any additional kala namak.
Breakfast
Serve with a toasted Ezekiel English muffin and warm cinnamon apple and blueberries.
For the fruit, dice an apple (leave the peel on), add ½–1 cup frozen blueberries and plenty of cinnamon, and microwave until the apple is just tender and the blueberries have started to release their juices.
| Nutrient | Entire breakfast |
|---|---|
| Calories | 690–740 kcal |
| Protein | 38–42 g |
| Carbohydrate | 100–108 g |
| Fiber | 21–24 g |
| Total fat | 17–21 g |
| Saturated fat | 2–3 g |
| Sugar | 38–43 g, mostly naturally occurring |
| Sodium | 700–1,000 mg, depending on miso and kala namak |
| Micronutrient | Approximate total | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 650–900 mg | Excellent for bone health; largely from calcium-set tofu and kale |
| Iron | 9–12 mg | More than the 8 mg daily recommendation for women over 50, although plant iron is less readily absorbed |
| Magnesium | 250–330 mg | Roughly 75–100% of your daily requirement; supports bones, muscles and glucose regulation |
| Potassium | 1,800–2,300 mg | A substantial amount, though still below the 2,600 mg daily target |
| Phosphorus | 700–950 mg | Around a full day’s requirement; important for bones and energy metabolism |
| Zinc | 4–6 mg | Roughly 50–75% of your daily requirement |
| Copper | 0.8–1.2 mg | Around or above the daily requirement |
| Manganese | 3–5 mg | Well above the daily adequate intake, primarily from blueberries and whole grains |
| Selenium | 30–50 mcg | Approximately 55–90% of the daily target |
| Vitamin A | 450–700 mcg RAE | About 65–100% of your daily requirement, primarily from kale |
| Vitamin C | 100–150 mg | Above the 75 mg daily target; peppers, kale, lemon and fruit all contribute |
| Vitamin K | 300–500 mcg | Several times the daily adequate intake, largely from kale |
| Folate | 220–330 mcg DFE | Roughly 55–80% of the daily target |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.6–0.9 mg | Roughly 55–80% of your daily requirement |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.5–0.8 mg | Approximately 45–70% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.5–0.8 mg | Approximately 30–50% of your age-specific daily target |
| Vitamin E | 2–4 mg | Helpful, but well below the 15 mg daily target |
| Choline | 150–230 mg | Around one-third to one-half of your 425 mg daily target |
The vitamin C from the lemon, peppers, kale, blueberries and apple should substantially improve absorption of the tofu, kale and whole-grain iron.
The likely gaps are:
Vitamin B12: probably negligible unless one of the tofu products or the muffin is fortified.
Vitamin D: probably very little.
Iodine: uncertain and likely low. Kala namak generally isn’t a dependable iodine source unless the package specifically says it is iodized.
Vitamin E: present, but not especially high.
This was an unusually strong breakfast for strong bones: potentially two-thirds or more of a full day’s calcium, plenty of magnesium, vitamin K and protein, plus vitamin C to support collagen formation.