Sweet & Sour Tofu

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Tofu is a staple in our household. We incorporate plant-based meals as much as possible and have learned many ways to create meals using tofu. Tofu is extremely versatile and can be used in many ways.

This sweet and sour tofu dish is a delicious and simple meal everyone can enjoy. We were able to keep this recipe healthy and oil-free by using an air fryer rather than pan frying.

Tofu: When cooking tofu it’s important to drain all water from the package. You can either lightly hand squeeze the tofu with a paper towel or you can use a tofu press. This will help you achieve a crispy texture more quickly.

Air Fry: To keep this dish healthy and oil free we will be using an air fryer. You may pan fry the tofu if desired, however be sure to use a high heat point oil such as, avocado oil.

Sweet & Sour sauce: You can use any desired sweet and sour sauce.

Veggies: we used bell pepper, onion, and pineapple sautéed in a pan.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tofu packages

  • 1 tbsp pink salt

  • 2 tbsp garlic powder

  • 3/4 cup of sweet and sour sauce

  • 1 green bell pepper

  • 1 white onion

  • 1 cup pineapple

  • 2 tsp sesame seeds

  • 1 tbsp green onion

Instructions:

  • remove and drain water from tofu

  • chop tofu into cube sized pieces

  • season with pink salt and garlic powder

  • air fry at 425 degrees for 20 mins on each side

  • sauté the green bell pepper and white onion until lightly golden

  • In a pan over medium heat combine air fried tofu, sautéed bell pepper and onion with sweet and sour sauce

  • once incorporated garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions

  • enjoy with white or fried rice

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Lemon Drop Martinis

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As much as we love dining out and enjoying fun cocktails from restaurants and bars, we love making our own at home. Over the past couple years we’ve learned how to recreate our favorite cocktails, while creating some of our own.

This one is the classic lemon drop martini that we’ve made simply using four ingredients.

Alcohol: We used vodka, you can use any brand you prefer.

Lemon: Freshly squeezed lemons amounting to 2 shots. As the size of your lemons will vary, this may require 2 or more lemons. Although there are bottled lemon juice options available, we have yet to try them.

Sweetener: To sugar the rim we used Lakanto Monkfruit and for the cocktail we used agave nectar.

Be sure to give this a try!
Love it? Tag us @exquisiteaspirations and share!

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 shots of vodka

  • 2 Lemons

  • Sweetener (rim)

  • 1 tbsp of agave nectar

Instructions:

  • sugar the rim of your martini glass

  • in a shaker add a cup of ice

  • add you vodka, lemon juice, and agave

  • shake and pour into martini glass

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Shrimp Scampi

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Garlicky, buttery and juicy Shrimp Scampi, inspired by Hawaii’s best Shrimp Scampi! 

The balance of sweet, sour, and savory makes this dish truly delicious. You’ll be surprised how simple is it to make.

Shrimp: We used large U15 shrimp, you can use any size and amount you desire. We found shrimp with the peel on had the best flavor, however you may use peeled and deveined shrimp if you prefer.

Avocado oil: For a nice crisp texture you’ll want to use an oil with a high smoke point. Our favorite oil to use is avocado oil.

Garlic butter sauce: Make sure not to burn the garlic. To achieve a lightly browned color for your garlic you’ll want to use 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. On low to medium heat and cook the garlic until lightly browned in color. Then add the butter until melted and turn off heat.

Simply pair with rice, sweet chili sauce and don’t forget the lemon! For the full island vibes experience it was only right to serve this on paper plates and plastic utensils! Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs shrimp

  • 2 cups almond flour

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1 stick butter

  • 1/2 cup avocado oil

  • rice

  • 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

  • 2 lemon

Instructions:

shrimp

  • lightly coat shrimp in almond flour (just for added crisp)

  • heat avocado oil in pan

  • shallow fry for about 1 min each side

  • place shrimp on cooling rack, this is help maintain a crisp texture

garlic butter sauce

  • add olive oil in a sauce pan

  • add garlic and butter in a sauce pan (until garlic is a slightly golden & butter has melted)

  • plate shrimp and pour garlic butter sauce on top

  • finish with freshly squeezed lemon and dip into sweet chili sauce as needed

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Iced Matcha Tea Latte

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup ice

  • 3/4 cup almond milk (over ice)

  • 1/3 cup almond milk (in frother)

  • 2 tsp matcha powder

  • 4 tsp monk fruit sweetener

Instructions:

  • fill glass with ice

  • add 3/4 cup almond milk

  • in a frother add 1/3 cup of almond milk, matcha powder, and sweetener.

  • pour into cup with ice and almond milk. 

Matcha Lattes are one of our favorites, we enjoy them both hot or iced. However, as we all know going to the coffee shop can take a lot of time with long lines both in store or drive thru. A few years ago we decided to try to make them on our own at home. After some research, like coffee there are various types of matcha powders. Depending on the quality you prefer they too can be pricey.

Once you find your matcha powder of choice the rest is simple. Personally we prefer dairy free lattes and try to limit or substitute our sugar intake. Our go-to dairy free milk is almond milk and we enjoy sweetening with monk fruit sweetener or coconut sugar.

We encourage you to make your own homemade lattes! Save yourself time and money by not waiting in lines and paying over $5 a drink. Don’t sacrifice making those healthier substitutions to save money. Your wallet and body with thank you!

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Where we create and share meals daily.

Spaghetti

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Spaghetti is definitely one of our staple dishes in our household. The kids enjoy participating in the prep and cooking process. They get to see and understand the importance of using fresh and organic ingredients. The test is in the taste from the organic grass-fed ground beef, organic vegetables and noodles , down to the pink salt used in this recipe. The quality and freshness is undeniable.

Below I’ll explain how we select the ingredients used in this recipe to make it a little more healthy.

Meat: Depending on whats available at the grocery stores , we use either organic or grass-fed ground beef or both organic grass-fed ground beef.

Spaghetti sauce: You are welcome to make spaghetti sauce from scratch, however we enjoy the jarred spaghetti sauces. When selecting a spaghetti sauce just be sure to read the ingredients label and avoid ingredients you can’t pronounce. Ensure you are being mindful of the preservatives and other ingredients in your food.

Vegetables: When grocery shopping we prioritize the dirty dozen for fruits and veggies. For those items on the list we make sure to purchase organic. Therefor mostly all of our vegetables used in this recipe are organic.

Noodles: We used organic spaghetti noodles and sometimes use gluten- free noodles depending on our mood.

Give this recipe a try!
Love it? Tag us @exquisiteaspirations and share!

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs organic grass-fed ground beef

  • 2 jars of organic spaghetti sauce (Bertolli or Rao’s)

  • 1 pack of organic spaghetti noodles

  • roasted garlic olive oil

  • 4 organic tomatoes

  • 1 organic white onion

  • 1/2 clove of garlic

  • 2 tsp. salt + pepper + oregano

  • roasted garlic olive oil

  • parmesan cheese

  • fresh parsley

Instructions:

  • lightly sauté garlic + onion in olive oil

  • add organic grass-fed beef and brown

  • add organic tomatoes

  • add organic spaghetti sauce let simmer

  • boil organic spaghetti noodles

  • plate + garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley

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Bang Bang Shrimp

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Crispy, creamy and spicy shrimp that’s absolutely delicious!

Shrimp dishes that are crispy can be difficult to achieve and maintain at times. The combination of using a high smoke point oil, light batter, and proper cooling technique is key to achieving that perfectly crisp texture.

My favorite part of this recipe is the basic sriracha mayo sauce. Depending on your mood you can easily dress it up my adding other ingredients like sesame oil or lemon.

Pair with rice and the cucumber salad from our previous post and you won’t be disappointed!

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Where we create and share meals daily.

Ingredients: (4 servings)

  • 4 cups of raw shrimp/prawns

  • 1/4 cup corn starch

  • 1 tbsp salt

  • 1 1/2 tbsp pepper

  • 1/4 cup avocado oil

  • Sriracha Mayo sauce

  • 4 tbsp sriracha (adjust to your liking)

  • 4 tbsp mayo

Instructions:

  • drain and pat dry thawed shrimp

  • in a bowl combine corn starch, salt, and pepper.

  • heat avocado oil on pan

  • coat shrimp in corn starch mix individually

  • shallow fry shrimp in pan until golden brown

  • immediately place on cooling rack

  • combine with sriracha mayo sauce and enjoy!