During the month of love, we’re bringing you heart-healthy workouts and recipes that are good for your ticker. This recipe is a great weeknight meal and leftovers make for a great desk lunch the next day.
Heart Healthy Info:
Including more wholegrains into your diet daily, such as brown rice, can decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially when chosen over refined carbohydrates.
Soy products and edamame beans are rich in flavonoids that help to lower cholesterol levels and improve heart health. Other studies have shown that including soy protein in your daily diet improves blood lipids, reducing risk of cardiovascular disease.
Additionally, studies on garlic intake showcases a lowering of blood pressure.
What You Need
1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package instructions
Drizzle of olive oil
1 brown onion, sliced into thick slivers
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into 2cm pieces
Handful green beans, top and tailed and cut into thirds.
250g block firm tofu, sliced into 2cm cubes
Stir-fry sauce:
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
1 red chilli, very finely chopped
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp water* to loosen
Optional toppings:
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 spring onions, finely sliced
¼ cup coriander leaves
Method
1/ Sauté the onion, peppers and beans together in a large wok in olive oil for 3-5 minutes until just cooked through. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, cook the tofu cubes until crispy on the edges.
2/ While cooking the tofu, whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside ready to use.
3/ Add the vegetables back into the pan with the tofu and add the stir-fry sauce and cook together for a further 2-3 minutes until fragrant and well combined.
4/ Serve vegetable and tofu mixture with brown rice.