This Vegan Lunch Sandwich with Sizzling Skillet Tofu is a favorite of mine. The tofu cooks up fluffy and caramelized on the edges with spices like smoky paprika, chipotle and black pepper. I add some maple syrup and sea salt too. Then I pile the tofu onto toasted sprouted grain toast with all my fave toppings: avocado, mustard, vegan mayo, thinly sliced red onions, avocado and some green veggies like these sprouts. Easy and fast and totally satisfying, this lunch sandwich can be packed in a lunch bag or eaten fresh from the kitchen!..

Hey guys! Hope you are doing well. Mid January feels pretty fantastic in California, but I secretly feel a bit jealous for all you snow bunnies out east getting ready for a possible snow storm. The grass is always greener.. My mom is visiting this week, she escaped the cold and possible snowpocalypse just in time, so I have been happily cooking for her all week. Big salads, healthy pasta, smoothies, breakfast bowls and tea. Lots of tea.

I love cooking for people, it makes me feel so good to feed people I love good, healthy plant-based meals. I seriously never tire being in the kitchen. I guess I am like an Italian grandmother, serving waaaaaaay too much food, but of the vegan-plant-based variety 😉

Yesterday I had an acupuncture sesh for a very sore neck I have been dealing with the past few weeks and I also got "cupping" done for the first time, which I shared on snapchat. Today I still have giant purple dots on my back. Cupping was awesome though!! I loved it. Felt good in a weird, giant-cup-hickey-on-your-sore-back-muscles sort of way. And today my neck feels amazing! Eastern medicine always works for me.

So today I am sharing this stacked lunchtime sandwich that I made myself last week. I had not made a big lunch sandwich in a while so this really hit the spot! Diving into one of these yummy vegan sandwiches is always satisfying for me. So I hope you can sizzle up some tofu -- or tempeh -- and dive into this baby..

sizzling tofu..

all the goodies..

avocado is a must.. #healthyfats

This tofu adds protein, and has a fluffy texture with caramelized edges and spicy-smoky-sweet flavor:

A pile of sprouts please! These are from Trader Joe's.

Vegan sandwich lover's unite! And dive in..

Slice and serve!..

Vegan Lunch Sandwich with Sizzling Skillet Tofu

By Kathy PatalskyPublished 01/21/2016
Sizzling spiced, smoky-sweet tofu is layered with sandwich toppings on some toasted bread. Lovely plant-based lunch!

Ingredients

Skillet Tofu Slices:
4oz firm tofu, sliced into planks
2 teaspoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste (or use tamari for salty flavor)
spices: a few pinches of smoked paprika and/or chipotle powder
Sandwich:
4 slices sprouted grain bread, toasted
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoon vegan mayo (Vegenaise)
2 teaspoon spicy or plain mustard
greens (sprouts, romaine or any leafy green you'd like)
½ avocado, thinly sliced
Optional: add a few pinches of nutritional yeast on tofu

Instructions

Tofu: Slice tofu and using a paper towel, blot the tofu so that it is as dry as possible. Be gentle so you do not crumble the slices.
Warm a skillet over high heat. Add the extra virgin olive oil. When oil is hot, add the tofu. Cook for 1-2 minutes then flip. Cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle one side with the spices then flip. Sprinkle the other side with spices and salt and flip. Lastly, drizzle in the maple syrup and let it caramelize the browned edges of the tofu. Shake pan a bit to soak the tofu in all those nice pan spices and flavor. Turn off heat and set pan aside.
Assemble sandwiches: Toast bread. Add may and mustard. Add two slices of tofu to each sandwich. Add avocado, onion, sprouts. Close and slice sandwich. Serve warm and fresh or wrap carefully and take to work or school in a lunch bag. Sometimes when I pack sandwiches like this to go I leave off the vegan mayo and go very light on the mustard so the sandwich doesn't get soggy.

Yield: 2 sandwichesPrep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins. Cook time: 00 hrs. 10 mins. Total time: 20 mins.