Zucchini Pasta with Lemon-Pepper Tofu

If you love lemons like I love blueberries, then this is the recipe for you.

And I mean just for you - it's serves one!

I found this recipe while flipping through the inspirational pages of Oxygen magazine's May 2012 issue. Besides showcasing strong women with ripped abs and arms, the magazine shares recipes that promote clean eating with a low to moderate amount of carbs and high protein sources. How else do you think they get those lovely muscles? Here's one of the many recipes (veganized, of course):

Zucchini Pasta with Lemon-Pepper Tofu
serves one

3 lemons
3 oz extra-firm tofu
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 zucchinis, rinsed
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
8 mint leaves

1. Zest one lemon; set aside. Cut and squeeze the juice out of the other two lemons into a bowl.
2. Drain excess water from tofu. Cut into four thick pieces. Place on a plate and pour half of the lemon juice to marinate. Sprinkle with pepper.
3. Peel zucchini with a veggie peeler until you get to the seeds. Add half of the oil into a pan and cook tofu steaks for 3 minutes per side.
4. Remove tofu. Add oil and zucchini to pan; cook for one minute. Add lemon juice; cover pan to steam for two minutes. Add mint and zest. Transfer to a plate.

*sparkle, sparkle*

I thought this dish tasted great and I felt light after having it for lunch, unlike how I feel after eating real pasta. If you're not into tofu, I'm sure it'll do wonderfully with tempeh as well.
The only condition I had with this meal was that the lemony taste was really overpowering; it honestly tasted like I was eating out of a pure lemon! But it was good enough that I ate it all. ^_^ Next time I make this I'll use only one lemon and a half. No more sour faces from me next time!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 221
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 22g
Protein: 12g
Fiber: 5g

Oh, so clean! The original recipe called for reduced-fat feta cheese. Apparently, since this is a vegan blog, I didn't add that but maybe if there's a vegan feta cheese out there...
Anyway, time for a stress-relieving practice of evening yoga; I owe myself one. =)