This took only 45 minutes to meal prep for the next 5 days of lunches (and that mostly included play time and washing the dishes in between waiting for the tofu to cook) 🙌🏼. Meal prepping can be great for busy families, as it takes out any of that worry about what to make and eat, which means healthy food is readily accessible, and meals like this can be picked and coordinated based on what each family member likes.

This is a meal prep option that can feed the whole family, you just need to adjust certain parts to suit the age of your baby or toddler (for example serving the tofu and croutons in long strips and cooking for less time so they are softer).

Our glass containers for cooking and storing we have used here are from Seed & Sprout co here.

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The BEST Vegan Chicken & Bacon Caeser Salad

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Servings 5 adults & 5 toddlers

Ingredients

CRISPY VEGAN CHICKEN:

1 x 450g block of extra firm tofu
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 cup/35g of cornstarch

VEGAN BACON BITS:

1 x 450g block of extra firm tofu
2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of garlic powder (optional but really adds a smokey boost)
1 tsp
of smoked paprika 
2 tsp
of maple syrup 
1/2 tsp of liquid smoke

CROUTONS:

3-4 large slices of bread (we use a Cobb/sourdough style)
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Lots of black pepper (optional)

CASHEW PARMESAN:

1 cup/150g of raw cashews
1/4 cup/15g of nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Few cracks of salt & pepper (for over 12 months of age)

CREAMIEST CAESER DRESSING:

1 cup/150g of raw cashews (soaked in hot water for a minimum of 10 minutes then rinsed and drained 1/2-1 cup (125-250ml) of water (start with 1/2 a cup and then add extra to thin to your preferred consistency))
1 Tbsp of capers
2 tsp of dijon mustard
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon 
1 large clove/2 small of garlic
Salt and pepper optional

SALAD:

2 Large romaine/cos lettuce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f.
For the Chick’n: prep the Chick’n by tearing up the tofu in to bite size pieces and stirring together with the remaining ingredients, then place on a baking tray.
For the Bac’n: Dice the tofu in to small pieces, then stir together with the remaining ingredients, then place on a baking tray.
For the Croutons: Slice the bread in to bite size pieces, place directly on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and the pepper, then use your hands to coat the bread in the oil.
Place all 3 above in to the oven (keep an eye on the croutons as they can burn easily and will come out after 10-15 minutes, you may need to give them a shake every 5 mins).
Whilst the above is cooking, make the Parmesan: place all ingredients into a blender and blitz to a flour consistency, then transfer to a container.
To make the Dressing: Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, adding extra water to thin to the consistency you like, then transfer to a container.
Remove the croutons after 10-15 minutes, then stir the Chick’n and Bac’n to prevent it sticking to the tray.
Prep the lettuce by removing outer leaves, rinsing, drying, then chopping to your preferred sizes.
Remove the Chick’n & Bac’n from the oven after 35-40 minutes/when no longer saucy and slightly chewy.
Serve up and enjoy (this is perfect to take for lunches, just keep the dressing and croutons separate from the rest until ready to serve to avoid the salad or croutons getting soggy)!

Notes

Due to the texture and the size of the tofu pieces this is for 18+ months! If you would like to serve earlier, cook the tofu and croutons for less time so they are softer and also cut them in to finger length strips.

STORAGE:

Store the Bac’n & Chick’n in the fridge for 5-7 days (ensure the sizes are safe depending on your kids ages, because these are slightly chewy serve from 18+ months).

Store the Croutons at room temp for up to a week.

Store the Parmesan in the fridge for 3-4 weeks (ensure no chunks of cashews as they can be a choking hazard).

Store the dressing in the fridge for up to a week.

The chopped lettuce will keep for 5 days in an airtight container.