Archives for protein

Amazing Lentil and Mushroom Burgers

Taste, texture, and looks – this burger has it all – except for meat! For anyone dabbling in vegetarianism/veganism THIS is the recipe you MUST try. These burgers are based on ultrarunner Scott Jurek’s recipe, only modified slightly and gluten free.

I added pan seared carrots as a side.

I added pan seared carrots as a side.

 

I promise you, these are not your typical veggie burger. The quality and taste cannot be compared to anything store bought. For the meat-eaters out there: On your next Meatless Monday adventure, give this burger a shot! It might even help to label it something besides a burger (or so I’m told). As my carnivorous co-worker suggested, “Just don’t call it a burger – call it a Veggie Cake or a Veggie Patty so your brain doesn’t think it will taste like a beef burger!” haha!

No matter what your dietary preference is, I think you will enjoy this hearty meal!

Start with the lentil mixture first, since it will take the longest to cook.

Lentil Mixture
1 c. green lentils, uncooked, rinsed and sorted
2 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. onion, chopped into small pieces (1 1/4 c. total, see veggie mixture)
1 tbsp. dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, pressed (3-4 cloves total, see veggie mixture)

In a pot, combine the above ingredients and cook on high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover, simmering for roughly 30 minutes or until lentils are soft. Remove from heat and use a potato masher to mash the mixture and break up some of the lentils. When done, keep partially covered and set aside.

Veggie Mixture
3 c. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 c. fresh spinach, kale or winter greens, chopped
1/2 c. carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 c. onions, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tea. coconut oil

While your lentil mixture cooks, you can get your veggies chopped and started. Heat a large frying pan with the teaspoon of coconut oil and then add your chopped onions. Cook until transparent, adding a little water if needed to prevent sticking. Turn heat to medium-low. Add garlic and stir. Add mushrooms and carrots and cook until carrots are tender. Add whatever greens you want to use and cover with a lid to wilt the greens. Toss mixture and remove from heat.
Add 
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Toss to combine.

Dry Mixture
1 1/2 c. oat flour (blend whole oats in your blender until flour consistency)
1/2 c. almond meal (leftover from almond milk or store bought)
1/2 c. flax seed meal
3/4 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. black pepper
1/2 tea. paprika

While the lentil mixture and veggie mixture are cooking or cooling (depending on how fast you prep, etc.) you can prepare your dry mixture in a large bowl. Stir all ingredients until combined.

Once all 3 mixtures are complete, you can add the lentil and veggie mixtures to the dry mix. Use a sturdy spoon to combine all the ingredients into one delicious burger mixture! If the mixture has cooled enough, you can use your hands, just be careful!

I used a 1/2 c. measuring cup to scoop out and help shape each burger. You can either fry them in a pan with some oil, bake them in the oven until heated through or even grill them if you’d like! For this batch, we fried ours in a pan with oil and then wrapped up the rest and put them in the freezer for later use. They work great as a quick lunch for work. I just put it in the fridge and it defrosts slightly by lunchtime. To heat, just microwave for 1 minute and eat with some mustard!

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For those of you calorie conscious folks out there, here ya go!

Makes 9 burgers
~ 1/2 c. serving
Calories: 271
Carbs: 31 g
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 13 g
Sodium: 151 mg
Sugar: 3 g

Day 7: A Week in the Life of a Plant-Based Diet

Day 7

ENERGY! I have ENERGY again! There is some good and bad with that. There is something about being sick that is somewhat of a release. When I’m sick I can let go, completely relax and not care about all the little things I normally care about. It’s my time to be completely selfish and think about just ME and NOT feel guilty about it. 🙂

After a talk I had with my sister 2 days ago, we both realized that we take on too much! We try to do it all, “perfectly” and just end up running ourselves into the ground in the process. My other sister is the same way – it’s in our genes – we all do it! THANKS PARENTS!

Anyway, I need to try to overcome that.

The good news is, I was able to get out and run 3 easy-effort miles today, and I did it without coughing or trouble breathing (which was my fear)! I am confident I will still be able to participate in the marathon on Saturday. YAY!!!! I can’t wait. I’m very excited!

Today was a VERY busy day so my food was a bit whacky. Way to end this week-long journal on a high note!

Pre-Breakfast (religiously, every single morning)

Per usual I had my Green Machine by Naked Juice, to ingest all my vitamins and supplements, and of course I took my Barlean’s Omega Vegan Swirl  3-6-9 supplement – same as Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4,  Day 5 AND Day 6 ~ 200 calories, 38 carbs, 5 g fat, 2 g protein

Breakfast

I took a cue from yesterday’s breakfast smoothie and recreated the same concoction – only without any blueberries (cause I ate them all) and I’m pretty sure more garlic. W O W. Today’s was NOT as good as yesterday!! (I let Dan have a sip and he literally ran out of our home office, into the kitchen to grab something, ANYTHING else to put in his mouth. Luckily, he found a cookie. 🙂 It looks pretty though, right? ~ 386 calories, 100 carbs, 0 fat, 10 g protein

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Lunch

Now, this doesn’t really qualify as “lunch”, but, it had to make due. I was running late for an appointment and coming out of another one and I knew we would have an amazing and HUGE linner (not lunch, not dinner) once I got home from my appointment. 🙂 Prunes with reduced fat coconut shreds. YUM. ~118 calories, 27 carbs, 2 g fat, 1 g protein

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Dinner

The amazing dinner! Take out food from one of our favorite local vegan restaurants. This “salad” was huge!!! Normally I save half for later, but today I was too hungry to do that. I ate 85% of it and then decided to let Dan have the rest… since he asked. 🙂 This Blue Corn Taco Salad contains quinoa, black beans, walnut meat, blue corn chips, Daiya cheese, pico de gallo and some mixed greens buried underneath it all. The nutrition is estimated of course, and seriously it probably is this high, simply because these were all calorie dense foods (quinoa, beans, walnuts). ~ 1,183 calories, 126 carbs, 58 g fat, 35 g protein

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As if I didn’t eat enough today, I decided to eat the other half of my banana from breakfast… after all, Dan DID make up a FRESH batch of peanut butter!! ~ 124 calories, 16 carbs, 6 g fat, 4 g protein

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Besides, I need to start packing in the extra calories to stock up for the marathon! Right? 🙂

For my last day, the grand totals are:
Calories = 2,011
Carbs = 307 g
Fat = 71 g
Protein = 52 g

One last thing before I tie up this weekly food diary. I wanted to share what I feel is important information regarding protein. Being a vegetarian for almost 16 years and recently becoming 99% vegan – the #1 question I still get asked is, “Where do you get your protein?” Without going into my own personal frustrations with that question, I think sharing this well-written and educational post is much more relevant to spreading proper knowledge. It is a post from a fellow blogger, who liked my Day 6 post. It talks about the scientific differences between animal and vegetable based protein. It just states the facts and is not slanted one way or another, which I really appreciate! Thank you jennovafoodblog!

I hope those of you that have followed along from Day 1 have enjoyed the journey! Did you eat your plants today? 🙂