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| Meatless and dairy free but packed with 18 g of protein and 21 g of fiber. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest. |
Looking for Something to Eat on Meatless Monday?
People often want to eat less meat and serve a meatless lunch or dinner to their family but simply run out of ideas. Or they worry that the meal will lack enough protein to meet their daily needs. Well, here's a protein-packed meal that couldn't be easier or more delicious!
Inspired by Muir's Tea Room
Last week I was visiting Muir's Tea Room, a quaint vegan restaurant in our home town of Sebastopol. Christine, the owner, is trying out a few new recipes and this one was on the menu. I'm not sure exactly what her recipe was, but I was inspired to try something like it at home.
This has it All!
What more could you expect from a meal?
Lentils provide 19 grams of fiber and 16 grams of protein per cup.
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Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, in the form of beta-carotene. They also provide lots of B vitamins, dietary fiber, vitamin C, manganese, copper and phosphorus.
And one medium sweet potato is just over 100 calories!
This dish is topped with my favorite fruit, the avocado! Don't fret about the fat - first of all the lentils and sweet potatoes are practically fat free so you need some healthy fats to absorb all those good carotenoids from the sweet potato. In addition, avocados contain healthy fats that decrease inflammation, and help prevent cardiovascular disease.
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Today's recipe is just a suggestion of how to combine these wonderful ingredients.
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Baked Sweet Potato with Lentils
Vegan, Gluten and Dairy Free
[Makes 2 dinner-size servings]
Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup diced onions
Curry to taste
1 can lentils, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice
Salt to taste
1/2 avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream, or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Scrub the sweet potatoes and place on a shallow baking pan lined with a Silpat silicon baking sheet, parchment, or foil. Bake until soft, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
About 15 minutes before the potatoes are cooked, heat the oil in a small saucepan and cook the onions until soft. Stir in the curry and add the lentils and the tomatoes. Every curry mixture is different, so it's hard to give exact amounts. Or, you may just want to spice it up with some cayenne pepper or a minced jalapeño. Add salt if needed. Cook until the tomatoes start to fall apart. Add water if it gets too dry but it should be nice and thick when done.
When the potatoes are soft, place them on two plates. Split them down the middle and fill each with half the lentil mixture.
Top the lentils with avocado, sour cream and cilantro and serve.
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(Per stuffed potato) 388 calories, 11 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 18 g protein, 68 g carbohydrates, and 21 g of dietary fiber.
