Dear friends,
As a former carnivore recently turned vegan, I often find myself wondering what I’ll prepare for dinner. It’s not that finding what to eat is very difficult (I could easily survive on pizza every day), it’s about how to maintain a balanced and healthy diet at the same time. So I’ve decided to help out those that have the same issue as me, and share the healthy vegan recipes that I’ve tried myself. I will also indicate the nutritional value of each item on this recipe, so that you can see for yourself that being vegan does not mean jeopardizing your health in any way (and yes, you’ll get your protein intake, no need to worry!).
What you’ll need for a 2 person meal:
- 1 large zucchini (or 2 small ones)
- Spices: salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, dill, oregano
- 4-6 sweet potatoes, depending on size and appetite
- 1 cup of bean mix (chickpeas and kidney beans is what I used, but you an be creative)
- 1 lemon
- Tahini (4 tablespoons)
- 3 garlic cloves
- Olive oil
I'm lucky to being able to grow my own zucchini and sweet potato, so here's how they looked like before cooking
For the sauce:
In a blender, add garlic, tahini, squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, dill and cayenne pepper. I only used it on my bean mix, but you can obviously use it with the other ingredients as well.
The beans
I had some kidney beans and chickpeas left over from a previous meal, so I used that. If you need to make them fresh, use dried beans and boil them until they are soft. You can either purchase a bean mix with different kinds for variety, or just your favorite kind. That's the beauty of cooking, you can keep adapting every recipe to your taste!
The Zucchini:
Chop it into small pieces and put it on a oven plate. Drizzle some olive oil over it and add salt, cayenne pepper and oregano to taste. Place it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until soft. Squeeze some lemon juice over it after taking it out of the oven (optional).
The sweet potato
Clean them well and leave them with the skin on. If you prefer to peel them go for it! My potatoes were quite small, so I kept them intact. Cut them in half and place them on aluminum foil in an oven plate. Drizzle olive oil over them, and sprinkle cumin and black pepper to taste. Bake for about 20 minutes at about 350 to 400 degrees. I baked my zucchini and sweet potatoes at the same time.
These were my ingredients before cooking
This is what it looked like before I put it in the oven
If you are worried about whether this constitutes a balanced meal, worry no more.
When talking about veganism, the one topic most carnivores bring up is that vegan diets lack the necessary protein. By now, I think everyone already knows that you can get your daily required protein intake and more from whole grains, beans, other legumes, nuts, and vegetables.
The daily minimum required amount is 0.8 grams per kg for the average sedentary person, and higher if you are active.
Chickpeas contain around 8.4 grams of protein per 100 grams (around 14.5g per cup), and kidney beans contain about 6.9 g per 100g (around 13g per cup). Tahini is made from sesame seeds, and contains around 17 grams of protein per 100 gram serving, or 2.6g per tablespoon.
Only from the beans and tahini in this recipe, I got about 20 grams of protein. To that you would have to add the protein contained in the sweet potato (4g per cup) and in the zucchini (1.2g per cup).
Just remember: Protein is important, but you should also make sure to not neglect all the other essential parts of our diet.
I've enjoyed this delicious dish with my mom who is here visiting, and she's not a vegan. She was very pleased, and a bit surprised about how good a meatless dish could be! So make this for your non-vegan friends, and who knows, maybe you'll convert them =).
Bon appétit!
Enjoy this recipe, and let me know how it goes!
Sources:
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-much-protein-do-you-need-every-day-20150618809
- Chick pea nutritional data: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4326/2
- Kidney beans nutritional data: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4297/2
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritionscience/nutrients-food-and-ingredients/protein.html?limit=1&start=4 - Tahini nutritional data: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3142/2
- Sweet potato nutritional data: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2667/2
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