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Weekly Salad Challenge | Plant-Powerful Proteins
Now that you’ve got the base of your big salad bowl made, it’s time to add some plant-powerful proteins for some serious staying power.
Plant-Powerful Proteins
Nuts & Seeds
Adding nuts and/or seeds is one of the easiest ways to add protein (and good fats!) to your salad bowl. Raw or roasted, nuts and seeds will add a nice crunch to your meal. Seeds are much less expensive than nuts, and my go-tos are sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and hemp hearts/seeds. Fun fact: hemp hearts are 33% protein! A 3Tbsp serving has 10g of protein! Almonds, pecans and walnuts are good options too.
Legumes & Pulses
These are my favourite plant-based proteins and I consume some form of pulse/lentil/bean on the daily. One of my favourite ways to eat beans is to just sauté them in a pan with some garlic, fresh (or dried) herbs, and salt & pepper.
A post shared by Tracey (@tracely6) on Aug 23, 2016 at 5:02pm PDT
Chickpeas
The humble chickpea is a staple in my kitchen. Cans of them are relatively cheap, but you can get more bang for your buck if you buy them dried in bulk and soak & cook them at home. I love to roast chickpeas which add a nice crunch & chew factor to the salad. Here are some of my favourite recipes for roasted chickpeas:
Tandoori Roasted Chickpeas from The Full Helping
Tamari Roasted Chickpeas from The Plant Powered Kitchen
Roasted Spiced Chickpeas from Oh She Glows
Lentils
Lentils are a great alternative to chickpeas as they have a much faster cooking time. Dried lentils can be fully cooked in less than 30 minutes. I enjoy the taste of lentils on their own, but I know some folks can find them a bit too… earthy. Enter – crunchy lentils! Crunchy lentils are what happens when you pan fry or bake cooked lentils with a few seasonings. The little pulses lose a bit of their moisture and become crispy and oh, so delicious. Check out the following links for my favourite recipes for crunchy lentils:
Crunchy Garlic Lentils from Food Fitness Fresh Air (baked)
Skillet Popped Lentils from Healthy Happy Life (pan fried)
Soy Products
I know soy has a bad reputation on some parts of the internet, but the following unprocessed soy products can certainly be nutritious and will add a hefty dose of plant protein to your salad bowl.
Edamame
Edamame is a young soy bean. It’s green and can be found in the frozen section of the grocery store. Be sure to look for non-GMO/certified organic beans as soy is one the highest genetically modified crops. To cook, just steam or boil the edamame until it’s bright green and heated through.
Tempeh
Tempeh is fermented soy and has a nutty flavour. It can be easily found in the ‘healthy’ refrigerated section of most grocery stores (usually near the non-dairy yogurt, grass fed butter, and the like). I find steaming the tempeh can get rid of the common bitter flavour it tends to have. The First Mess has a great recipe for Tempeh Bacun Bits in her new cookbook.
Grains
It might seem counterintuitive to add grains to a salad, but consider turning your big bowl of salad into a big, warming hearty grain bowl (with salad accents) instead! These types of bowls are often called Buddha Bowls on the internet. They typically consist of bits and bites of numerous veggies, grains, and the like. Not too far off what we’re going for here with this Weekly Salad Challenge, actually!
Rice
I used to be horrible at cooking rice. I would never add enough water and it would stick to the bottom of the pot. Or, I would add too much water and make a sticky, wet mess. Enter this method from Saveur. Essentially, in a big pot you bring a whole lotta water to a boil. Rinse your 1-2 cups of rice in a sieve then add it to the boiling water. Reduce heat to medium high and boil rice for 30 minutes. Strain the rice and let it drain for 10 seconds before returning it to the pot (off the heat). Put the lid on and let it steam for 5-10 minutes. Voila, perfect rice every time!!
Quinoa
This little seed is packed with plant-powerful protein and cooks up in a jiffy. Because quinoa is a tad pricy, I like to mix and cook it half and half with millet (yes, the stuff you find in birdseed) to make it go farther. Just mix one part grain to two parts water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until grains are cooked (adding more liquid if needed to prevent sticking).
Wild Cards
Veggie Burgers
I know what you’re thinking, but YES! You can crumble up a veggie burger and put it on a salad! Bonus, it’s delicious!! There are so many options in the grocery store for veggie burgers these days, but it’s equally easy to crumble up some of your own homemade veggie burgers! (Pro tip: I like making a huge (double or triple) batch of burgers and freeze half for easy weeknight dinners, or for crumbling on top of salads!). Here are some of my favourite homemade veggie burger recipes:
Lentil and Mushroom Burgers from The Healthy Maven
Oh Em Gee Veggie Burgers from Oh She Glows (also in the Oh She Glows Every Day cookbook)
Easy Grillable Veggie Burger from Minimalist Baker
Vegan Beet Burgers from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken
Sweet Potato and Lentil Cakes from Blissful Basil
Falafel
Yes, this mostly falls into the same category as the above burgers, but I’m including it because it’s something that might get overlooked. If you go out for dinner and have some falafel, instead of having a sad and lonely piece or two for lunch the next day, add them to your salad instead for a hearty dose of plant-powerful protein!
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What I’m getting at here is that the big bowls of awesome in this weekly salad challenge don’t have to be bland or boring. Change the way you think about salad and mix things up! Now you’ve got your base, and some plant-powerful proteins to pack a hefty satiating punch (three cheers for alliteration!), stay tuned for some delectable dressings coming your way soon!
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