One of my favourite snacks to make are my apple peanut butter protein bites! Peanut butter is a great source of protein, while apples contain a healthy amount of fiber which will keep you feeling full for longer! 💪🏼
Not to mention, my protein bites contain absolutely no preservatives, artificial colourants or flavours like most store bought granola bars. Even energy bars marketed as “healthy” contain an unnecessary amount of sugars and “natural flavours” which aren’t always vegan friendly.
I also love that they’re no bake and only take about 10 minutes to make!
Here’s what you need:
4 apples
2 cups large flake oats
1 generous tablespoon of natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
About 2 tablespoons seed mix (I used flax and chia)
Cinnamon (optional)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serving size: makes about 12 energy bites
Directions:
Start by grating the apples using a grater.
In a large bowl, combine the grated apples, large flake oats, peanut butter, maple syrup and seed mix. Mix using your hands.
Form mixture into about 12 bite sized balls and put aside on a plate.
Sprinkle with cinnamon- all done!
Quick Tips:
Store in your fridge for up to 3 days to enjoy whenever you want to snack!
You can also use other seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin or even walnuts! Make sure to just have fun with it and customize your bites to just the way you’d like! 😋
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One of my favourite plant based meals to eat is black bean burgers!! Just one cup of black beans will set you up with 41 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of fiber, 15 grams of protein, and various other nutrients that all aid in healthy digestion and keep you feeling full for longer!
Cooking with dried black beans is also very cost efficient, with one cup only costing about $0.30 you can’t really go wrong!
The key is to use an Instant Pot if you have a bit of time to spare. Instant Pots are amazing because they can cook dried beans under 40 minutes without having to soak them overnight. They also retain nutrients and are one of the best methods for cooking dried beans, lentils and raw veggies into fresh delicious meals!
But if you don’t have an Instant pot or are short on time, you can use one can of black beans instead.
Ingredients:
For the bean burgers:
1 cup of dried black beans
3 mushrooms, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of liquid smoke flavouring
Toppings:
2 tomatoes, sliced
Romaine lettuce (I used 3 pieces)
Half a cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, mashed
Ketchup
Vegan Mayo
Burger buns
Preparation time: 45 minutes using dried beans or 20 minutes using canned beans
Serving size: Makes 4 burgers
Directions:
Start by measuring one cup of dried black beans and placing them in your Instant Pot. Select Pressure Cook and set the timer to 35 minutes.
In the meantime, start preparing your veggies and toppings. Chop the mushrooms, white onion and garlic. Grate the carrot and slice the cucumbers and tomatoes. Set aside.
When the Instant Pot has a few minutes left, heat up a saucepan on medium heat with a bit of oil.
Add in the mushrooms, onion, garlic and half of the grated carrot. Let simmer with the soy sauce and smoke flavouring for about 5 minutes.
Drain the black beans and add directly into the saucepan. Mix until all of the ingredients are combined within the pan. Cook for a few more minutes.
Remove from heat and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Start forming 4 nicely sized patties with your hands and place them on a baking sheet. No need to oil the pan!
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and now it’s time to assemble your masterpiece! Add your favourite toppings and enjoy!
You can store the other patties in a container in your fridge and re-bake them again! They will stay fresh for about 1-2 days.
Quick Tips:
If you have never cooked with liquid smoke flavouring before- you should totally start! I order mine from Amazon or buy it at Food Basics. It’s a great addition to any food and adds that delicious smoky flavouring 😛
You can also add cheese to the bean burger mix and bake it in! It tastes delicious and is a great substitute to a regular cheese burger ⚡️
Thank you for reading my recipe! Be sure to check out my Instagram page for more healthy lifestyle and nutrition tips 💪🏼
When you search the word “protein” on Google, what’s the first thing that comes up on images? Meat and eggs. I can understand why most people only think of animal products when it comes to proteins, but today I am here to change that and prove that there are so many amazing plant based sources of protein that contain all of the amino acids that we need!
This blog will get into what proteins are, the differences between plant and animal sources, the daily recommended amount and 5 high plant based sources of protein⚡️
What are proteins?
First things first, what exactly are proteins and why do we need them? Proteins are one of three macronutrients that the body requires to properly function. The other two are fats and carbohydrates. Proteins play an important role in various bodily processes such as fluid balance, blood clotting, immune system responses and hormone regulation. They are crucial building blocks in our bodies and are also responsible for muscle mass.
Proteins consists of large chains of amino acids- there are 20 of them in total. The human body is capable of synthesizing (or creating) 11 of them and the remaining 9 are known as “essential amino acids” that must come from our diet.
A common argument against consuming plant based proteins is that they are incomplete and must be paired together in order to create complete proteins. Complete proteins are foods that contain all of the 9 essential amino acids. They are typically associated with animal products, however many plant based foods are complete proteins as well such as quinoa, buckwheat, hemp and soy. In addition, it’s important to note that all 9 essential amino acids can be found in plant based foods, in varying amounts.
Meaning that if you follow a whole food plant based diet, you will have nothing to worry about as you will be consuming a wide variety of plants which all contain varying amounts of essential amino acids!
Animal Proteins vs Plant Proteins
Okay so now that we talked a bit about what proteins are and why they’re important, let’s get into why plant based sources are healthier than animal sources.
Plant based sources of protein tend to be lower in calories and fat than animal sources, and higher in fiber and essential nutrients. Therefore, by transitioning to plant based sources of protein, you will increase your nutrient profile and reduce your daily caloric intake.
Take a peanut butter sandwich and 3 eggs for example. Both are popular breakfast foods and you would be very surprised to find out that they contain about the same amount of protein but very different nutrient profiles. A peanut butter sandwich is packed with whole grains, healthy carbs and nutrients whereas eggs contain unnecessary cholesterol, sodium and animal fat.
Plant based sources also keep you feeling full for longer as they are higher in fiber which promotes healthy weight loss and digestion. In addition, when you consume animal products, your body undergoes oxidative stress which depletes the body of beneficial nutrients to neutralize cell damage.
How much protein should I consume?
With any nutrient, it’s possible to consume too much or too little. With protein, it’s no different. However, unlike other nutrients, proteins have a very interesting threshold that one must stay within in order to obtain just the right amount for their body weight and fitness desirability.
It’s very rare to become protein deficient in our society. Essentially all of our foods contain protein, it’s just a matter of choice between plant based sources vs animal sources. The tricky part is getting too much protein. So many body builders, gym fanatics and fitness coaches advocate for eating more protein to get more muscle mass. But getting more protein than the daily recommended amount hasn’t necessarily been proven to build more muscle mass.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the amount of protein that each person should consume is based on their age, sex and level of physical activity.
The general guidelines for a healthy amount of protein ranges from 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight (2.2 lbs) to 2 grams for more active individuals.
Consuming more protein per kg of body weight has been linked to weight gain, constipation, and increased risk of cancer and heart disease. But this is mainly because most individuals associate protein with animal products, meaning that someone who is trying to obtain more protein will most likely do so through consuming animal products.
But as mentioned earlier, if you swap plant proteins in place of animal proteins, you will increase your nutrient profile and boost your metabolism at the same time.
5 Healthy & High Sources of Plant Based Protein
Here are 5 amazing sources of plant based proteins that are both healthy and delicious! Beans and lentils are great additions to add to any diet as they contain a healthy amount of protein, carbs and fiber. These nutrients and macronutrients are great for weight loss, better digestion and a faster metabolism!
Peanuts: Just one cup of peanuts contains about 25 grams of protein. But if snacking on them isn’t your thing- two tablespoons of peanut butter contains 8 grams of protein. Match that with 2 pieces of whole grain toast (4g protein each) and you already have a breakfast containing 16 grams of healthy plant based protein! 😋
Black Beans: Black beans are delicious and a great addition to any meal! Just one cup contains 15 grams of protein and lots of fiber which is great for weight loss.
Chickpeas: Chickpeas are one of the best plant based sources of protein with 39 grams per cup. Check out my chickpea tuna recipe for a creative way to incorporate them into your diet⚡️
Lentils: Lentils are so tasty and perfect for when it’s chilly out. My favourite thing to do is pressure cook one cup of dry lentils with soy sauce, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Just one cup of these bad boys contain 18 grams of protein.
Tempeh: Tempeh is the perfect substitute for bacon. If you’ve never tried it before- you definitely should! It can be found in the vegetarian/vegan section of most grocery stores. Just one block typically contains 19 grams of protein.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog on proteins- I really hope that you learned something that will benefit your health! The main reason why I wrote this blog is to change the way that people think of protein! Animal sources are not the only sources of protein out there.
There are so many amazing plant based sources that contain all of the amino acids that we need! It’s just a matter of consciously making those swaps 🙂
Sources:
Macho-González, A., Garcimartín, A., López-Oliva, M., Bastida, S., Benedí, J., Ros, G., Sánchez-Muniz, F. (2020, July 20). Can Meat and Meat-Products Induce Oxidative Stress? Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7402184/
I’ve never been a huge fan of fish, but I’ve always loved the creaminess and texture of tuna! Something about the way that mayo tastes in combination with the flakiness of tuna is just soo good. Here’s the thing though: there’s a much healthier alternative that doesn’t harm our fish friends!
I stopped eating tuna when I learned that for every pound of fish caught, up to five pounds of aquatic life is discarded and killed (this includes dolphins and turtles!) And I’m sure that we have all heard the statistic that we will have fishless oceans by 2048.
Now is the most important time to make sustainable life choices that do as little harm as possible. That’s why I love this recipe- it’s 100% vegan, tastes just like tuna and is even easier to prepare! It’s also a rich source of vitamins, minerals, fiber and contains 26 grams of plant-based protein. Say goodbye to that fishy smell, and hello to the freshness of chickpeas 😎
Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
1 small white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 can of chickpeas
1 tablespoon vegan mayo
2 sheets of sushi seaweed
half of a lemon
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serving size: Serves 1-2 people
Directions:
Start by preparing your ingredients: chop the white onion and garlic into small cubes. Strain and rinse the chickpeas.
Heat oil in a medium sized pan and cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes on medium heat.
Add in the strained chickpeas and continue cooking for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Remove pan from heat and pour the ingredients into a large glass bowl (this is where you’ll mash them!)
Use a masher to mash the chickpeas to a consistency that you like. You can mash them completely or leave some chickpeas whole- it’s up to you!
Break up the sushi seaweed with your fingers and add in along with the mayo. Mix all of the ingredients together.
Add lemon, salt and pepper to taste.
Now you have some nice chickpea tuna! You can put it on a vegetable wrap, in a sandwich or even have it plain as a side. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy 🙂
Quick Tips:
I used canned chickpeas in this recipe because it speeds up the preparation time, but cooking dried chickpeas in an instant pot is healthier and a lot more cost efficient. So if you’re not short on time, pressure cook them instead!
I find that this recipe tastes better when it’s been chilled first, but serving it warm tastes good too!
Thank you for reading my recipe, now go put some good music on and have fun cooking🥳❤️
Having an egg or two for breakfast is surprisingly not that healthy. Just one egg has about 185 milligrams of cholesterol which increases your risk of cardiovascular disease by 6%. Luckily, there is a much healthier alternative in town that won’t cause you to compromise your tastebuds. This vegan scrambled egg recipe is full of flavour, tastes just like real eggs but is much healthier!
I really like this recipe because it contains about 28 grams of plant-based protein, is high in Vitamin B12 and contains so many vital nutrients such as phytoestrogen which has so many health benefits. And all you need is tofu, nutritional yeast, some spices and fresh veggies!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
1 small white onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 mushrooms
Half of a red pepper
Half a container of cherry tomatoes
½ block of extra firm tofu
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
5 drops of smoke flavouring
Preparation time: 10 minutes to prepare ingredients + 15 minutes cook time
Serving Size: Serves 1-2 people
Directions
Start by preparing your ingredients: chop white onion, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper into small cubes. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, set aside.
Heat oil in a medium pan and stir in all of the veggies except for the cherry tomatoes. Let cook for a few minutes on medium heat.
In the meantime, combine the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, chilli powder and water in a small bowl to make a paste.
Using your fingers crumble the tofu into your pan while the veggies are frying. Mix together.
Pour the nutritional yeast mixture into the pan making sure to distribute it evenly over the tofu.
Add in the mini tomatoes, tamari and smoke flavouring.
Mix all of the ingredients together and add in salt + pepper to taste.
Cook for about 10 minutes and serve while hot with fresh avocados, toast and a smoothie! Voila, you have yourself a healthy breakfast 🙂
Quick Tips:
When you’re buying tofu, make sure that it’s non-GMO. Genetically modified soy does not have the same health benefits.
I typically buy my nutritional yeast from Bulk Barn because it’s the most cost efficient. However, you can order nutritional yeast on Amazon and even find it at Whole Foods. To learn more about the health benefits of nutritional yeast, click here!
Other than that, have fun cooking this healthy and nutritious breakfast 🙂
Natural Glow Wellness 