Easy Lentil “Meatballs”. Vegan. GF.
Happy Tuesday my friends! Okay we survived Monday & that folks, we will call a win. Actually my Monday was very productive. We came off a spring cleaning, doing all the projects we didn’t want to do, feeling super duper productive so Monday was a bit of a continuation. I’ve been cleaning out cabinets, drawers and it truly astonishes me that amount of things we accumulate. I’m now, at 46, in this phase of my life where I want to downsize, get rid of everything and live a very minimalist life. Truly. I’m done with all the things. But we have a few years to go before that happens so I continue to donate, sell, or clean out my possessions.
Last week I made these yummy “meat”balls out of some frozen lentils and they were so good. I teamed them up with this stew I made a few days prior, added rice… and we had a meal! They’re great on hoagie or sub rolls and in a lovely marinara sauce with your favorite pasta. I also was caught eating them cold out of the fridge. Yes, they’re that good.
- 2 cups of frozen and rinsed or cooked/cooled French lentils
- 1 tbl of olive oil
- 1 sweet onion (Vidalia), chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup of shredded carrots I had on hand
- 1/4 cup of vegan parmesan
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 3 tbl of gluten free bread crumbs
- 2 tbl flax seed meal
- 2 tsp of Italian seasonings
- 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp liquid aminos
- 1 tsp of pink Himalayan salt
- Black pepper, per your taste
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and spray your baking sheet with a bit of olive oil, set aside.
- Into a large skillet, add your olive oil and heat that over a medium flame.
- Once hot, add your onions and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until slightly golden.
- Add your garlic and stir often, cooking for 1 minute.
- Add your grated carrots, cook for 1 additional minute.
- Into your food processor, add your cooked mixture, lentils, and the remaining ingredients.
- Pulse several times to blend (avoid over blending). You want texture.
- Taste test and adjust the seasonings.
- If you need more moisture, you can add a tsp of olive oil.
- Salt – you can add more liquid aminos.
- Seasonings – add a 1/2 tsp at a time until you are pleased.
- Using a small cookie scoop, spoon out the mixture and add to your pan.
- Repeat until you use the entire batch.
- Bake until golden brown and aromatic.
- I baked for 25-30 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container.
So moist and delicious… you won’t miss the meat!
I’m still here. Still working my a$$ off at the gym 6x a week. My days vary but this is what my week looks like thus far…
Sunday: 1h elliptical, took the dogs on a 3 mile wooded and hilly hike and then a normal 1.5 mile dog walk
Monday: 66m weightlifting and 60m elliptical
Tuesday: 40m weightlifting back and core and 45 m elliptical
Happy day!
— Knead to Cook