Tag: healthy dinner

Big Little Bites > healthy dinner

Vegan Lentil Taco Skillet

Posted on by biglittlebites

You know how we all kind of have our own one-trick, easy dinner that gets us through a busy day with our bellies full? I think there’s zero doubt in my house, that taco nights are my go-to! 

My favorite reasons? The seemingly never-ending variety of main ingredients to put into tortillas, and the simple flavor additions that I always keep on hand! For main ingredients, I love to use up any leftover or extra vegetables I have in the refrigerator with sprouted lentils, black beans or garbanzo beans. Sprouting legumes ahead of time, keeps the Vegan Lentil Taco recipe under a half of an hour in cooking time! Using plant protein over animal protein, also keeps cooking time for the taco skillet minimal, and means you don’t need to worry about whether you have fresh or defrosted chicken or meat on hand. Using fresh ingredients, vegetables, sprouted corn tortillas and whole food sourced plant protein you can easily make taco night a healthy and nutritious family meal!  * When you click on my favorite product links, I may earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Big Little Bites blog*

Here’s what I always keep stocked for impromptu taco nights:

  • Chili lime seasoning blend
  • Smoked paprika
  • Cumin
  • Avocados
  • Fresh limes
  • Tomato paste
  • Garlic
  • Red onion
  • Cilantro
  • Sprouted corn tortillas

skillet with lentils lime cilantro and red sauce

Within 30 minutes, I easily throw together this Vegan Lentil Taco Skillet with what I already have on hand or with a quick grocery run! I always sprout legumes in bulk, to freeze, which makes it super easy to add them to the Vegan Lentil Taco Skillet, but you could also use fresh lentils. 

 

Another fun thing about a Vegan Lentil Taco Skillet is that it can feel fancy for weeknight dinners and casual for the weekend. I absolutely love adding leftovers to eggs the next morning, for a savory breakfast or using it up for lunchbox tacos on a school night. Either way, this easy recipe yields tons of flavor that tastes like you’ve been cooking up a storm! Hope you love it as much as we do!

 

skillet with lentils lime cilantro and red sauce
Print Recipe

Vegan Lentil Taco Skillet

Lentil Taco Skillet is delicious served in tortillas, over rice in a bowl or cooked into scrambled eggs for breakfast.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp chili lime seasoning I buy a blend from Trader Joes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste I buy it in glass jars, to avoid metal and plastic contaminents
  • 1/4 c water
  • 1.5 c sprouted brown lentils pre-cooked, unsprouted will work too!
  • juice of 1 lime
  • handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  • Heat a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
  • Add olive oil and onions, cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • Once the onions have begun to brown (please don't burn them), turn the heat to low, add in the minced garlic and stir for 1 minute more.
  • Stir in seasonings, tomato paste, water and lentils. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the skillet from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan with Sorghum

Posted on by biglittlebites

Sorghum is the New Super Grain

The mild, earthy flavor of naturally gluten-free sorghum combines so well with the warming spices in this dish! Did you know that sorghum contains high levels of magnesium, iron, calcium, protein and fiber, making it a super nutritious grain to switch things up? With more than double the amount of protein per cup and plenty of healthy fats to round out your meal, sorghum definitely deserves some shelf space in your pantry. 20 grams of protein guys! In ONE cup! Sorghum also contains some really important antioxidants not commonly found in other foods and it’s directly linked to reducing ones chances of developing certain cancers. While the nutrient profile is totally awesome in my book, my personal favorite reason to use sorghum, is for the texture! It resembles pearl couscous, my previously favorite grain which actually has little to offer in the way of nutrients. * When you click on my favorite product links, I may earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Big Little Bites blog*

How to Make a Meal Plant-Based 

It would be really ‘comfortable’ to just add steak or chicken to the Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan, but we aren’t going to do that. I’m not saying steak or chicken wouldn’t be delicious, I’m sure it would be – but I believe eating plant based multiple times a week is really important for a balanced diet with enough vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from plants. Replacing meat and poultry at least a few days a week, leaves room for subbing in important plant foods that most Americans are not getting enough of. In this recipe, I use sprouted chickpeas in place of animal protein. 

I use sprouted chickpeas as the meat alternative in this recipe, because their flavor is neutral and sort of takes on whatever herbs and spices you cook it in. If you really want to amp up the protein power, check out how to sprout the chickpeas here.

Are Canned Chickpeas OK to use?

Soaking chickpeas, let alone sprouting them, can seem daunting and be time consuming. It would be a lot faster to use canned chickpeas, but here’s why I don’t suggest it. Metals enter your body through the food we eat, and can accumulate over time in our bones and organs, damaging them over time and contributing to or causing behavior changes and trouble with memory and thinking clearly. While small amounts of aluminum in our environment could be detoxed by our bodies naturally, aluminum already exists in so many foods, is present in most homes pots, pans and serving utensils, is an ingredient in many vaccines, is laced in common deodorants… the list goes on, and the exposure is regular! In my post about How to Make Pumpkin Puree, I talk some more about why I avoid canned foods. 

spices in a spoon and vegetables on a cutting board

How to Make Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan with Sorghum

I first made this roasted eggplant and chickpea dinner for the family on a cool, rainy night and it was just the perfect, cozy meal.  The bulk of the Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan with Sorghum dinner is cooked on one sheet pan. This means clean up is INSANELY easy!!

  1. Line your sheet pan with parchment paper,
  2. Salt the eggplant slices to release their bitter juices,
  3. Mix the spices, garlic and oil in a large bowl and add the eggplant, onion and chickpeas.
  4. Spread the entire mixture evenly on the lined sheet pan.
  5. Pop your meal in the oven, and then serve directly from the pan.
  6. Once you’re ready to clean up, simply throw out the parchment paper to reveal a clean sheet pan!

When I’m cooking in the oven, I choose parchment paper EVERY time, over aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is definitely the more common choice for most people, so what do I have against it? Simply put, the same reason I don’t purchase canned foods (as described above), is to limit my familys exposure to metals. 

Once the Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan comes out of the oven, I love to immediately top it with freshly chopped cilantro and sliced avocado. A squeeze of a lime can add that little bit of acid that rounds the whole thing out. 

To serve Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheet Pan dinner: 

I alternate between two favorite ways of serving this healthy, plant-based meal. On a night when you’re not rushed, it’s fun to serve this sheet pan dinner as a DIY bar on the island countertop, setting out toppings in individual miniature serving bowls and letting kids and husband build-their-own-bowl. On a busy night, I prefer to divide the precooked sorghum evenly between six dinner bowls, and top it with the roasted eggplant and chickpea mixture myself. This way, I can get the littles fed as soon as possible.

Either way you choose to do it, the second best part of this meal (flavor is first!) is the easy cleanup! Simply toss the parchment paper in the trash once dinner is over, give your sheet pan a quick cleaning (because thanks to the parchment, there won’t be any debris stuck to it) and place the dinner bowls in the dishwasher! 

Have you made this recipe? Please reach out in the comments below, to let me know what you think! 

Print Recipe

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Sheetpan with Sorghum

Course: Main Course
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • Sheet pan

Ingredients

  • 2 c sorghum
  • 6 c vegetable broth or water
  • 1 large eggplant, sliced 1/2" thick
  • 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp reserved
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp coconut, avocado or olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
  • 2 c sprouted chickpeas
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 2 avocados, cored and sliced
  • 1 lime, juiced

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
  • Cook the sorghum in a medium pot, according to package instructions, in water or vegetable broth. It will cook for 45-50 minutes.
  • Set the eggplant rounds side by side on top of clean dish towels. Liberally salt the tops and let stand for 20 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel and slice the eggplant rounds into 1" cubes.
  • In a large bowl, mix the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, the spices and the garlic with oil. Stir in the cubed eggplant, sliced red onion and chickpeas being sure to coat well.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the eggplant and chickpea mixture onto the sheet pan and spread evenly.
  • Place the sheet pan in the oven for 45-60 minutes. Once the mixture begins browning lightly, remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Divide sorghum evenly between 6 bowls. Serve roasted eggplant and chickpea mixture atop sorghum, with sliced avocado, chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of lime juice.