From georgiabroderick.substack.com
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with soy... I eat it everyday!
However, for a protein source it is relatively high in fat (almost a 2:1 ratio), which means if you have macronutrient goals it can be hard to stay within those goals if you rely on soy for your protein source at every meal. I’ve also found that most high protein, plant based recipes I’ve seen on the internet include soy. There have been so many bean or lentil recipes I’ve watched where they’ve just blended up tofu to hit the high protein label.
If you are plant based and want to hit your protein goals or even just get a little more protein into your day then these recipes are for you. Plus, diversifying your protein sources is a great way to get in different nutrients, all of your essential amino acids and hit your fibre goals… because let’s not forget about the importance of fibre and micronutrients in our quest for more protein.
Also if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere then winter is probably starting to feel like it’s dragging on a little, unless you are in a place where you can enjoy winter sports. Here in Canada, it has been dumping an insane amount of snow that even Toronto is covered in snow.
This weather means soups and cosy meals, tucked up under a blanket enjoying a movie. And there have been two in particular that I’ve made in the past month that I have absolutely fallen in love with PLUS they’re a completely balanced meal, so you won’t feel hungry 20 minutes after you’ve finished your dinner.
The first one is a Sweet Potato & Carrot Red Thai Curry Soup (not the best name in the world but it is an accurate descriptor), born from my love of Thai curry but desire to have it soup form. Now in order to get in the protein I’ve included red lentils that are blended into the soup as well as crispy chickpeas to serve on top. Plus if you didn’t know 2 slices of sourdough bread has around ~9g of protein and when you combine beans and bread it’s a complete protein (AKA includes all of the essential amino acids). I also use the Thai Kitchen red curry paste because when I want soup I’m usually in a pretty lazy mood and don’t feel like making curry paste from scratch.
The whole batch serves 5 at about 17g of fibre (this is a large percentage of your daily fibre intake so if you don’t eat a lot of fibre maybe take it slow with this recipe) and 20g of protein per serve or ~29g of protein per serve with 2 slices of sourdough toast (because who eats soup without bread).
Sweet Potato & Carrot Red Thai Curry Soup
Ingredients:
600g sweet potato
300g carrot
1 tbsp olive oil
1 jar of Thai Kitchen Red Thai Curry Paste
1 x 400mL can of coconut cream
1 tbsp Better than Bouillon OR stock cube
4-8 cups water, start with 4 cups and add more if needed for your desired consistency
1 cup dry red lentils
1 onion
1 head of garlic
thumb of ginger (grated)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice (1 whole lime)
2 x 400g tin of chickpeas
4 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp cumin
Optional for serving:
1/4 cup chopped coriander
2 green onions sliced
1 tbsp chilli crisp
10 slices of sourdough toast
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Peel and cut the sweet potato and carrot into similar sized chunks, add to a baking tray, drizzle with 1-2 tsp olive oil, sprinkle over 2 tsp ground coriander and 2 tsp cumin, mix until each chunk is coated
Cut the onion in half, add to baking tray along with the sweet potato and carrot
Cut the top of the bulb of garlic off so each clove is exposed, drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, wrap in foil and place on the baking tray
Bake for 20 minutes or until fork tender
In a large pot over medium heat add 1 tsp olive oil, once warm add the whole jar of curry paste and grated ginger, fry off for 2 minutes or until fragrant
Add the red lentils, Bouillon paste or stock cube and 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the red lentils are soft
Once the veggies are soft take them out of the oven and transfer into the pot, peel the onion and add the centre, then squeeze the garlic out of the bulb (be careful because it will be really hot)
On the same tray add the rinsed chickpeas along with a drizzle of olive oil, 2 tsp ground coriander and 2 tsp cumin, mix until they are all coated and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy
Bring the pot to a boil again then use a stick blender or transfer into a blender to blitz until there are no lumps, add 1/2 cup of water at a time until desired consistency is reached
If you transferred it into a blender add it back into the pot over low heat and add the soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice
Serve and top with the chickpeas, fresh coriander, green onion, chilli crisp and sourdough toast on the side
Serves 5
The next soup was inspired by Maddy DeVita from Hand Me the Fork. A couple of weeks ago she released a Substack with a recipe for her Leek & Parm Veloute, which I then butchered a little, and made into a vegan balanced meal. My version is a Leek & Corn Chowder served with quinoa and yellow split peas.
The reason why I made mine into a corn chowder was because I was clearing out my fridge and had an open can of corn that needed to be used up, which turned out great because the addition of corn added a nice sweetness. I also added quinoa so you don’t have to eat this with bread, 25.5g of protein per serve, but if you prefer to eat your soup with bread you can add a slice of sourdough or other wholegrain bread to bring it up to ~29.5g of protein per serve.
The yellow split peas also cook up similar to red lentils so you can cook them separately and serve them on top with the quinoa or you can blend them into the soup, depending on your preference. These additions not only add protein but also almost 20g of fibre so again if you don’t eat a high fibre diet be wary of this one before diving in head first.
Leek & Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
2 large leeks, washed well
2 celery stalks, washed well
1 x 341mL tin of corn kernels OR 1 cob of corn
4 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
4 cups of baby spinach
4 cups of veggie broth or 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon mixed in 4 cups warm water
2 cups quinoa
2 cups yellow split peas
4 cups baby spinach
2 tbsp lemon juice (usually half a lemon)
salt and white pepper to taste
Method:
Slice the white part of the leeks into thin half moons and the green part into thicker chunks, set aside to use later
Slice the celery into thin half moons as well
Heat up a large pot over medium heat with a dash of olive oil, once warm add the white part of the leek and the celery, sweat down for about 10 minutes or until reduced in size by half
In a separate pot cook the yellow split peas according to the instructions on the packet.
In another separate smaller pot over medium to low heat add the olive oil and flour, whisk together and simmer for 5 minutes. The slowly add the veggie broth while continuing to whisk until all of the veggie broth has been added
Pour that mixture over the cooked down leek and celery, and add the drain and rinsed corn. If using fresh corn, cut it off the cob first then add the kernels to the soup. Simmer for 10 minutes over low heat
In the pot that had the veggie broth add the quinoa and 2 cups of water, bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the kernels have opened up and are soft
Add the green part of the leek into the soup and cook for 2 minutes then either transfer into a blender with the baby spinach, lemon juice and blend (so it wilts in the residual heat of the soup) OR turn off the heat, add the baby spinach, lemon juice and use a stick blender to blend it.
Once the soup is blended you can pour it through a sieve to get rid of the stringy parts of the leek tops, or if you can’t be bothered to do this you can skip this step but just be prepared to eat those stringy bits
Serve the soup over the quinoa and yellow split peas, and if you want you could add a sprinkle of vegan parm on top and a slice of sourdough on the side
Serves 4
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