Weekly Spotlight: High Protein Meals Using Whole Grains and Beans!

On their own, both beans and whole grains shine and offer many health benefits. They’re both high in fiber and protein. But, putting them together offers many more amazing benefits and gives you a high-protein meal that you can enjoy in your day. Plus, you can use your favorite whole grain and pair it with your favorite bean to use that mix as a base to add your own veggies, plant-based protein, and sauce to create a wonderful power bowl. Simply having a base of whole grains and beans gives you many options for creating your meals to put your leftover odds and ends to use or a great way to batch cook to create many filling meals to have throughout the week.

This guide will outline some meals that you can make using any whole grain and bean mix, such as wild rice with hummus, or even falafel! Then, this guide will offer recipes for you to put your own spin on it; you can use these quinoa and lentil base recipes as a way to use up any leftover veggies or protein that you have in your fridge. If you’ve got extra quinoa and lentils on hand, you can also make a variety of meals, which will be found in the last section if you need some inspiration.

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And, don’t forget to check out our Weekly Meal Plan Archives!

Are you ready to have a week full of delicious, high-protein, whole-food vegan food that leaves you nourished and content? Let’s get started!

This week, we’re bringing delicious, high-protein, whole-food meals that are fully vegan and plant-based!

Pairing Grains with Beans

Source: Wild Rice and Hummus Collard Wraps

There’s a variety of ways that you can use whole grains and beans in your meals. If you’re wondering where to start with this concept, these meals are great! Not only are they simple, but you can use the leftovers to have as quick meals during the week. If this list is a bit daunting, that’s okay! You can start simply by having bean-based dips, such as hummus or a yummy layered bean dip with some whole grain crackers to snack on.

• Easy Black Bean Quinoa Chili by Caroline Doucet
• Quinoa and Fava Bean Falafel with Lemon by Alice Hart
• Black Bean, Quinoa, and Walnut Loaf by Julie Zimmer
• Wild Rice and Hummus Collard Wraps by Zuzana Fajkusova and Nikki Lefler
• Homemade Flatbread Wraps With White Bean Hummus and Chickpeas by Logan Dunn & Lexus Osman

Quinoa Lentil Base Meals:

Source: Beluga Black Lentils and Red Quinoa 

• Beluga Black Lentils and Red Quinoa by Julie Zimmer
• Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Red Lentil Stew by Kelly Williams
• Creamy Curried Lentils and Quinoa by Power Plates
• Coconut Turmeric Dal by Margaret Helthaler

These quinoa and lentil meals make a wonderful base for a quick recipe using whatever grain or vegetable you have on hand. These base recipes can spice up a leftover salad, be a filling for tacos or even be a quick meal that you can have over rice. These recipes are perfect starting points for you to put your own twist on it!

Lentil Quinoa Meals:

Source: Lentil Quinoa Burger 

If you’ve got extra quinoa and lentils leftover, here are some meals that you can make out of them! From meatless meatballs to soups, you can create so much with these two simple ingredients.

• Quinoa Lentil Meatballs by Kristen Genton
• Kale, Quinoa, and Lentil Salad by Julie Zimmer
• Lentil Quinoa Burger by Lena Novak
• Mixed Lentil Quinoa Soup by Jenn Sebestyen and Kelli Foster Kelli Foster
• Spicy Protein-Rich Lentil Burgers With Avocado Dressing by Margaret Helthaler

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Unfortunately, dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer, and has many side effects. 

For those interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend purchasing one of our many plant-based cookbooks or downloading the Food Monster App which has thousands of delicious recipes making it the largest vegan recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

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