High-Protein Vegan Meals EVERYONE Should Know

[00:00] - Okay, so I get a lot of requests

[00:01] for high protein vegan meals,

[00:03] usually from folks who

[00:04] brawny, burly, beefy, and or hunky.

[00:06] So today I've got three 20-minute meals,

[00:08] each of which has over 30 grams of protein

[00:11] and is guaranteed to get you

[00:14] (intense rock music)

[00:20] Let's get into it.

[00:21] First up, we're gonna make

[00:24] like a smashed avocado

[00:26] And I love using edamame, just like this.

[00:28] It comes frozen in a bag.

[00:30] I like to buy it pre-shelled

[00:32] and it is so high in protein.

[00:34] It's got more protein than any other bean

[00:36] and is also great for

[00:38] because it's already cooked.

[00:40] This is just a little frozen still,

[00:41] so I'm going to just run

[00:43] You can also defrost it in the fridge.

[00:45] (upbeat music)

[00:48] Oh wait, I need a...

[00:49] (bowl clanks)

[00:50] The blade, one sec.

[00:51] Where'd that be?

[00:53] Down here maybe?

[00:54] Okay.

[00:56] The great thing about this Edamame smash

[00:57] is that everything happens

[01:00] So it is super quick, super

[01:03] We're also gonna add some avocado.

[01:05] It's kind of a smashed avocado toast

[01:07] like I mentioned.

[01:07] We need half of the medium.

[01:09] All right, she looks pretty good.

[01:10] The beauty of living in California

[01:11] is that all of your avocados

[01:14] Our taxes though, I feel like

[01:16] Got some raw garlic.

[01:17] Gonna give it a rough chop.

[01:19] Serrano pepper for some heat.

[01:22] Leave out the membranes

[01:24] spicy or too spicy.

[01:25] Some cilantro, I'm gonna

[01:29] I'm not measuring it.

[01:30] Any tough stems, you

[01:32] But tender stems, A-Okay.

[01:34] They're delicious they're

[01:37] What else do we got?

[01:38] Lime, some lime zest.

[01:39] The zest is gonna add

[01:42] and the juice is gonna add acidity.

[01:44] So they both work really well here

[01:45] to brighten all the flavors.

[01:47] Quarter cup of tahini.

[01:48] This is gonna add a nutty indulgence.

[01:51] It's also got some protein in there.

[01:52] Look at that.

[01:54] Some tamari or soy sauce.

[01:56] Use tamari if you're gluten free.

[01:57] Tablespoon and a half of that,

[01:59] that's gonna add that really

[02:04] Optionally a teaspoon

[02:07] I love the flavor.

[02:08] It's like rich and nutty.

[02:09] If you don't love it, you can omit it.

[02:11] And now we're just gonna blend it all up.

[02:15] Right, this is what you're looking for.

[02:16] It's chunky, it's not totally smooth,

[02:18] but it's come together in a nice

[02:20] beautifully green dip consistency.

[02:23] We'll just give it a taste.

[02:24] See if it needs any salt or extra lime.

[02:27] (calm upbeat music)

[02:29] That's really good.

[02:30] I don't think it needs anything.

[02:31] I love it.

[02:33] Bread, there's a lot

[02:35] You can get from the bakery,

[02:36] you can get from the grocery store.

[02:38] Since this is a high protein meal,

[02:39] I picked the highest

[02:41] This particular brand has six

[02:45] 12 grams of protein in these little guys.

[02:47] All right, I'm gonna

[02:48] to toast for a minute and then

[02:52] So this bread is tiny, but I

[02:55] so don't let the size dissuade you.

[02:57] And the great thing about

[02:59] So you can have this

[03:01] for several days and the full

[03:04] is on the blog,

[03:05] printable format in both metric

[03:09] Final couple toppings if you wanna sneak

[03:10] some extra protein in there,

[03:12] hemp seeds or hemp hearts,

[03:13] please have a good amount of protein.

[03:15] They'll add a little bit of a nutty crunch

[03:17] and some sauerkraut because

[03:21] and also it adds this nice

[03:25] Ta-da, it's not like gourmet looking,

[03:28] but it's really really delicious

[03:31] if you have this for

[03:33] Should we give it a bite?

[03:34] We should give it a bite.

[03:35] I'd like a bite.

[03:36] (calm upbeat music)

[03:38] This is ridiculously good.

[03:39] It's savory, it's salty, it's

[03:42] It was incredibly easy to make.

[03:44] So definitely add this one

[03:45] to your breakfast or lunch rotation.

[03:46] Next up we're gonna

[03:49] with an almond butter sauce

[03:50] and the first thing we're gonna do

[03:51] is cook our noodles, our pasta.

[03:53] So let's get some water

[03:54] So my little secret is

[03:57] halfway with water and also

[04:00] to boil 'cause that boils faster.

[04:02] Then you can add your boiling

[04:04] and that is how you get

[04:07] pot of pasta water to boil quickly.

[04:09] As for the type of pasta,

[04:10] I've got some whole wheat spaghetti here.

[04:12] I'm using whole wheat pasta

[04:13] 'cause it has a little bit more protein

[04:14] than your standard white flour pasta.

[04:16] It's got like six to seven grams

[04:17] of protein per serving, so not bad.

[04:19] While we wait for the water to boil,

[04:21] we're going to prep our tofu.

[04:22] We're gonna make some spiced

[04:25] I've got a block of super firm tofu

[04:28] and I like using super

[04:31] One, it's got most of the

[04:33] minimal prep work for you,

[04:35] you don't have to press it yourself.

[04:36] So great for a 20 minute meal.

[04:38] And the second reason

[04:40] has lightly more protein per ounce

[04:42] than a firm or extra firm tofu

[04:44] because it's denser and more compact.

[04:46] Great for those quick protein heavy meals.

[04:48] I regret opening this

[04:50] Carefully tiptoe over there.

[04:51] Oh nope, it's already spilling.

[04:54] All right, we don't have to press the tofu

[04:55] but you do wanna just dab

[04:59] There's really not that

[05:01] I'm gonna slice it into a couple slabs

[05:03] just again to get any water out.

[05:05] And now we're gonna crumble

[05:08] like the size of a blueberry maybe.

[05:09] Just some therapeutic tofu crumbling.

[05:11] Super firm tofu is also chewier

[05:14] than a regular firm or extra firm tofu.

[05:16] So you get more of that

[05:19] You could also do this recipe with tempeh.

[05:21] If you like tempeh, it's got

[05:24] You would just crumble it into

[05:27] and follow the recipe as is.

[05:28] If you wanna learn how to make

[05:31] I've got a whole video on that right here

[05:32] and I've got a few things

[05:35] to our tofu.

[05:36] We're gonna start with

[05:38] Where's my half teaspoon measure?

[05:40] A half teaspoon each of onion

[05:44] and possibly my favorite spice blend ever,

[05:46] five spice powder.

[05:48] It is intoxicatingly good.

[05:50] It's warm, it's slightly

[05:53] And some salt.

[05:54] Obviously we need some salt,

[05:57] and we're just going to gently

[05:59] You can use your hands or a

[06:02] Soon, these pale chunks of tofu

[06:05] will be crispy and golden brown.

[06:07] All right, our kettles ready.

[06:08] Let's finish our pasta water.

[06:09] Let's add some salt to

[06:12] We're gonna have to kind

[06:15] While the pasta's cooking,

[06:16] we're gonna make our tofu.

[06:17] Got this medium frying pan,

[06:19] medium high heat.

[06:20] We're gonna add a little bit

[06:22] Any oil is fine.

[06:23] This is avocado oil.

[06:24] All right, once your oil is nice and hot,

[06:26] time to add the tofu and

[06:29] as much as you can in a single layer.

[06:31] I probably could have

[06:33] and you wanna cook it undisturbed

[06:35] then flip and continue that process

[06:37] so that the tofu gets really

[06:40] The nice thing about this tofu recipe

[06:42] is because you don't have

[06:44] you can kind of do a couple

[06:46] like prep your vegetables.

[06:47] I'm gonna use about three

[06:49] Just measuring that out

[06:50] and then we'll add it to our pasta water.

[06:52] This is not a florets.

[06:53] I'm very disappointed in

[06:56] The blah.

[06:59] This is not a floret.

[07:01] All right, that looks good.

[07:03] Give this a stir.

[07:04] You can see it's already

[07:06] It smells fantastic from

[07:09] All right, let's add this broccoli in.

[07:11] Plop, plop, plop, give it another stir.

[07:16] Let's go see if our pasta

[07:18] No, this does not feel ready.

[07:21] (calm upbeat music)

[07:23] It is ready, I lied.

[07:24] Okay, it could use a little longer.

[07:26] In the meantime, we're gonna

[07:28] Takes like two minutes to put together.

[07:30] It's spicyish savory almond butter sauce.

[07:33] I make some variation

[07:34] I like using almond butter

[07:37] Seven grams of protein in

[07:39] We're gonna use four tablespoons of that.

[07:41] I feel like it's gonna

[07:43] if I don't drain the pasta.

[07:44] So let's go do that.

[07:45] I like serving this cold

[07:47] So we're gonna rinse this under cold water

[07:49] and we'll just let this hang out

[07:50] in the sink to dry off a bit.

[07:51] Back to our sauce.

[07:53] Multi-tasking is fun.

[07:54] All right, rice vinegar

[07:57] tablespoon of that.

[07:58] Let's give her a shake.

[07:59] Pretty much done.

[08:00] Just give it another minute maybe.

[08:01] Some soy sauce or tamari.

[08:03] Two teaspoons of that.

[08:04] Gonna add that savory

[08:08] Little bit of maple syrup.

[08:09] Just a little bit to kind of balance

[08:11] the saltiness and the

[08:14] which we haven't added yet, but we will.

[08:16] As promise, our heat.

[08:17] These are Szechuan chili flakes.

[08:19] If you don't have them, that's fine.

[08:20] Just use like a red pepper flake.

[08:21] I'm using half teaspoon.

[08:23] You don't like spicy food, don't use them.

[08:26] We're good on the tofu.

[08:27] Let me just show you what it looks like

[08:28] before I kill the heat.

[08:30] Nicely golden brown, crispy, perfect.

[08:33] All right, let's give this a whisk

[08:34] and we're gonna have to

[08:36] to make it more of a sauce

[08:39] Let's give it a taste.

[08:41] (calm upbeat music)

[08:43] That's good, a little pinch of salt.

[08:45] And we are off to the races.

[08:46] No we're not, vegans

[08:48] But we're gonna assemble the meal.

[08:49] That's what we're gonna do.

[08:49] Get our sauce in there.

[08:51] It looks good already.

[08:52] Gonna use the tongs I had for the pasta.

[08:54] Bringing this all together.

[08:56] Yum, now for our tofu.

[08:58] I can feel I'm already getting

[09:00] Couple final tush, tushes, tushes.

[09:03] Couple final touches.

[09:04] Again my favorite ingredient,

[09:06] for that sesame flavor and sesame seeds.

[09:09] Can you tell I like sesame?

[09:10] I love it.

[09:11] These are gonna add a nice nutty crunch

[09:12] and also a tiny bit of protein.

[09:14] So win-win.

[09:15] She looks good.

[09:16] It's time for taste.

[09:18] (calm upbeat music)

[09:22] I freaking love this one.

[09:23] It is creamy, it's nutty,

[09:27] Definitely doesn't taste

[09:29] I honestly can't tell

[09:31] I love the sauce,

[09:32] the tofu is chewy and a little crunchy.

[09:33] So definitely give this one a try.

[09:35] Next we're making garlicy

[09:38] This is probably a good time to tell you

[09:39] that I don't like quinoa.

[09:41] I think it is boring in

[09:43] but it's high in protein.

[09:44] So I wanted to challenge myself to come up

[09:46] with a quinoa recipe that I actually like

[09:48] that can be made in 20 minutes

[09:49] and this is the recipe.

[09:50] We need one cup, 175 grams of quinoa.

[09:53] If you're really sensitive to bitter food,

[09:55] go ahead and rinse the

[09:57] Otherwise just put it in

[10:00] So we need one in a quarter cups of water,

[10:02] not too much water.

[10:03] You don't want your quinoa to be soggy.

[10:05] Let's bring this to a boil.

[10:08] While we wait for that water to boil,

[10:09] we're gonna start on

[10:11] These condiments are

[10:13] the flavor and texture of

[10:16] and also add some protein.

[10:17] So the first one is my tofu ricotta.

[10:19] I use this in pastas and sandwiches

[10:22] and lots of different things.

[10:23] It is so easy and it's

[10:25] and it's delicious.

[10:26] First I gotta drain the tofu,

[10:27] but we already saw what

[10:29] on the counter

[10:30] so I'm gonna go do that at the sink.

[10:31] I'll be back in second.

[10:32] This is one block of extra firm tofu.

[10:34] You don't need to press it,

[10:36] we are going to just squeeze

[10:39] And you'll notice that I've been using

[10:41] soy products in this video

[10:42] because soy is one of the best sources

[10:44] of plant-based protein.

[10:46] I know some folks think

[10:48] and that it's going to like

[10:51] But if that were the case,

[10:53] there'd be a lot more men

[10:56] and these, let's just say

[10:58] These would be a lot bigger,

[10:59] So that's all false.

[11:01] Those are just myths.

[11:02] If you're eating whole

[11:05] and tempeh and Edamame, soy milk,

[11:07] you have nothing to worry about.

[11:08] Our water seems to be at a boil.

[11:09] So let's add our quinoa.

[11:11] It's gonna lower the heat down to low,

[11:13] cover and set a 12 minute timer.

[11:16] First in flavorings, we

[11:19] That has that really concentrated savory,

[11:21] slightly cheesy flavor that

[11:25] in this kind of ricotta replacement.

[11:27] Quarter cup of that, garlic

[11:30] half teaspoon each,

[11:31] nice generous heaping teaspoon

[11:35] little bit of extraversion olive oil

[11:37] to give that like rich mouthfeel and body,

[11:40] tablespoon and a half and some lemon.

[11:42] The zest of one medium lemon.

[11:44] This is gonna brighten it,

[11:48] and maybe about a tablespoon,

[11:50] tablespoon and a half of the juice.

[11:52] All right, this is it.

[11:53] You just need to blend it until smooth.

[11:55] (calm upbeat music)

[12:00] Quick taste.

[12:03] As you can see, this

[12:05] probably five servings.

[12:06] So you can enjoy it with

[12:09] a few times during the week,

[12:10] and then you can put

[12:12] you can put it with some pasta,

[12:14] you can put it on like

[12:17] it's very versatile.

[12:18] Set that aside for now.

[12:21] All right, I promised you two condiments.

[12:23] The next one is a garlicy

[12:26] Pepitas are high in protein.

[12:28] It's delicious, it's crunchy.

[12:29] We're gonna start by taking

[12:33] and thinly slicing them.

[12:34] This one is extra enormous,

[12:36] so she counts as two large garlic cloves.

[12:38] And we're going to just

[12:40] as evenly as you can.

[12:42] A smaller knife like this

[12:45] Even more helpful and faster is a mandolin

[12:47] if you have one of these things.

[12:49] But it only works with

[12:51] because if it's small, you

[12:54] if it's small, but a big

[12:56] And always wear your glove

[12:59] Look how cute these are.

[13:00] Just gonna see if the quinoa is ready

[13:03] and you're gonna get a

[13:05] if you spread it out on a sheet pan

[13:07] after it's done cooking.

[13:08] Just spread it out so that it

[13:11] Can kind of get like soggy and mushy

[13:13] if you let it sit in the pan.

[13:14] Back to our garlicy situation,

[13:16] we're gonna use two

[13:18] I am obsessed with these.

[13:20] They add this really lovely crunch,

[13:22] they've got this lemony

[13:25] a little warmth, so good.

[13:26] That's all though.

[13:27] No other Indian spices, don't worry.

[13:28] And we're gonna use a half cup of pepitas

[13:31] or shelled pumpkin seeds.

[13:32] These are super high in protein,

[13:34] probably the most high

[13:37] So I love using them.

[13:38] We're gonna warm two

[13:41] in a small frying pan

[13:43] just over medium heat until it's warm.

[13:45] You don't wanna get too hot

[13:48] And this is pretty much

[13:51] for really flavorful, fun, crunchy,

[13:54] delicious flavor when I

[13:56] It's basically gently fry

[13:59] and then pour it over

[14:00] It's great, in goes to garlic.

[14:02] All right, so this is

[14:04] and if any of the slices

[14:07] try to separate them with your spatula

[14:08] which is what I'm trying to

[14:10] Starting to just slightly get golden.

[14:12] That's when you wanna add your pepitas

[14:14] and coriander seeds.

[14:15] Now this needs two to three minutes

[14:16] and you wanna stir frequently

[14:18] so that the spices and

[14:20] When the garlic starts to

[14:22] that's when you wanna add

[14:25] just for 15, 30 seconds at the most.

[14:28] Some chili flakes, standard

[14:31] but I've got this amazing

[14:34] my favorite spice company,

[14:36] I'm using half teaspoon.

[14:37] Again, adjust to your spice

[14:41] This is not flaky salt,

[14:44] (calm jazz music)

[14:46] Forgot to mention the lentils.

[14:47] So let's talk about them.

[14:48] These are pre-cooked steamed lentils.

[14:50] Normally I do cook my

[14:52] but you're not gonna have time

[14:55] I prefer these refrigerated ones

[14:56] that come in packs like this.

[14:57] Instead of the like canned lentils,

[14:59] I think the texture and

[15:02] I did not open this right.

[15:03] This is a really terrible way to open it

[15:04] but I've made my bed.

[15:05] You need a half cut per serving.

[15:07] You can find the full measurements

[15:08] for like the ideal protein

[15:12] I'm just gonna eyeball it since

[15:17] Okay, just gonna eyeball this as well

[15:19] and I gotta be honest at this point,

[15:22] I'm not interested in this meal.

[15:23] Plain quinoa, store

[15:25] do not sign me up.

[15:26] But with those condiments,

[15:29] Let's get a nice big dollop

[15:32] Okay, we're gonna get a nice big dollop

[15:33] of the ricotta on here

[15:35] and some of our crunchy

[15:40] That looks a lot better.

[15:41] Yum, not bad for 20 minutes.

[15:43] If you have something

[15:45] this would be a great

[15:47] Pickled carrots, cabbage, I've

[15:50] If you've got store bought sauerkraut,

[15:51] you can add some of that as well.

[15:53] (calm upbeat music)

[15:56] This actually tastes pretty

[15:58] the garlic, the pepitas, the spices.

[16:00] I can totally see myself

[16:02] even though I don't like quinoa.

[16:03] And if you'd like to see

[16:05] I've got more right here, bye.