Lentil Quinoa Loaf Recipe, Gluten-free, High in Protein & Fibre!

Aug 29, 2011 Categories: Recipes by Joy McCarthy 29 Comments

These positively beautiful energizing ingredients you see above are the main items in this loaf (all organic): oats, quinoa, curry powder, lentils).

Good day beauties,

Are you stuck in a sandwich-lunch-rut? If so, this recipe is going to save the day! Make it for dinner and then portion out the rest of it for a healthy energizing lunch, like I did for my sweet man. It is absolutely jam-packed with flavour. Aside from the taste, one of the reasons I love this recipe is because of the good balance of protein, carbs and fat. In fact, as a nutritionist, I find one of the most common mistakes people make is overdoing our fave feel-good macronutrient, carbohydrates. This creates an imbalanced diet which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and more commonly, carb and sweet cravings.

This delicious curry lentil quinoa loaf is great for the time-starved because you can make it on a Sunday afternoon and have it for dinner and get a few healthy lunches out of it. It’s full of fibre from the oats, lentils and vegetables. Fibre is important for elimination of wastes and toxins and prevention of many cancers including breast, colon and prostate. Plus, it keeps you fuller longer and balances your blood sugar.

Not only is this recipe fibre-packed, it’s heart healthy too because the curry powder is chock full of anti-inflammatory ingredients including tumeric which is a superfood (and for the ladies, a healthy “boob-food” too).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dry lentils
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red pepper finely chopped
2 tbsp organic coconut oil
1/2 cup pecans or almonds, roughly chopped
2 eggs slightly beaten (vegan option: 2 tbsp of plain chia, soaked for a couple of minutes with 2 tbsp of water – Thanks to my friend Ruth, at Ruth’s Foods for the suggestion).
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup fresh parsley or cilantro
1 tbsp curry powder (look for “organic” or just make sure the powder you use is “sulfite” free)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium pot bring lentils and 2.5 cups of water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes or less. In a separate small pot, bring quinoa and 1 cup of water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 12-15 minutes until fully cooked.

Saute onion, mushrooms and red peppers in about 2 tbsp organic coconut oil for about 5 minutes, until tender. In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils and quinoa, add all the remaining ingredients including the cooked vegetables, eggs, oats, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs and curry powder, combine fully. Transfer to a loaf pan, press down until even and cook for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve on a bed of beautiful greens with a dollop of fresh salsa on top. EnJOY!

Note: If you wanted to make this recipe gluten-free, just omit the oats and add more quinoa or purchase gluten-free oats. Also, be sure to check your curry powder to make sure there is no gluten-containing ingredients.

Joy McCarthy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach of Joyous Health, loves to inspire others to eat well and live well. She is the co-creator of Eat Well Feel Well, a holistic nutrition and yoga program in Toronto, corporate wellness speaker and does an array of workshops across the city. Joy welcomes your questions or comments.