A perfectly balanced meal consists of 4 things: healthy fats, protein, fruits and vegetables, and fiber-rich carbohydrates. In this blog post, I’ll give you four recipes that create a perfectly balanced meal for any diet.
So, What Does a Perfectly Balanced Meal Look Like?
A balanced meal looks like this:
10% Fat
25% Fiber-rich carbohydrates
25% Protein
40% Fruit and vegetables
Why this Dinner Recipe is Perfectly Balanced
With this dinner recipe, you get all the essential nutrients that your diet needs
*some ingredients are in multiple categories
*if ingredients are in the recipe multiple times, or in different forms, they will not be included multiple times
Here are 4 Vegan Recipes that Create a Perfectly Balanced Dinner
Tools: Medium baking sheet and food processor
Main Course: Vegan Meatballs
2 C. canned chickpeas
2 ½ T chia seeds
6 T water
½ C. rolled oats- gluten-free
1 ½ T tomato paste
3 T chopped basil or 1 T dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Marinara Sauce:
1 Medium-sized ripe tomato (½ C)
½ C sun-dried tomatoes soaked Cover with hot water and soak for at least 45 minutes
½ Red bell pepper
2 T olive oil
1 T minced fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp black pepper
Dash cayenne
Easy Salad:
3 C. Mixed greens
1 Roma tomato, chopped
½ Avacado, chopped
1 ½ tsp Lemon juice
Dash sea salt
Chia Seed Pudding:
2 C. Chia seed
¾ C. Coconut milk or other non-dairy milk
1 T Maple syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Alive n Vibrant Berry and Superfruit Powder
Optional: ½ C. of raisins, blueberries, etc
*Do this before you begin: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Line a medium baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease lightly
Drain chickpeas and reserve liquid, transfer chickpeas to a food processor and process until broken down
Make chia egg: combine chia seeds and water in a medium bowl and stir to combine, let sit for 5 minutes until thick and gel-like
Add chia egg, oats, tomato paste, basil, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes in the food processor and blend until combined. If too dry, add chickpea liquid 1 T at a time until desired consistency. Blend with salt and pepper to taste
Form mixture into 16 meatballs and place on a prepared baking sheet and bake ten minutes, flip meatballs and bake 8-10 minutes more until golden and crisp
While the meatballs bake, make the chia seed pudding
Place milk in a bowl and add chia seeds and stir.
Wait 5 minutes, while you are waiting, make the marinara sauce
Blend all marinara sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth
Add vanilla to chia seed pudding and stir again
Let stand until thickened, about 10 minutes and while you are waiting, make the salad
Place all salad ingredients in a bowl and massage the avocado so it softens and blends with the salt and lemon juice.
Plate vegan meatballs with marinara sauce on top, salad on the side, and chia seed pudding in bowls.
Buy the AlivenVibrant Berry and Superfruit Powder Here:
Marinara sauce recipe from Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet