Sloppy Joes

I don't know about you but whenever anyone mentions Sloppy Joes the first thought in my head is the Lunch Lady and Adam Sandler dancing around and singing, "Sloppy Joes, Slop, Sloppy Joes."

The second thought is a mess from a can mixed with ground beef that offers little to no nutritional benefits and I never quite left the meal impressed with what I had just ate. That being said I took a recipe from one of my cookbooks and "vegan-ized it." 

Fun Facts:  Compared to "Canned" Sloppy Joes, this recipe actually has 20% LESS fat than the original, 80% MORE fiber, 30% MORE protein, 90% MORE Vitamin A and 35% MORE Vitamin C!! Need I mention that beings it is vegan it also contains NO cholesterol!

The #1 question I get asked is "How do u get your protein?" Did you know that not even taking Atkins dieters into account, Americans eat about double the amount of protein needed? If you take your weight (in pounds) and multiply it by .36 it will tell you how much you need as an individual daily. We can easily obtain this amount by eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and soy products. That being said I had 3 of these puppies last night and consumed 43.5 grams of protein! This recipe actually has MORE protein in it per serving than regular Sloppy Joes! Done and Done.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Slop, Sloppy Joes

1 Tablespoon Olive oil

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 (12oz) bag Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup sweet potato puree or baby food

1/2 cup butternut squash puree or baby food

1/4 cup raw carrots, finely chopped

1/2 cup vegetable stock or broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 Tablespoon Tamari

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup spinach, chopped

8 whole-grain hamburger buns

Put olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium - medium high heat.  Once temp is reached add the onions and celery.  Cook until the onion starts to soften (it will start to lose a little bit of it's color), about 3-4 minutes.

Next add the Ground Crumbles and the garlic powder. This only takes about 2-3 minutes to heat the pan thouroughly.  Cook until the Crumbles no longer appear frozen. (Tip: prior to opening up the Ground Crumbles, hit the bag against the counter to break up any big chunks.  It will take no time at all to cook them if there aren't any big lumps.)

Add the vegetable purees/baby food, carrots, vegetable stock/broth, tomato paste, Tamari, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 5-7 minutes.  I decided at this part that the recipe needed a little more to it and wanted to use up some of the spinach I have so I chopped up about 1/4 cup, removed the pan from the heat and stirred it in!

Spoon the mixture over your buns and Serve!

Nutritional Facts (per serving):

Calories                               203g

Total Fat                               4.5g

       Saturated Fat                 0.6g

       Polyunsaturated Fat        1.2g

       Monounsaturated Fat     1.8g

Cholesterol                              0g

Sodium                             748mg

Total Carbs                        32.5g

      Dietary Fiber                6.75g

      Sugar                             6.6g

Protein                               14.5g

Vitamin A                       104mcg

Vitamin C                          4.8mg

Calcium                              63mg

Iron                                   1.6mg