Lentil Balls With Zesty Rice (vegan Meal Prep)

These Lentil Balls with Zesty Rice are so versatile! They’re easy to make, filled with flavour and so meal preppable!

Top down view of a bowl of lentil balls with zesty rice and salad. - 1

Two bowls of lentil balls next to a vegan cook book. - 2

Two bowls of lentil balls next to a vegan cook book. - 3

One of things that we are trying to do more in the new year is meal planning. You’d think being a food blog we would always have food in the fridge right? Except like in December aka dessert month on the blog, and as much as I would love to 🙂 I need to eat more meals than just desserts, ya know? That’s where meal planning and meal prep comes in. While we tend to meal prep ingredients themselves (hello baked sweet potatoes), we also love recipes that produce lots of servings, thus making life so much easier. These Lentil Balls with Zesty Rice are so perfect for that, that it’s now a part of our meal prep plan.

This recipe is from Jackie Sobon of Vegan Yack Attack’s new cookbook: Vegan Yack Attack On The Go ! #VYAonthego Firstly, this is such an amazing cookbook. Filled with amazing photos, evergreen recipes great for all year, that are easy, simple and taste AMAZING. I was psyched to share a recipe from Jackie’s book and this one seemed so perfect. The whole point of Vegan Yack Attack On The Go! is to provide recipes if you’re who (like me) is always on the go and want easy additions to make your plant-based life even easier! This recipe does just that.

Overhead view of two bowls of lentil balls with zesty rice. - 4

Overhead view of two bowls of lentil balls with zesty rice. - 5

My favourite thing about these Lentil Balls is probably that they are so versatile. In this recipe, Jackie makes and serves them in almost like a Buddha bowl. We did this, but also tried them one day in the sauce from my sticky sesame mushrooms. They worked both ways so well, and by the time I went to get some, Gav had finished them all. Always an amazing sign. I love the fact that the process to make these lentil balls is so easy. Blend, shape, bake. It means you can actually do these often, and it’ll make four great servings. I don’t usually eat rice, but I definitely loved the way Jackie treated this rice. It’s such a nice and light flavour boost and looks so pretty too. This is just one of so many delicious and simple recipes from her cookbook Vegan Yack Attack On The Go! Also? This would make an AMAZING last minute Christmas gift.

Lentil Balls in a bowl with rice and salad. - 6

Lentil Balls in a bowl with rice and salad. - 7

Be sure to check out Jackie’s book friends and try this recipe! Enjoy!

These Lentil Balls with Zesty Rice are so versatile! They're easy to make, filled with flavour and so meal preppable! via https://jessicainthekitchen.com - 8

Ingredients

TO MAKE THE LENTIL BALLS:

2 cans , 30 ounces, or 850 g black or brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 cup walnut halves , (100g)
3 tablespoons chopped dried mushrooms , (5g)
1½ tablespoons tomato paste , (25g)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley , (5g)
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs , (80g)

FOR THE ZESTY RICE:

2 2/3 cups water , (635ml)
1 1/3 cups uncooked basmati rice , (255g)
2 tablespoons lemon juice , (30 ml)
1½ tablespoons minced fresh parsley , (5g)
2 teaspoons lemon zest , (4g)
1/8 teaspoon salt , or to taste

FOR THE ASSEMBLY:

2 cups chopped lettuce , (100g)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes , (130g)
¼ cup slivered red onion , (35g)
4 lemon wedges

Instructions

TO MAKE THE LENTIL BALLS:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC, or gas mark 5), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat .
Place the lentils, walnuts, dried mushrooms, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and pepper into a food processor equipped with an S-blade. Pulse the mixture until it is broken down into smaller pieces, but is not yet a paste. Fold the bread crumbs into the lentil mixture until combined.Form twenty 2-tablespoon-sized (30 g) lentil balls with your hands, and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over, baking for an additional 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 7 to 10 minutes before removing them.

TO MAKE THE ZESTY RICE:

In a pot, bring the water and rice to a boil over medium heat. Cover with a lid, and adjust the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Stir the lemon juice, parsley, lemon zest, and salt into the rice until evenly combined. Taste and add more salt, if preferred.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Combine lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions in a bowl, then divide it between 4 plates or containers. Then, divide the rice and lentil balls between each plate. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve.

Notes

Lentil Balls with Zesty Rice (Vegan Meal Prep)

Ingredients

TO MAKE THE LENTIL BALLS:

2 cans 30 ounces, or 850 g black or brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 cup walnut halves (100g)
3 tablespoons chopped dried mushrooms (5g)
1½ tablespoons tomato paste (25g)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley (5g)
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs (80g)

FOR THE ZESTY RICE:

2 2/3 cups water (635ml)
1 1/3 cups uncooked basmati rice (255g)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml)
1½ tablespoons minced fresh parsley (5g)
2 teaspoons lemon zest (4g)
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste

FOR THE ASSEMBLY:

2 cups chopped lettuce (100g)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (130g)
¼ cup slivered red onion (35g)
4 lemon wedges

Instructions

TO MAKE THE LENTIL BALLS:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC, or gas mark 5), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Place the lentils, walnuts, dried mushrooms, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and pepper into a food processor equipped with an S-blade. Pulse the mixture until it is broken down into smaller pieces, but is not yet a paste. Fold the bread crumbs into the lentil mixture until combined.Form twenty 2-tablespoon-sized (30 g) lentil balls with your hands, and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over, baking for an additional 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 7 to 10 minutes before removing them.

TO MAKE THE ZESTY RICE:

In a pot, bring the water and rice to a boil over medium heat. Cover with a lid, and adjust the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Stir the lemon juice, parsley, lemon zest, and salt into the rice until evenly combined. Taste and add more salt, if preferred.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Combine lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions in a bowl, then divide it between 4 plates or containers. Then, divide the rice and lentil balls between each plate. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve.

Notes

Nutrition

Lentil Balls with Zesty Rice (Vegan Meal Prep) https://jessicainthekitchen.com/lentil-balls-with-zesty-rice-vegan-meal-prep/ December 21, 2018

Here are 17 Meal Prep Salads to Start Your New Year Right! These salads are tasty, filling and all vegan!

Happy New Year friends! If you’re like me, you may have gone HARD on the holiday sweets. Daily Red velvet brownies, anyone?! Over the years, I’ve accumulated quite a few salad recipes on the blog. You know we are hashtag #nosadlunches and #nosadsalads on JITK, so these salads are vibrant, super tasty and most importantly – very filling. If you’re also like me, you’re trying to incorporate more salads into your life (especially after brownie month aka Christmas) and January always feels like that perfect reset.

What I love the most about these salads is that they are are very meal prep friendly. In fact, these salads are my top meal prep salad choices on Jessica in the Kitchen. For pretty much all of these recipe, you can make the whole salad a few times in different containers, or prep the ingredients ahead of time (and even mix and match it up). Either way you’ll be prepped for the whole week. I’m also including my 5 Mason Jar Salads To Meal Prep for a Week of Lunches, my most popular salad combinations, if you want to go at the whole week one time with some super portable salads. This is especially if you’re like me and want to just spend just two hours or less prepping for the entire week.

FRIENDS – I have so much to share with you this year, including a new posting schedule, a contributor (!!) and so much more! But for now let’s have a go at these divine salads. Eat up and enjoy friends!!