Vegan BBQ Beans with Tahini Sauce – Vegan Meal Prep
FitMenCook
My name is Kevin. My life changed when I realized that healthy living is truly a lifelong journey, mainly won by having a well-balanced diet and enjoying adequate exercise. By experimenting in the kitchen and openly sharing my meals, I learned that healthy eating is hardly boring and that by making a few adjustments, I could design a diet that could help me achieve my personal fitness goals. Our bodies are built in the kitchen and sculpted in the gym.
Today’s meal prep was inspired by an experience I had when traveling in Israel. This chef made an amazing farm-to-table spread for us and included these stone oven roasted/charred sweet potatoes, topped with slow cooked lentils, tahini and some feta. Delicious!
Got me thinking that it would be an incredible meal prep recipe, particularly a good lunch or post-workout meal. So, I had to create my own version, but of course with some southern mojo.
VEGAN BBQ BAKED BEANS RECIPE
Ingredients for 12 servings (of about 1/2 cup each serving):
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup dried red beans
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Seasonings:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup tomato sauce or ketchup (no salt)
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- substitutes: honey, agave, sugar-free maple syrup
- 3 cups water
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 4 small sweet potatoes (~200g each), raw
- Garnish
- green onion
**This recipe makes a lot. Remember, you do not have to eat everything at one time. Portion out enough for your meal size, then freeze the rest. Defrost in a pot/skillet with veggie stock and more tomato sauce if desired.**
- Place dried red beans in a bowl, add 4 cups of water and soak the beans overnight for 6 to 8 hours.
- Add olive oil, red onion, garlic and celery to a dutch oven (or slow cooker) and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the seasonings and bloom the spices together for about a minute. Then add the remaining ingredients – except the sweet potato. Mix together, bring the dutch oven to a simmer. Place in the oven at 350F for 5 hours until beans are tender.
- Wash sweet potatoes under cold weather to remove dirt, poke a few holes in the sweet potato using forks, then bake for 45 minutes or until tender at 350F.
- Check on the baked beans one final time and season to taste with sea salt & pepper.
- Slice open the sweet potato and fluff out the insides with a fork. Add your sized portion of red beans to the baked sweet potato. Add creamy tahini sauce (see below) to the top of the beans, then garnish with green onion.
Approximate macros for 1 serving of BBQ beans WITH a medium sweet potato:
172 calories, 40g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 3g protein, 6g fiber, 8g sugar
Tip: slice the sweet potato in half to eat in two separate meals in order to reduce the amount of carbohydrates in a serving.
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PROTEIN TAHINI SAUCE RECIPE
Ingredients for 12 servings, with approximately two tablespoons per serving:
- 395g firm tofu
- 112g (about 8 tablespoons) tahini
- 1 garlic clove (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- juice from 3 lemons (or more/less according to preferences)
- 1/2 cup water (or more/less according to preferences)
- sea salt & pepper to taste
Add all the ingredients to a food processor and puree. Season to taste with sea salt & pepper. Add water and/or lemon and puree until you reach your desired consistency.