Lentil Sloppy Joes!
Seeing as I’ve posted recipes for both Healthy Oreos and Healthy Butterfingers this week, I figured a non-dessert post was in order. After all, a person can’t live on chocolate, cookies, and candy, alone. We can come close…
Anywhoos, so last night I made these:
Thinking of sloppy joes brings me back to high school.
My mom always placed high importance on family dinner nights, and she’d somehow manage to make a big meal even on days we were super busy. (We were always super busy!)
My sister and I played on the school’s varsity tennis team, with long practices each day, and Friday nights were particularly animated: we’d board a bus in the afternoon, then play intense matches until well after dark. Intense might not be a strong enough word… we sometimes played against China’s future Olympic team!
Ever the supportive parent, my mom attended almost every match. Yet, when we’d finally drag our tired (and hungry) bodies off the courts, there it would magically sit, waiting for us:
A home-cooked meal.
Sloppy joes became one of our favorite Friday-night dinners, and one of our mom’s favorites as well, because she could make them in the morning in the crock pot. Her recipe is actually meatless (I’ve been a vegetarian since high school), but it calls for a few ingredients one can’t buy in the US. So last night I changed it up, and I incorporated lentils into my new creation.
Although I didn’t use a crock pot for this recipe, I imagine you could. The recipe comes together very quickly, and there’s even a microwave option!
Did you sit down to family meals when you were growing up?
Or do you try to have family meals with your own kids? My family tried to all eat together whenever we could. Sometimes after-school activities got in the way; and sometimes we were forced to eat in the car, en route to soccer practice or art class. But when we got the opportunity to sit down as a family, we took advantage.
I don’t remember ever eating dinner in front of the television, unless it was a special “movie night.”
Lentil Sloppy Joes
(Sloppy Loes)
- 2 15-oz cans lentils, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups cooked lentils)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1-2 stevia packets, or 3-5 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice, or to taste
- 14 oz tomato sauce (I used no-salt-added)
- up to 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or soy-free alternative)
- optional: 1/2 an onion (diced) and 2 tsp oil
Lentil sloppy joes: If making these on the stovetop: sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until onion is translucent. Add lentils and spices, stir, then add all other ingredients and cook uncovered (stirring occasionally) until thick like sloppy joe filling. If making this in the microwave: add all ingredients to a large microwave-safe dish (minus the onion and oil, which you won’t use with this method). Microwave until it boils, stir, then repeat the process until it is thick like sloppy joe filling. Makes about 5 cups.
View Sloppy Joes Nutrition Facts
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these sound sooooooo amazing. I’ve been baking like a crazy person, licking away at the different batters sure adds up! I feel like I’m going to be in a sugar coma for days.
anyway, my family never really did the whole “sit down and eat dinner together” thing. I had friends who couldn’t hang out after a certain time, because they were required to return home make appearances at their own family dinners. I always thought it was silly, but looking back, I really wish we’d done that sort of thing. If I ever have children, family dinners will definitely be a part of our routine!
You always have the BEST ideas, Katie! I love how you used lentils in a sloppy joe! It’s ingenius! 😀
Regarding substitutions, it would probably taste more like ground beef if instead of lentils, it had Bob’s Red Mill “Organic Textured Soy Protein (TSP).”
http://www.bobsredmill.com/organic-textured-soy-protein.html
Every meal is very important to us specially the breakfast. Sometimes we skip meal because of our busy schedule but it is not good for the health. There are foods that are easy to prepare or we can buy ready to eat meal.
My parents worked late and my sister was usually at a friend’s house, so I ate most of my meals standing up at my desk—my family teased me that I was like Ben Stiller’s character in “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Sometimes I ate sitting on my bedroom floor. My mom would often make healthy meals and freeze them, but I also remember eating a lot of Amy’s frozen meals .
I make this using any sort of mashed up bean I have on hand and my kiddos call it Sloppy Jolene’s…..they think they’re so funny!
These were GREAT and soooo quick. I used Trader’ Joe’s already steamed lentils so I just had to throw everything in the pan and let it thicken up. I omitted the water though. Used Trader Joe’s sourdough english muffins and then proceeded to eat TWO! YUM & Thanks!!
I’ve never had a “real” sloopy joes… but this version looks really good!
Yes. My mom insisted on family dinners all through my growing up. My mom always had a fabulous, home cooked meal for us and as much as my brother and I somtimes complained about how tired we were, how much homework we had, etc… once we sat down we were always glad we did. We still talk about those nightly family dinners and how important they were to us and out upbringing. I think it is so sad today that so many families do not sit down and eat dinner together on a regular basis.
We always sat down to family meals as kids! It was the only time we were all together at the same time!
I bought lentils, but never had them. This recipe looks like a great way to try them out for the first time!