This morning I saw a tweet for “Meatball Monday.” If our omnivore friends want to compete for alliterated weekday name campaigns, that’s fine – (name) game on – but they have to remember who they’re competing with.
Vegetarians, after all, have delicious, plant-based options for ‘meatballs.’ Take VeggiePatch, Quorn (all-natural, soy free) and Nate’s for example. All three make tasty, prepackaged, meat-free meatballs.
Photo Credit: Kudumomo
If we’re talking about meatballs we can’t overlook Kofta – the Middle Eastern and South Asian name for meatball. Tandoor Chef sells a mouth watering, vegetarian Kofta Curry – one of its most popular dishes.
If anyone wants to declare Mondays “Meatball Mondays” that’s fine with me. I’ll stick to my meatless meatballs though.
(I don’t know if anyone would back me up in saying this, so I speak for myself, but I consider falafel a type of vegetarian meatball and have named it one of my favorite foods.)
Incase you’re celebrating Meatless Monday today and want to eat ‘meatballs,’ here is a recipe for Lentil “Meatballs.” Go ahead, have your meatballs and eat them too.
Lentil “Meatballs”
This recipe comes to us from VegetarianBaby.com, a vegetarian food blog written by a veggie mom working to raise her kids on plant-based foods. If you’re whole family is participating in Meatless Mondays (or meat free everyday) this is a great resource for kid and parent-approved recipes.
Mix 2 cups cooked lentils with 1 medium onion, finely chopped; ½ cup grated cheddar cheese; ½ cup cooked spinach; 1 egg, beaten; ¼ bread crubs; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp chili powder; salt and pepper to taste.
Press the ingredients into 2-inch balls and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce or vegetarian mushroom gravy.
Enjoy!
PS If you’ve ever had a great vegetarian meatball meal at a restaurant, let us know where and we’ll list them on the DiscoverVeggie site!