Although it’s often a subject of debate, I firmly believe that it is possible to get plenty of protein and from a vegetarian or vegan diet. There have been several successful vegetarian athletes, such as Joe Namath, the NFL quarterback and Martina Navratilova, the tennis legend. I like to aim to make every Monday a meat-free day. I eat a lot of plant-based protein day to day, and usually end up having a couple of other meat-free days during the week, but I like to pencil in one specific day every week and stick to that.
You will need:
serves 6
300g red lentils
½ cup flour
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, grated
1 tsp tomato puree
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tsp dried or fresh herbs
2 tsp coconut oil
1. Bring a pan of water up to the boil and let the lentils simmer until soft.
2. While the lentils are cooking, heat a frying pan in a teaspoon of oil and sauté the onion, garlic and carrot until tender. Add the tomato puree and herbs and stir in gently.
3. Remove from the hob and transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Add the lentils and flour and mix together. If you find that your mixture is slightly dry, add a little water.
5. Transfer the mixture to the fridge and leave to cool for about half an hour.
6. Mould the mixture into 6 burgers and fry in the rest of the oil until the outside is golden.
I love these burgers with sweet potato wedges and a big leafy green salad.
Size Fit 