Hello my friends! And a blessed Ash Wednesday to you. Here at Great Food 4U, we observe a meatless, vegetarian Lenten fast throughout the 40-day period leading up to Holy Week and Easter. One of the trickier parts is to eat enough protein to feel satisfied and not too hungry. Here are vegetarian high protein tuna recipes from the Lenten Kitchen. Following a Lenten diet with intermittent fasting is part of how I lost 100 pounds. Plus, value added these "waste not want not" recipes feature leftover use-up ingredients as well. And we've included food swaps for a quick or longer from-scratch version.
Now I know, the point of a Lenten fast is to feel hunger, but too much calorie restricting in a starvation diet is not the way to do. Let me just say from experience that feeling too hungry actually defeats the purpose of the fast, plus it derails weight loss, if that's your goal. Over calorie restricting, makes me shaky and irritable as blood sugar drops. I am more likely are more likely to break my fast and overindulge. I have fainted several times, due to calorie restricting. That's why eating enough protein with fewer cards, and warding off blood sugar spikes is crucial, both to religious and intermittent fasting for weight loss. Keeping blood sugar in balance and curbing hunger played an integral role in how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass surgery or weight loss drugs.
So here's my quick version tuna and strict vegetarian tetrazzini recipes for Lenten fasting and weight loss
8 ounces Barilla Protein+ Pasta, cooked in brine from canned tuna, mushrooms and black olives and rinsed soup cans ( "waste not want not" tips like this fit right in with Lent ). This vegan pasta gives 10 grams of plant-based protein for 190 calories per serving, using chickpea and lentil flour plus pea protein. It's not gluten-free so if you need that, substitute a chickpea, red lentil, black bean or edamame pasta. Aldi makes less expensive versions of these.
one can each low sodium cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups. Rinse the cans and use the water to cook the pasta in. (that's for the quick version, you can make your own soups too. I recommend swapping blended cottage cheese for milk and butter. It will be a little tangier but you get so much more protein with less fat.
two small or one large can tuna in water (drain brine into pasta water, again, waste not want not.) You can skip the tuna if you're doing a completely meatless fast.
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (this low moisture cheese gives a high protein low carb kick)
sliced black olives (drain the brine and add to pasta cooking water)
sliced mushrooms (drain the brine and add to pasta cooking water)
Mix well and season with dill, black pepper, onion and garlic.
For homemade from-scratch tuna tetrazzini, sauté fresh sliced celery, onions and mushrooms in high heat oil. Add wheat flour or gluten-free chickpea flour to thicken into roux. Then add milk or water till roux forms a soup consistency. Swap blended cottage cheese for a creamier, high protein alternative to milk. Blend in Parmesan cheese and mix with cooked pasta, canned tuna (or not), sliced olives and seasonings.
