Cheap diet food swaps: meatless, high protein recipes for weight loss

 Hello my friends! We here at GreatFoods4U are all about healthy eating on shoestring, or as economical as possible. Currently, it's Lent in the Catholic church and we are focusing on budget-friendly meatless, vegetarian high protein food swaps to follow our Lenten fast. And value added, these cheap diet foods are great for weight loss. Eating them was part of how I lost 100 pounds without weight loss drugs or gastric bypass surgery. And one of the complaints I hear, ironically, is how expensive weight loss is. Well, the good news is that weight loss doesn't have to break the bank if you use these cheap diet food swaps. 

Split peas or canned peas. You don't have to buy the costly pea protein powder. Just use these cheap diet food swaps. Just blend a cheap bag of split peas in a food processor and swap these for pea protein powder. Or make meatless, vegetarian split pea soup with carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Or, drain, rinse and eat canned peas. You get up to 15 grams per serving in split pea soup. 

Dried beans. Soybeans or edamame are the highest protein beans with 30 grams per serving. Other beans for high protein diet food swaps are lentils, cannellini, black beans, garbanzo or chickpeas. You can grind these and use for gluten-free breadless flour food swaps. You can mash and fry canned beans as pancakes. Or  make homemade gluten-free falafel with besan (chickpea flour). All of these diet food swaps are super cheap. Eating this way is how I lost 100 pounds. 

Pumpkin seeds or pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). 1/4 cup serving give 7-9 grams of protein. You can find cheap pepitas for under $2 at Aldi. So that's about $.30 a serving for these cheap meatless, high protein food swaps. You can make these into any of your favorite vegetarian dishes such. 

Nut Roast. (or Nut Loaf). Mill gluten-free dried beans or peas. Grind up leftover nuts, any kind. Then sauté leftover bits of onions, celery, garlic, peppers and mushrooms, seasoned with sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Blend in nuts and milled beans. Add eggs if desired, oil loaf pan and bake as you would meatloaf. These vegetarian food swaps substitute for pot roast or meatloaf and can have up to 30 grams of protein for 500 calories. The beauty of this economical diet food swap is that it's also a leftover use-up recipe. 

Parmesan Reggiano cheese. This superfood is lactose free, high protein, filling, curbs cravings and good for weight loss if eaten in moderation. One ounce gives 10 grams of protein. This isn't as cheap a diet food swap but if you buy on sale, a one ounce serving is about $.75. I eat parmesan cheese wedges as a snack and it fills me up. Swapping Parmesan Reggiano cheese for other cheeses is part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Barilla Protein+ Pasta. So you pay a little more than regular pasta but if you buy on sale, it's under $.30 a serving. You get 10 grams of protein for 190 which is fewer calories and more protein than regular pasta. Plus this cheap meatless diet food swap fills me up and curbs cravings. 

Mushrooms. Believe it or not, these meatless food swaps can have as much protein as meat per calorie. Mushrooms make great vegetarian high protein food swaps in all recipes. I love veggie mushroom burgers with white or baby bella mushrooms, garlic, onions, oatmeal, eggs and Parmesan Reggiano cheese. 

How to Make Vegan Veggie Burgers for Lent and Weight Loss

Cookouts are great for anyone who isn't on a vegan diet, fasting from meat,  trying to  lose weight or eating gluten-free. Veggie burgers make great alternative protein sources, but they're pricey. $6 for 9 ounces of veggie burger is pretty steep. How about whipping up some delicious veggie burgers from scratch? They're so good that even the omnivores will be demanding seconds. Here are some optional ingredients. 

Beans: The basis of most veggie burgers is beans. Select vegetarian refried beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, turtle beans (aka black beans) or lentils. If you use dry beans, cook until very tender. Mash the beans into a nice soft paste.

Avocado, Egg or tofu: As with meatloaf, a veggie burger may contain egg to hold the burger together. You can substitute tofu to create a solid burger for your vegan or egg allergic diners. 

Grain: Grain also holds the burger together and provides a complex carbohydrates. Couscous is a quick cooking grain that you can add to your veggie burgers. Cooked brown or basmati rice can be blended into your burger. Oat bran, coconut, or almond flour work well also. My favorite is gram or besam (chickpea flour). All of these but couscous are gluten-free. You can add mashed avocado as a binder, too. 

Nuts and seeds. Make veggie burgers from ground walnuts, almonds, peanuts or pecans. I like to use up mixed nuts in my veggie burgers. Favorite seeds are sesame, chia, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. 

Vegetables: What would a veggie burger be without veggies? Choose your favorites. Mine are shredded carrots (vitamin A), green and purple cabbage, Portobello mushrooms, sweet or  Vidalia onions (selenium), broccoli, green (red, yellow, orange) pepper, cilantro, celery, radish (daikon and regular), garlic, watercress, cauliflower, alfalfa and spicy (clover, radish, broccoli) sprouts

 

Salsa. No time to chop or dice? Blend in a good natural salsa like Newman's Own (Artichoke-Lime is my favorite) or Muir Glen.

Spices and seasonings: Bragg's Liquid Amino ( healthy salt substitute), pepper, smoked paprika, ginger, cumin, turmeric, celery salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, dill. 

Sub water for lemon or lime juice and blend all ingredients. Fry in light olive oil or avocado oil. 

 

Here are some regional veggie burger variations:

German: Add a touch of sauerkraut, apple, caraway seed and onion to your veggie burger base.

Mediterranean: add pesto, tomato and mushroom into your burger base.

Southwestern: add salsa, corn, colored peppers, cumin and cilantro to your bean base.

Central African: blend beans with ripe plantain or bananas.

Middle eastern: blend in couscous, chickpeas, tahini, besam, cumin, eggplant and garlic. Serve with homemade hummus. 

Creole: garlic, onion, paprika and Tabasco sauce will make your veggie burger dance.

Polynesian: Add molasses, pineapple, pepper, onion, ginger, lime juice and sugar to your veggie burger.

Thai: Blend in peanut butter, liquid amino or soy sauce, ginger, bok choy, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges and brown sugar.

Shape the mixture into patties. Grill or griddle in a small amount of olive or avocado oil. Think "outside the hamburger" and have some fun with these delicious oh-so-healthy veggie burger options! Eating like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds without weight loss drugs or surgery.