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After a leg workout, I was craving a very large and hearty meal. A salad or soup was definitely out of the picture.

I still wanted to eat a variety of colors, plants, while satisfying my peanut butter cravings. So, I thought about cooking up a few veggies I had on hand and make a peanut-based sauce. Now, I’ve never made peanut sauce and I didn’t even have all the ingredients most of the recipes were calling for. However, I was determined. I just did what I do best: got creative.

Here’s what I used for my peanut sauce: smooth peanut butter (no added sugar or salt), reduce sodium soy sauce, garlic powder, honey, and some water. I was pleasantly surprised how tasty this came out, considering I didn’t have everything. But here at Plant Based And Broke, we’re recipe rule breakers.

Side note: I’ll add the macros to the protein plate at the end of this post.

Here’s How To Make My No-Frills Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup peanut butter, smooth

½ cup water

1/2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 tbsp honey

Garlic powder

Directions:

In a bowl whisk everything together until smooth. Add additional water if you want a thinner sauce. Less water if you want a thicker sauce.

So there goes my super simple sauce. Let’s get to the plate.

The plant-based power protein plate includes:

Carrots, raw
Brown rice
Red split lentils
Mushrooms, “sauteed” oil-free
Garbanzo beans, roasted

The Carrots (125g)

I did nothing special here. I wanted to eat them raw and crunchy, so I just cut them thinly.

The Brown Rice (100g, cooked)

I threw the brown rice into my fancy rice cooker. It did all the work for me.

The Red Split Lentils (50g, raw)

What I love about red split lentils is how quickly they cook. I added red lentils and some water into a covered pot. I also added a pinch of salt and let it simmer for about five minutes.

The Mushrooms (200g, raw)

For the mushrooms, I saute them. However, I did not use oil. The trick is to use very little water – about a few tablespoons. You want to cook them until they’re sticking a bit to the pan, then add a little bit water again. Do this until they’re fully cooked and golden. I also added some reduced sodium soy sauce. You can also use tamari sauce.

The Garbanzo Beans (80g, drained)

I grabbed my can of garbanzo beans. I drained them and rinsed them well. Then I transfered my garbanzo beans to a bowl to pat dry and season. For seasoning, I added garlic salt, chili powder, and paprika. Most recipes out there will call for you to cook garbanzo for a ridiculously long time – just cook them until they are golden and crunchy. Because my garbanzo beans were small, I only had to cook them for about 10-12 minutes. Also, I used a toaster oven, not a conventional oven.

Macros On The Plate:

I am only going to jot down the macros of the plate, excluding the peanut sauce. The macros and nutritional information for this plate was provided by MyFitnessPal app. It’s always good practice to double check what the macros might mean for you, as there can be slight variations in food’s nutritional value. Okay, here we go:

Protein – 30g

Carbs – 92g

Fats – 3g

Fiber – 29g

Calories – 525

So there you go, a full plate of plants that is high in protein, fiber, and deliciousness!

Interested in other foods with high protein, check out our list of plant-based foods with high protein.

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