WINE COUNTRY CRUSHERS
ROLLER DERBY TEAM

Week 5: Protein

 

Whether you are working on losing weight or just trying to eat a healthy balanced diet, make sure you don’t miss out on protein. Not only is protein essential for maintaining and building muscle mass, repairing tissues, and maintaining fluid balance, but it can be very helpful in weight loss by promoting satiety and energy.  Protein needs vary slightly from person to person but a general recommendation for women is 46 grams per day and for men is 56 grams per day. Many people know that meat contains protein but there are also a lot of other healthy foods that contain protein as well. Other great sources are eggs, low-fat dairy products, soy milk or soy products, beans, and whole grains. Protein should be consumed in pretty consistent amounts at each meal, for example: 15 grams at breakfast, 15 grams at lunch, and 15 grams at dinner. If you want to throw in a protein-rich snack after your workout, that would be fine as well. Just make sure you aren’t consuming almost all your protein needs at one meal. Since breakfast tends to be the meal with the lowest protein consumption, I’ve provided a recipe below for a delicious protein packed breakfast.

 

 

Breakfast Burrito

Total Time: 38 min               Prep:25 min          Cook: 13 min

Yield: 4 servings, serving size 1 burrito

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons canola oil

• 1/2 small red onion, diced (1 cup)

• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

• 1 cup drained, rinsed canned black beans, preferably low-sodium

• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 eggs and 4 egg whites

• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2-ounce) shredded pepper Jack cheese

• Cooking spray

• 4 (10-inch) whole-wheat tortillas (burrito-size)

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

• 1/4 cup salsa

• 1 large tomato, (4 ounces) seeded and diced

• 1 small avocado (4 ounces), cubed

• Hot sauce

 

Directions

Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over a medium-high heat. Cook the onions and peppers until onions are softened and peppers are slightly charred, about 8 minutes. Add black beans and red pepper flakes and cook until warmed through, another 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a dish.

Whisk together the eggs and egg whites then stir in the cheese. Spray the skillet with cooking spray, and reheat the skillet over a medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add eggs, scrambling until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Spread each tortilla with 1 tablespoon each sour cream and salsa, then layer with 1/4 of the black bean mixture, 1/4 of the scrambled eggs, some diced tomato and 1/4 of the avocado. Season, to taste, with hot sauce. Roll up burrito-style and serve.

Per Serving:

Calories 460; Total Fat 20 g; (Sat Fat 6 g, Mono Fat 4 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 23 g; Carb 51 g; Fiber 12 g; Cholesterol 235 mg; Sodium 860 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C,

Good source of: Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iodine, Iron, Potassium, Selenium

 

Natalie Harris, MS RD CD

 

 

Vegan Burgers

 

Summer is the time for hanging out outside, drinking cold beverages, and BBQ. As a non-meat eater,  going to a BBQ can be a little scary. I typically always bring a side salad so I know I have something to eat. But lately, I’ve been trying my hand and making my own burgers. I love Boca patties, but there is something very satisfying about a delicious, homemade Black Bean Burger.  I have tried a few different recipes; some call for TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) which can be touchy to work with, but this recipe is suuuuper easy! I use my blender instead of a food processor, but either will work great!

 

Jex Luther, Wine Country Crusher

 

Vegan Bean Burgers

Ingredients: (makes 6 burgers)

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)

• 2 carrots, grated

• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats

• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp coriander

• 1/2 tsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

 

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

We pre-baked ours and did a final heat on the grill with some veggies – such a perfect summertime meal!