Long Shelf Life Food Meal Idea

This post was written by our Nutrition Coach! Thanks for the meal idea!

With everything going on, people are looking for healthy and delicious things to eat with foods that will last longer to prevent unnecessary travel to the grocery store. It may be getting difficult to find things you would normally reach for, but, that’s okay! It’s a great opportunity to try something different and still be healthy.

Based on the grocery store that I’ve been going to common things that have been left on the shelves have been the following:

-Potatoes (of all types)

-Dried Lentils

-Some canned tomato products

-Most root vegetables

-Celery

My partner and I don’t eat much animal products but the store we go to has been out for a while. For those of you that consume a traditional diet and have purchased, meat can be added to this if you want to add it (I’ll add a little note where you can add it and what to do to prep it). However, everything on this list should be a satisfying meal.

These are the ingredients needed for the Middle Eastern version. I blended my own crushed tomatoes but canned works perfectly as well.

Originally, I made this meal because I was craving a more middle eastern spice palate but I then realized some people may not be into that, may not have the spices, or may have a craving for something else. So, below, are some options that you can use to add flavour to your dish. This is also a good way to decide what to make if you have kids. If your kids are adventurous and like the more Middle Eastern taste, go with that. But, if they are a bit picky, stick with more traditional flavours. Try to avoid adding any more liquid or it will not be absorbed by the lentils during the whole process. If you think you added too much liquid, I’ll make a note on a way to fix that. But, before we go any further…

Choose Your Spice Adventure:

Middle Eastern Style

chili flakes or crushed red pepper flakes (optional and to taste)

ground cumin, 1 tsp

Garam Masala, 1tbsp

Bay leaf (optional but adds flavour =]), I used two

Traditional Style

Black pepper, 1 tsp

Salt, ½ tsp

Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp

Rosemary, 1 ½ tsp (if fresh, add ½ tsp)

Thyme, ½ tsp (if fresh, add ½ tsp)

Simple Style

Thyme, ½ tsp (if fresh, add ½ tsp)

Parsley, 2 tsp (if fresh, 1tbsp)

Rustic Style

Ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp

Ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp

Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp

Rosemary, 1 ½ tsp (if fresh, add ½ tsp)

Thyme, ½ tsp (if fresh, add ½ tsp)

Bay leaf, 1

Depending on the spices you decide to go with, you may be more opted to stick with traditional potatoes, but feel free to use sweet potatoes as well for your mash! The mash in the recipe I am doing is mixed with parsnips (if you’ve never had them before they look like weird white carrots) and have a very distinct taste to them. They mix well with the regular potatoes because they don’t have much taste but the flavours with the sweet potatoes may fight with each other. If you’re going to use sweet potatoes, you may want to replace the parsnips with another potato.

Parsnips have a 'woody' inside that some people don't like. If you boil it enough, it's not problem.

Quick chat on kitchen appliances. A stove or hot plate is a must for the recipe to cook up everything. This is a very simply recipe but you must also have an oven to do the last step to set everything together nicely. Depending on the size of the meal you are making, you could use a toaster oven for the last step. A microwave won’t do, unfortunately. For mashing the topping, I will be using a hand mix to make it go quicker. However, you can mash with a traditional mashing utensil or mash with a fork if the veggies are tender enough.

However, if you are okay with making a separated pie, you could treat the mash mix and the filling as its own separate entity as well. So still do-able if you only have the hot plate.

Finally, servings! This makes about 6 serves for the average adult. Nutrition facts based on 6 servings are at the bottom of the recipe. Nutritional info may change depending on what you modify (type of potatoes, spice options). My partner is 6’4’’ so he does need a bit more so you may need to make something on the side if someone you are cooking for needs it. I just made a quick salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and olives. For a dressing, I used a Becel oil, Salata vinegar (which is a German seasoned vinegar and is amazing if you can find it! I need to go back home to Waterloo to find this stuff in stores), and a bit of salt and pepper.

This is Salata for those who are interested.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients

Coconut oil or olive oil (1-2 tsp)

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced (peel if preferred but not required)

celery, most of the bunch diced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Spices, based on flavour you are going for

tomato purée or crushed tomatoes, 1 tbsp

green lentils, 1 cup

Vegetable stock/broth, 1 carton (900 ml), if you only have chicken or beef stock/broth that’s fine. Keep in mind it may play with your flavours a little diff

erently.

Parsnips, 2 (peel if preferred) and quartered

Potatoes (about 4 medium to large) peeled and chopped

Doesn't plate pretty, but it's pretty tasty!

Step 1: If you are using meat in this dish, brown your meat ahead of time in a large pan. Traditionally in a Sheppard’s pie, ground lamb or beef is used as the filling. Browning meat doesn’t mean it’s cooked all the way through, it’s just cooked enough that you can’t see any rare meat on the outside. Once browned, set aside. Use the pan you used here for the next step.

Step 2: In a large pan, heat your coconut/olive oil on a medium heat and fry your onion, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes (looking for the veggies to be tender). When tender, add garlic and your spices (minus bay leaves and other herbs) and fry for another two minutes.

Step 3: Stir in tomato purée/crushed tomatoes, green lentils, bay leaves and another other herbs you are using. Give it a stir and taste any of the veggies. Add more seasoning if needed, this is the time to do it. Once happy with the taste, add your stock/broth, bring to a simmer (lightly boiling) and let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are cooked. Stir this every so often to check on it.

SIDE NOTE: I, personally, don’t like my pie filling runny. If you want a bit more liquid to it, cover your pan instead of keeping a lid off. If you are noticing the filling is sticking to the pan, add splashes of water.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350 °F/gas mark 4/177 °C. Remove the ‘woody’ middles of the parsnips and roughly chop the rest. Cook the potatoes and parsnips in boiling water for 10-15 minutes or until they are tender enough to be pierced easily with a knife. Drain, allow to dry, then mash well. Give a taste and add some salt, if needed.

Step 5: Add some of your seasoning and coconut/olive oil if mash is to stiff. Dig out the bay leaves and put lentil filling in an oven proof dish, spray with cooking oil if it is not non-stick, and cover with mash. Bake in preheated over for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Servings: 6

Amount per serving

Calories 307

% Daily Value

Total Fat 3.1g 4%

Saturated Fat 1.7g 8%

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 529mg 23%

Total Carbohydrate 56g 20%

Dietary Fiber 16.3g 58%

Total Sugars 7.4g

Protein 15g

Vitamin D 0mcg 0%

Calcium 76mg 6%

Iron 4mg 22%

Potassium 1361mg 29%