This Garbanzo (Chick Pea) loaf can satisfy that craving for meat loaf, hence Cheat Loaf.
Did you know that meat leaches calcium out of our bodies? Go figure.
First: Buy this pressure cooker:
Presto 8 Cup Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker Never use aluminum, k?
NOTE: If you buy one, make sure to get an extra rubber seal, although my original one seems to be lasting forever.
Dear friends:
As you may know, I am caring for a friend who is undergoing Chemo for breast cancer. Her husband is far away working in oil fields and her adult children are also too far away to help with the many trips for chemo etc.
Providing nutrition for a cancer patient requires special attention to healthy proteins and reduced/eliminated sugars. Sugar is cancer's favorite food and is used in PET Scans to find the cancer cells.
So I was inspired to look into beans. I must admit, I have not been a bean fan with the exception of making my own hummus.
I didn't want to use canned beans because breast cancer is very dependent on estrogen uptake, and canned foods contain a hormone distrupting chemical - BPA
A Common Plastic Chemical, BPA, Is Shown to Affect Breast Development in Fetal Monkeys
Study: Canned Foods Much to Blame for Exposure to Synthetic Hormones
Canned Foods Contain Gender Bending Chemical, Say Scientists
I personally stopped using canned foods about a decade ago and my children have as well.
So, I want to recommend buying/using a pressure cooker, which are now idiot proof and don't blow up. Really, very safe, just follow the instructions. It takes ONLY 5 minutes to cook a whole bag of garbanzo beans that soaked overnight and yields 9 cups of cooked beans or 9 cans for a fraction of the cost.
PRESSURE COOKER
My working mom used her pressure cooker a lot to prepare our meals. I have been using a pressure cooker to cook stews for decades but only cooked beans for my hummus.
Lacking a flare for the obvious, I researched.
Research indicated that beans are a great source of protein for cancer patients and everyone, for that matter. Well, duh me! Beans are also incredibly affordable.
Foods That Fight Cancer?
The active ingredients in beans that scientists believe may play a role in cancer prevention include: saponins, protease inhibitors and phytic acid. These compounds, called phytochemicals, are found naturally in plants and appear to protect our cells from damage that can lead to cancer.
In laboratory studies, saponins have shown the ability to inhibit the reproduction of cancer cells and slow the growth of tumors in several different tissues. Protease inhibitors have slowed the division of cancer cells and helped to prevent tumors from releasing substances called proteases that destroy nearby cells. Phytic acid has shown the ability to significantly slow the progression of tumors.
COOKING BEANS IN PRESSURE COOKER - 5 MINUTES*
I researched "How to cook beans in a pressure cooker" and found the instructions overcooked the beans so I experimented and taught myself how to cook dried garbanzo beans.
I wanted cooked but not mush. I am at high altitude, so if you are not, you may have to experiment, too.
I add more water, about 4x the bean volume and cook an entire bag of beans in one cooking (after much experimentation) for 5 minutes for the loaf/hummus, or 9 minutes for firmer beans for saladLike this|
Place large strainer in kitchen sink
Place water and beans in pressure cooker on stove burner
Bring to boil uncovered
Leave heat on high
Cover
Set timer to 5 minutes
When timer rings
Carefully lift PC from stove
Place in your sink
Run cold water over cover until pressure valve releases
Lift from sink
Place on kitchen towel on counter
Open cover WITH TOP FACING you so the steam does't poof out into your face
Pour beans into strainer
Can freeze portions, I refrigerate first and then freeze in cheap sandwich bags
*IF your beans are still too firm, repeat above and pressure cook for a couple of minutes. try to achieve the perfect bean in the least amount of cooking time. BTW, I really like the taste of Garbanzo beans after they have soaked over night w/o cooking. Try one!
GREAT PROTEIN ADDITION TO SALADS for busy people.
For that matter, here's a link to a lot of pressure cooker recipes:
http://www.gopresto.com/...
I use this pressure cooker, it is idiot proof: http://www.gopresto.com/...
To date I have successfully made a delicious African/Indian Garbanzo Stew and this Garbanzo Loaf my friend dubbed "Cheat Loaf" because I wanted to have the experience of Meat Loaf without the calcium sucking red meat that is not good for cancer patients undergoing chemo.
Btw, I had no idea that red meat depletes calcium in the body. My friend and I both are blood type O+ red meat lovers UNTIL NOW. We have both had multiple kidney stones. Coincidence?
The high protein in red meat speeds the excretion of calcium.
The recipe for the Cheat Loaf is below the sleeping oranges "S's" below:
Btw, my Cheat Loaf passed the taste test for a toddler who gobbled it up, a 13 year old boy who asked for seconds, and 4 adults who love me and said they liked it very much. I'll trust the toddler & teen opinions everytime, as others might be too nice to say "yuck"
Enjoy! As with any recipe, also enjoy experimenting, too.
Garbanzo Loaf
Soak 4 cups of chick peas overnight, add garlic/onion powder to soaking water for flavor enhancement.
Drain beans and thoroughly Rinse
Place basket in your pressure cooker (should come with it). Set burner on HIGH. Cook with 3 T of coriander seeds, optional gives some texture to the loaf.
Set timer for 5 minutes WHEN the pressure begins.
Add water to reach 1" above top of beans
Drain & rinse, let cool
Finely Chop and cook
4 onions
3 peppers (I used three different colored peppers for eye appeal & flavor)
4 stalks of celery
Make sure the veggies are thoroughly cooked.
in olive oil (you can steam veggies to reduce oil content, but olive oil is REALLY good for you. Mediteranean women have very low rate of breast cancer)
Add two cloves of finely chopped garlic & 1 T tumeric for color and cook w/veggies towards end so you don’t burn garlic.
You can place the pressure cooker in your sink and run cold water over the top to release the pressure. DO NOT try to open the cover until the pop up pressure valve drops/releases. Remove cover, drain the beans.
Mash Garbanzo beans(I leave about 25% whole). I use one of those old-fashioned, wire potato smashers.
Toss beans with veggies
Add
5 well scrambled raw eggs
5 slices dry Jack Sprat Bread slices (I leave the bread out overnight to dry it) then run through my food processor to make Bread Crumbs
1 Cup softly cooked brown rice (Can use the "cook for 90 second" microwave whole grain rice)
1 Cup salsa (I used mild)
Seasoning to taste with the following (begin sparingly and increase to your liking): Suggested quantities
2 T Salt
2 T Pepper
2 T Onion Powder
2 T Garlic Powder
5 T Worchester Sauce (this gives the loaf a Faux Meatloaf taste) start sparingly and adjust to taste. I used about ¼ a cup of Worchester Sauce
If you want an Indian* flavor DON't do the above but add the following to suit you taste:
Chili Powder
Gharam Masala
Sautéed cumin seeds (cook separately in oil until seeds “pop VERY YUMMY) or ground cumin
Tumeric
Thoroughly mix the ingredients the same way you would if making meat loaf.
TASTE TEST – The flavorings will weaken with baking so adjust seasonings to suit your preferences. You can safely taste the mixture to suit your family. I made mine “toddler friendly”. Keep in mind, the loaf will taste like it does when unbaked, only a bit weaker tasting after baking.
For my “Faux Meatloaf/Garbanzo Bean loaf”, nicknamed Cheat Loaf, I used the following topping generously, although this topping gave me heartburn.
Easy topping for Faux Meat Loaf:
This loaf will fill a 9 x 13 pan so you want a good amount of sauce to cover the loaf. Kids love this sauce.
In a non-stick pan, add
1 Bottle of Ketchup
½ can of tomato paste
3 T Worcestershire Sauce (can adjust to your taste, the W sauce gives the sauce a brown sugary taste, go figure)
You want the sauce to be about the consistency of Ketchup when done, so adjust w/tomato paste to thicken, or veggie juice to thin.
BAKE THE LOAF:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cover baking dish with Olive oil so loaf won’t stick
Spread Garbanzo Bean mixture evenly in pan
Bake for 40 minutes uncovered
Cover with Easy topping above
Bake for 30-40 minutes uncovered until outside edges are dark
Let sit for a good ½ hour before serving to let the loaf set. Leftovers are awesome!
Serve with greens and a crunchy salad.
*If you choose the Indian version, I suggest trying this for a topping:
Mix
Tahini, Tamari & water.
First, thin out the tahini with water, carefully add the VERY salty, but delicious tamari to taste. Serve as a side sauce, because of nut allergies and/or taste preferences.
Another option with the Indian version is to serve Mint Chutney on the side. Grind fresh Mint & Cilantro in your food processor (I add to a little bit of sour cream for eye appeal, and cayenne for heat)
Health benefits of garbanzo beans - Can heal a sluggish colon, improve nutrition uptake http://www.livestrong.com/... also these health benefits.
I crunched the numbers. Home cooking dried garbazo bean package, which costs about $1.50, yields 9 cups of cooked chick peas. A drained can of garbanzo/chick peas has abt 1 Cup of beans.
Garbanzo is a excellent source of protein. The cost per ounce for Chick Pea/Garbanzo bean protein is $.16 per ounce. VERY AFFORDABLE.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH LITTLE TO NO TIME:
I cook the beans a little less (5 minutes) and put in baggies for a quick, very portable, nutritious Chick Pea salad:
Beans
Olive oil & lemon juice
Chopped: red onion, celery, carrot, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber
Spice to your tastes.
The cooked beans freeze well, just cover with cooking liquid and freeze in zip lock bags or containers. Thaw, rinse, eat
ASK FOR A PRESSURE COOKER FOR X-MAS, my Presto 8 Cup Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker is truly idiot proof.
NOTE: If you buy one, make sure to get an extra rubber seal, although my original one seems to be lasting forever.
Much healthier than canned/processed foods.