TotalBodyLab

TAA-S03Ep04 – KATYA GORBACHEVA on Competing in Bodybuilding and Powerlifting & Why Women Should Lift

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 12:27:57 +0000

Episode Description

Today, we have an incredible guest with us who’s paving the way for strong, vegan women all around the world: Katya Gorbacheva! Katya is not just any powerlifter—she’s one of the strongest vegan women on the planet, a nationally qualified USAPL powerhouse, and an elite force in the USPA/IPL. Plus, she’s part of the PlantBuilt and Vegan Strong teams—the largest vegan athletic team out there! 🌱💪

In today’s episode, Katya dives deep into her transformative journey from the world of bodybuilding to powerlifting, why she’s left the bodybuilding stage behind, and the pivotal moment a surprising blood test result inspired her to try going plant-based and the subsequent effects on her follow up blood work. She’ll also share her experiences of being one of the few vegans when she heads back to Russia, and how she’s using her own journey to bridge the knowledge gap in nutrition and exercise for everyone she coaches.
But that’s not all! Katya gets real about the struggles she’s faced—yo-yo dieting, orthorexia, and finding a healthy relationship with food and her own body. Now, with a wealth of science-backed insights, she’s helping others achieve their health and fitness goals through intrinsic motivation and a love for their bodies.

And of course, we’ll hear about her favorite vegan eats, her future goals, and the unique approach she brings to her coaching. If you’ve ever wondered how strength and compassion can be combined into a powerful lifestyle, or how a tailored, plant-based approach can effect bloodwork, this is the episode for you!

Check out Katya on Instagram at @Gorbacheva and at totalbodylab.com for coaching and get ready for an inspiring conversation with the indomitable Katya Gorbacheva—without further adu, on with the show! 🎧

The post TAA-S03Ep04 – KATYA GORBACHEVA on Competing in Bodybuilding and Powerlifting & Why Women Should Lift appeared first on TotalBodyLab.

Whole Food Plant Based Seitan Recipe

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:24:29 +0000

If you’re a vegan athlete looking to keep your meals nutritious, packed with protein, and low in fat, homemade seitan is a game-changer. This recipe is perfect for bodybuilders and powerlifters who need a solid protein boost without added oils and fats. It’s also made with easy-to-find ingredients and straightforward steps, so you can whip it up at home. Let’s get cooking!

Home Made Seitan

This seitan recipe focuses on simple, whole-food, plant-based ingredients. It’s high in protein and low in fat, perfect for those prioritizing muscle gain and quick recovery. Note: I usually eyeball the measurements, but I’ve included approximate amounts here. Adjust as needed!

Dry Ingredients

Vital Wheat Gluten – 2 cups (this is the base for seitan and packs a protein punch)
Baking Soda – 0.5 tablespoons (helps with texture)
Nutritional Yeast – 8 tablespoons (for a cheesy, savory flavor)
Defatted Peanut Powder – 2-3 tablespoons
Seasonings – Paprika or any spices of your choice (to taste)

Wet Ingredients

Rice Vinegar – Use this for its slightly sweet flavor, though any vinegar works
Soy Sauce – 3 tablespoons (for umami flavor and extra protein)
Tomato Paste or Ketchup – 3 tablespoons
Small Onion – 1, roughly chopped
Garlic Cloves – 4, peeled
Dates – 3 large (for natural sweetness)
Any Plant Oil – 1 tablespoon (optional for texture)
Water – About 2 cups (adjust as needed)
Instructions:
Prepare the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the wheat gluten, baking soda, nutritional yeast, peanut protein powder, and your favorite spices. Set aside.

Prepare the wet ingredients

In a blender, add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, tomato paste, onion, garlic, dates, and plant oil (if using) without the water. Blend until smooth. Add the baking soda to the blended mixture and blend again until slightly foamy—be careful, as it can create some fizz!

Combine and Mix: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Gradually add water to achieve the right dough consistency. If the dough feels too soft, add a bit more wheat gluten to firm it up.

Shape and Cook

Divide the dough into small balls or patties. Cook each piece in a non-stick pan over low heat for about 7 minutes on each side until they turn golden and firm up.

Serving Suggestions

Pair your seitan with steamed veggies and a side of quinoa or brown rice for a complete meal.

Slice it up for sandwiches or wraps, or add it to stir-fries for an extra protein boost.

This seitan recipe is an excellent addition to your meal prep as a vegan athlete. It’s loaded with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients, making it a satisfying, muscle-fueling meal. Plus, it’s easy to tweak by adding different spices or herbs to suit your taste. Enjoy your homemade seitan and keep fueling those gains!

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How I Prepare for Powerlifting Competitions

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:03:07 +0000

As one of the strongest vegans in the world and a member of VeganStrong PlantBuilt-one of the largest vegan athletic teams in the world-if anyone asked me what has been the most significant experience that has changed my life, hands down it’s competing in strength sports.

During my entire life, I thought “If I had a body like Jane Fonda, I’d be happy!” Then I competed in bodybuilding, the sport where
competitors are required to put on bedazzled suits, heels, fake tan and makeup-and are judged in real-time on which one looks the most attractive. It’s a muscular beauty pageant of sorts. After having won 7 awards in bodybuilding, I’d never felt more insecure about my body.

I had it all-a sculpted figure, muscle definition, long brown hair, but I wasn’t happy. When bodybuilders diet down for stage they get
weaker, and so did I. In order to win a competitive show, most women get so lean they don’t menstruate anymore. Neither did I.

Bodybuilding is not a sustainable sport for most people. So, I started working with Alexei Bakhirev, who is my coach to this day, and went back to lifting heavy. Since college, being in the gym brought me joy due to the performance aspect of the sport. I knew I was getting
stronger-it’s easy to tell when the weight on the barbell goes up. Unlike bodybuilding, powerlifting is an objective sport. I found it upsetting when women would say they wanted to look like the photos from my bodybuilding days. When I explained that’s not a
sustainable goal, most did not want to hear that until they tried to get that lean themselves.

Luckily, powerlifting is inching its way out of the niche sports into the mainstream. Women are taking space in the weight room. Women are starting to care about their STRENGTH. And this is only the beginning.

My training regimen preparing for powerlifting competition

I lift year-round (with the exception of a 1-2 week vacation once a year), so it’s pretty easy for me to pick a competition date 8-12 weeks out and step on the platform.

The key for me is working on weak spots during my off-season, which is usually winter, adding more volume for accessory lifts and eating a lot of calories and protein to make sure the vegan gains continue. Since I’ve been lifting for years now, unfortunately my
progress is excruciatingly slow. If I can gain 1-2 lb of muscle a year, it’s a success. Last year I added 22.5 kg /50 lb to my total which is awesome, but still half from the previous year’s 100 lb. Every year gains diminish to about half of the previous year till the lifter reaches their genetic potential.

Coach Alexei and I typically select a couple of competitions in the spring for me to sign up for and plan backward from that date. Recently PlantBuilt Vegan Strong team competition at Mr. America got added, so I’ll describe my prep for that meet in reverse order.

Powerlifting is an intense sport where you win by lifting the most weight in one of the three attempts for barbell back squat, bench press and deadlift (the big three). I typically train 3 days a week: bench 3 times, squat 1-2 times and deadlift once. Sometimes I deadlift even less than that. Each exercise is programmed separately and overlaid onto the calendar in a fashion that allows me to rest each body part and muscle group before I use it again to let my CNS recover well.

On the next page is my exact training schedule for 4 weeks out of the Mr. America competition. Before copying another athlete’s training regimen just know that success comes from a routine that considers your unique physiology, training experience, lifestyle and other factors. If you have never trained with the barbell, it’d be wise to hire a coach to learn how to be productive with the variables you have at the moment. My best advice: find a few coaches you think you can trust and vibe with, then send them your videos of the squat bench and deadlift and ask for feedback. Filtering out the ones you trust should be easy based on their responses.

This table (above) does not include warm-up lifts, which usually start with the bar, and have 20 kg added each set for squat and deads, 10 kg for bench. Rest between sets is from 3 to 6 minutes. Weight is listed in kilograms. Powerlifters use kg, not lbs. You can easily convert these numbers into % 1 Rep Max based on my last competition performance (172.5 kg / 380 lb squat, 92.5 kg / 203 lb bench, 182.5kg / 402lb deadlift).

The reason you see bench presses almost every workout in my program is because I’m a relatively well-trained woman. Women are born with smaller upper bodies, so we typically need more of a stimulus for upper body exercises in order to progress and keep the momentum going. Beginner women also need more time to recover from lifts involving big upper body muscle groups, so I’m thrilled that now I can handle benching-and recovering from 3-4 bench press sessions a week.

Squats are taxing on the CNS, so I would not squat more than 1-2 times a week. The deadlift can be as rare as once in 10 days unless I’m doing a variation, such as block pulls, paused deadlift (when the barbell is elevated vs. being on the floor), or conventional deadlift
(since I pull sumo, that’s an accessory lift for me).

Does the lack of variety in my workouts shock you? I could share more of my program, but honestly, it’s not much different. Just the weights vary and the repetitions, but the exercises are always the main few. And it never gets boring! I get stronger, weights keep
going up, what could be more exciting than that?

An Approximate Plan Before Competitions

One week out, lifters normally try to relax their nervous system an extra bit. It’s called a “deload” or “taper” I’ll bench press 55-68% of my 1 RM then, deadlift and squat 50-60% 1RM just to keep blood flowing.

Eight to nine days to platform I normally test bench, 1.5 weeks-squat, 2 weeks-deadlift. Since the test is run after weeks of intensive training, I understand that the results are preliminary. These numbers help the coach and me determine how much to put on the barbell on the platform.

My coach and I have used many programming methodologies in the past. I liked undulating periodization and the conjugate method. In 2023, my program was linearly periodized for squats and deadlifts, a bunch of paused deadlifts and squats as well as cluster sets for bench press. Try those if your bench press has stalled.

Off Season Training Routine

Off-season training typically includes more exercise variation, accessories and conditioning. This block is 6 days a week, which is not typical for me. This routine has lower and upper body split though, so when one muscle group works another can recover.

Where do I get my protein?

Muscles are built out of amino acids, which come from protein. According to recent scientific literature, optimal protein intake is 0.73 to 1.10 g/lb of bodyweight. We don’t need as much protein as we think, but try to meet the minimum recommended standards based on

your lifestyle and goals, daily. Aim on the higher side if you work out more, or are dieting and want to lose body fat.

For example, I weigh 165 lbs so my range is 120-183 g protein daily.

If you ask me, a clear winner in the protein category is seitan (and other meat substitutes). Other plant-based options such as peanut butter and jelly is more of a carbohydrate than a protein source. Beans are 72% carbs and a great fibre source. Rice is basically all carbs.

Always check nutrition facts and calculate protein per calorie to see if a meal satisfies your needs.

Same deal with eggs or quinoa debate. Why choose between two poor options when you can make a tofu scramble and enjoy zero cholesterol, more protein and room for any carbs you prefer as a side? So what do I eat?

Here are two versions of ingredients I typically use for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a focus on protein.

Bodybuilders are used to meticulously selecting foods they are lower in fats and carbs while strength sports competitors have the luxury to enjoy more fun options like these. As long as food is tasty and offers a good variety of micro nutrients and a decent amount of protein, that works for me!

The post How I Prepare for Powerlifting Competitions appeared first on TotalBodyLab.

Dulce de Leche Waffle Cake

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 18:00:19 +0000

Ever crave a ‘healthier’ version of Vegan Dulce De Leche Caramel? I just made this on the fly and it is amazingly delicious!!!

Ingredients:

▢ 398 ml canned Let’s Do Organic ~ Heavy Coconut Cream

▢ 48 g Artisana Organics ~ Raw Walnut Butter with Cashews

▢ 50 g Sun Warrior Protein ~ Maple French Toast (My Favorite- Ever!!!)

▢ 300 g organic brown sugar / sub organic coconut sugar

▢ 0.5 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

Whisk all ingredients together in large (non-toxic) heavy bottomed pan at medium heat for 5 minutes and then let rest at low heat setting for 15-20 minutes. Layered between Cocoa and Vanilla cake wafers (purchased at the local Russian store) for a non-bake cake.

Recipe by Shelli B Shakti, the Vegan WNBF PRO

#VeganAF #highprotein #veganprotein #veganrecipe #bikiniprep

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Top protein sources from legumes

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 22:03:56 +0000

Are vegan proteins inferior in their amino acid profile?

If you eat only tofu, or only broccoli all day – sure. People eat a variety of foods throughout the day though. Studies (1) show that our bodies combine AMINO ACIDS FROM ALL FOOD THROUGOUT THE DAY for a complete amino acid pattern. Yes, rice and beans are a “complete protein”. No, you don’t have to eat them together in one meal.

It is true that low protein diets decrease bone and muscle density over time. It also helps to eat a higher protein diet when losing weight. TO MAXIMIZE LEAN MUSCLE PRESERVATION AND LOSE MAINLY BODY FAT. As we get older doctors also recommend (2, 3) to increase % protein in the diets to avoid sarcopenia (muscle loss with aging). All you need to do is.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU EAT TOO LITTLE PROTEIN?

1. meet the RDA for protein requirements (60-80 grams).

2. consume 3 servings of high lysine foods per day

Lysine is the essential amino acid (your body can’t make it) that is less prevalent in plants. Soy beans and legumes are highest in lysine, so if you are getting enough protein – you probably are getting enough lysine.

What does 1 serving of lysine look like?
+ 1/2 cup soy based faux meat
+ 2 table spoons peanut butter
+ 1/2 cup tofu or tempeh
+ 1/2 cup beans or lentils
+ 1/2 cup soy milk or yoghurt
+ 1 cup amaranth

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Vegan Tzatziki

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 21:14:32 +0000

The classic Greek recipe, veganized and packed with protein – a perfect addition to any party table, as a side to your savory faux meats or creamy salad dressings.

INGREDIENTS

1 pack silken tofu

2 TB Lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 cucumber with peel, grated

3 TB fresh dill, finely chopped

Couple garlic cloves, finely chopped (I use way too many 😊 )

1 TB salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Blend tofu, salt, pepper and lemon juice in the Ninja Bullet Blender
Fold cucumbers, garlic and dill
Serve chilled

Your dressing is ready!

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Powerlifting Meet Complete Check List & Infographics

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 23:54:34 +0000

Lifting Equipment

Download my powerlifting guide if you want the below equipment, recovery & prep tips in one place.

Lifting Belt approved by your federation
Shoes: deadlift shoes, bench shoes, squat shoes
Singlet
Approved underwear (some federations allow commando)
Plain short sleeve T-shirt without words and logos (some federations don’t allow profanities, others – any text, others – any logos except for approved brands)
Sweatpants and hoodie to keep warm between events
Long knee socks for deadlift
Short socks for squats (there must be space between your socks and knee sleeves)
Knee sleeves (optional)
Wrist Wraps
Deadlift Straps (for warm ups not to tire your grip out)

Optional:

15-25lb long band – to warm up shoulders and hips
Foam Roller (optional)
Yoga balls (my favorite esp. when traveling! takes no space and works just as well as a foam roller to get blood flowing)
Silicone portable cupping set (my personal favorite to keep lower back relaxed and pain-free).

Drinks

Always assume the worst – that the water fountain is broken, there’s a huge line to the bathroom etc. So, bring enough water at a minimum. If water cutting – you’ll need electrolytes (straight salt, sugar, and baby pedialyte. It’s non-allergen, non-flavored, no crap added unlike gatorade, my to-go). Soy sauce packets are also nice to have if you don’t like to eat between lifts, but want sodium. Most people put it on rice / grains though.

Water Bottle or 1 Gallon Jug. write your name on it. As a matter of fact – write your name on all bands, balls, and other stuff that could get lost / mixed up…
Baby Pedialyte (esp if cutting water)
Full Sodium Soy Sauce
Juice / high calorie high glycemic “unhealthy” drink
Preworkout you HAVE HAD BEFORE. Don’t want a surprise stomach ache or heart racing before a heavy lift

Water is life! Can forget food and lift ok, CANNOT FORGET HYDRATION!

Food

The logic here is – to consume as little as possible in volume but get calories in. Think calorie dense foods that are going to get to your blood stream quick. Think “unhealthy” foods. You want blood to go to your muscles, not stomach that’s busy digesting fiber on meet day. Save the kale-quinoa bowl for other 364 days of the year… Vegan muffins are my to-go. What’s a better time to enjoy the guilty pleasures than as a pick me up before crushing some PRs!?

High carb, high fat high calorie food: muffins, protein bars / candy bars (Trupo Treats discount KATYA15 =>)
Rice + peanut butter + salt + sugar / jam
Peanut butter jelly sandwich
Oats + peanut butter + TVP
Tofu scramble (this one is more high protein, so maybe I’d have it after squats are done). It doesn’t bother me personally to have a bit more food in my belly before bench, but use your own judgement when to have a larger serving. If it’s a short meet with less than 50 lifters – you may want to have bites of food throughout the day instead of eating right after weigh in. You’ll need something in your stomach not to get tired by the time deadlifts roll around since you will DEFINITELY be tired.
Just egg scramble with seeds / oil / vegan sausage
Seitan (video) – my signature recipe here.
Apple / Banana / any portable fruit – my personal preference after weigh ins. Light on the stomach, available at any gas station if you’re driving/ traveling to the meet, and keeps stomach feeling ok between all the sugary stuff you’re having that day.

LOGIC: STICK WITH WHAT YOU KNOW. DON’T TRY NEW FOOD. EXPERIMENT ON OTHER DAYS / AFTER LIFTING IS DONE.

Misc

Change of clothes – in case you make friends and go to grab food after. You’ll likely be sweaty head to toes, so wearing DRY clothes will feel amazing.
Foldable Chair. You’ll likely be spread across the wall of the gym / high school with your stuff in between other lifters and their coaches / handlers. Set up your “corner / floor spot” early and have all your shit on / under the chair so it won’t get lost. Standing / walking side to side can get exhausting by the time deadlift rolls around…
Cozy blanket – to keep muscles warm / sit on. You can take clothes off if the place is too hot. If it’s too cold – gotta stay warm while preserving energy.
Headphones. I don’t use any since talking to others and hearing noises doesn’t get me distracted before my lifts. If you have anxiety, or are afraid to “get out of the lifting mood” – you may want them. Can’t wear headphones on the platform though… If DESPACITA starts playing when you touch the bar, you’re fucked. Happened to me once. Since then I’ve been NOT WEARING HEADPHONES to get used to lifting to any music, or even ask my lifting buddies to put on THE WORST SHIT during my heaviest sets. Good skill to have.

GOOD LUCK YOU BEAST!!!

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Powerlifting Programming insights from Ryan Stills

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 21:47:08 +0000

Ryan Stills, the world champion in IPF 120kg weight class, my team mate and vegan powerlifter became my coach over the last few months after we both went to compete at Mr America with PlantBuilt VeganStrong team. I loved my previous coach and we still work together, but wanted to get more insights on my lifting programming from an athlete with a different approach and school of thought. So I did. Here is what I’ve learnt.

It's more important to be a good athlete than a good powerlifter

A lot of coaches, myself included focus on not doing anything but squat – bench – deadlift with some minor accessories. Coming out of bodybuilding I where athletes do A LOT of cardio and machine exercises, I’ve always kind of been between two schools of thoughts. I coach both and love both sports, and am an active person, so occasionally I’d run with my dog and hike and swim and then (no surprise) squats suck next day. I like to keep some delt work in my programs for vain aesthetic purposes.

What’s always surprised me is – that if I ever invited friends from a powerlifting community for a weekend hike + swim + frisbee – they’d be out of breath and dragging and just having a very hard time keeping up. KEEP IN MIND THAT I’M NOT A CROSSFITTER AND NOT A TOP TIER ENDURANCE ATHLETE. My point is that a lot of the powerlifters are low on the recovery and endurance spectrum. And that’s not good! Cardio is still the #1 thing important for the heart according to tons of research and common sense, and so is recovery. No wonder powerlifters get injured all the time. On top of being at injury risk due to high weights – we also CAN omit recovery and cardio to get stronger… so we do out of laziness.

When your powerlifting coach forbids you to do cardio claiming that walking more 5-10k steps a day, joy bike rides or weekend volley will ruin your gains – run. There’s more to life than being good at ONE THING. Plus, it’s unlikely that if you’re reading this about to crush the world’s or nationals – so relax, get better at a variety of activities and learn how to recover so that helping a friend move a couch doesn’t run your central nervous system out of gas.

Sleecting a weight class

I’m 73kg now, competing in a 75kg weight category. Have considered going down to the 67.5 kg category, but that’s a lot to cut given I don’t track macros after having had eating disorders… My thoughts of goring down to weight class are – not to become more competitive, but for health reasons. I’ve been gaining about 1kg / year over the last few years, and there’s no need to continue this trend.

Note that dropping body weight changes your lifting angles, so hitting depth for squats may be harder – since quads will become smaller. Having less body mass period usually impacts squats negatively anyways, and bench – as well. Deadlift is not so straightforward since when most people lose weight – wedging and getting closer to the bar becomes easier.

How to Select Lifting Volume

This is for the coaches and the advanced lifters. The majority of coaches at TotalBodyLab write custom program based on each client’s experience, work schedule, equipment available, amount of free time and a million of other variables. Interestingly – Ryan recommended selecting lifting volume not based on the “perfect program” logic and approach, but based on the factors above.

How fast does the person recover? Are they aggressive with their RPEs or usually sandbag? Are they developed enough to complete multiple SBD days a week and not burn out?

I usually program each movement and its progression differently, ordering them into cohesive days after the weeks are written out. Squat 2-5x week, bench 2-4 times, deadlift 1-3 times. 20 lifts / day, or 60-80 lifts a week total.

how often to compete

I compete often. Not because it’s necessary or beneficial to, but because it’s fun and I want to have fun, see friends and travel while doing activism . When my friends are competing, or there is a local meet, or I have no vegan festivals / speaking engagements traveling that month – I say “screw it, let’s do it!” I also think that being a vegan lifter is the best kind of activism. Especially since I usually get 1st or 2nd, so folks who don’t know – and then see the “eat pussy not animals” shirt from the tough vegan… they are like WOAH SHE IS VEGAN?? HOW IS SHE SO STRONG?

Anyways, ideally I’d compete once or twice a year since only then one will be confident to make a significant addition to their total. Ryan also had an interesting recommendation – pushing only one main lift per meet. I haven’t had the same approach, but it could be a good idea when it comes to breaking records, for example. Going conservative for bench and squat, and pushing deadlift for an American Record, for example – is not a bad idea. Stay in the meet, potentially win your weight class.

If you’re a newbie lifter – I recommend just getting the first meet out of the way any time soon and not worrying about the weight class, numbers, cutting water etc.

More useful info

Typically comes out in my newsletter, on IG or Youtube. Sign up in the pop up to this site. Coaching inquiries here.

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Bok Choy Apple Slaw

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Thu, 26 May 2022 18:12:21 +0000

Cooling Summer Recipe

Prep time: 7 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

6 stalks bok choy (about 1/2 head), thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 granny smith apple, sliced

1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons brown rice syrup (agave or other liquid sweeter)

salt and black pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. First make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and whisking well.

2. Chop all the salad ingredients, leaving the apples until last. Mix in a salad bowl.

3. Toss salad with half the dressing. Add additional dressing if desired.

4. Eat immediately, or chill for up to one hour and then add the apples just before eating.

The recipe is kindly provided by Sadiya, creator of CrayonFanatics chalk that you can purchase on Etsy.

This 5 minute vegan recipe promotes weight loss, fortifies bone health, reduces risk of cancer, manages high blood pressure, combats inflammation and oxidative stress. Bok choy slaw is extremely rich in calcium, copper and zinc. Cruciferous vegetables don’t have to be boring to cook!

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Krabby Cakes

Ekaterina Gorbacheva — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 19:51:52 +0000

Hearts of palm come from the inner cores of palm trees.

They are a low-calorie (40 calories per cup), nutrient-dense veggie high in dietary fiber, potassium, B-6, phosphorous, zinc, niacin Vitamin C, iron, protein, copper, and antioxidants.

Antioxidants (polyphenols) may reduce inflammation and neutralize free radicals.

INGREDIENTS
3 ½ cups hearts of palm, rinsed drained, and patted dry
¾ cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
⅔ cups red bell pepper, finely diced
½ cup vegan mayo
2 heaping tsp stone ground/dijon mustard
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (optional)
1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground flaxseed
1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs (make sure they’re vegan)
¾ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tbsp old bay seasoning
1 ½ tsp dulse granules or nori flakes

INSTRUCTIONS
If baking, preheat oven to 400°F and line your baking pan with parchment and set aside.

CUT hearts of palm in half, pat dry, place in food processor and pulse no more than 3 cycles of 3-4 second intervals (texture of hearts of palm should be like crab) then add to large bowl.
ADD chickpeas to food processor and pulse no more than 3 cycles of 2-3 second intervals (texture of chickpeas should be broken up but not mushy) then add to large bowl, gently combine with hearts of palm and set aside.
ADD a few tablespoons of water to a small pan over medium heat. Once pan is warm and water has begun lightly rolling/bubbling, add onions, bell peppers, garlic then cover a tight-fitting lid for two minutes (this will help generate steam to help render down your veggies).
REMOVE lid, stir, replace lid for another minute or until onions are slightly translucent and/or softened.
PLACE cooked veggies on a plate, set aside in fridge for up to 10 minutes OR in freezer for up to 7 mins then remove and set aside.
ADD and gently combine slightly cooled onion mixture, flaxseed and dulse granules to the hearts of palm mixture.
ADD old bay, black pepper, vegan mayo, mustard-gently folding to combine.
ADD panko and fresh dill; gently combining then set aside.
FORM slightly larger than golf ball-sized rounds (they should be slightly firm in texture, like the texture of a crab cake mixture), form into rounded patties and place in fridge up to 10 minute then remove from fridge and set aside.
IF BAKING (PREFERRED METHOD) place patties on parchment lined baking sheet in 400°F pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (turning halfway through). Remove, allow to cool and enjoy!
IF PAN COOKING Add light oil to a pan over medium-low to medium heat. Once the pan is warm, add 3 to 4 patties, cooking 4 minutes on first side, 2 minutes on second side. Remove pan from heat, place on middle or top rack of preheated 400°F oven Remove, place on a kitchen towel to remove any excess oil and enjoy!

ENJOY!

Recipe created by Dawn Hilton-Williams

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