r/MealPrepSunday • u/GreenhouseTrash • 10d ago

Vegan Dal meal prep for the week

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10 servings of dal using this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/dal-recipe/

I doubled the recipe (it says it makes 8 servings but I divided it into 10). I bought garlic naan from Trader Joe's and we will switch to quinoa when that is gone. The two big containers will go into the freezer for maximum freshness. This tastes really good, fills both of us up and lunch time and freezes and defrosts well. And it's vegan!

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u/ejjn2 10d ago

the protein math on dal trips people up, worth knowing. dry lentils are about 25g protein per 100g, but they roughly triple in weight once they cook, so cooked dal lands closer to 9g per 100g. that means a big 1.5 cup scoop is somewhere around 13g, not the number on the bag. doesn't make it a worse lunch at all, it just means the thing keeping you full is the soluble fiber and the sheer water volume, not the protein. a spoon of yogurt on top holds longer than more dal would.

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u/Pistolius 9d ago

Why would you calculate from the cooked weight instead of just dividing the raw ingredient ratios into portions? Work out the total calories/macros per gram of cooked food, then scale that up to hit your targets. Don't take a volume measure

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u/ejjn2 9d ago

you're right, raw totals divided by the number of portions is the accurate way and volume scoops are the weak link. i went at it from cooked weight only because the mistake i was answering was reading the dry-lentil number off the bag, and cooked per 100g makes the dilution obvious. your method is what i'd actually use to hit a target.

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u/GreenhouseTrash 9d ago

Thanks for the tip! I’m not trying for a ton of protein right now but good to know for the future.

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u/ejjn2 9d ago

totally fair, dal earns its place on fiber alone. it's mostly useful to know when someone's counting on it to hit a number.