[Teff-Lentil Sloppy Joes provide the perfect comfort food meal! Plus, the recipe is vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.]
I’ve been planning to write this post for ages, but somehow one thing or another always seemed to intervene. Before I knew it, cold weather was upon us. . . and now it’s the perfect season for slow-cooked, warming stews and comfort foods. . . and also the perfect time to share!
My friend Kim Lutz recently published her fourth (!) book, Ancient Grains. It’s a beautiful tome, filled with homey, easy-to-make recipes that are filled with flavor–and are kid-pleasing, too.
The book opens with a chapter reviewing the different grains used in the book, such as farro, spelt, millet, oats, sorghum and teff. Next, Kim discusses why you’d want to use whole grains in the first place (hint: your health!) before moving to basic methods for cooking each of the grains (and popping sorghum–a great alternative to popcorn). Recipes cover everything from Breakfast, to Soups and Salads, to Entrees, to Baked Good and Desserts. The book rounds out the information with an FAQ chapter, which covers such topics as the difference between rolled and old-fashioned oats, why you should always cook millet before using it in dishes with tomatoes, or the nutrient content of the different grains.
Cooler weather means I’ve been craving all kinds of comfort foods, from warming casseroles to soups and stews or one-pot meals. There’s just something really grounding about those slow-cooked sauces and hearty flavors all melding and mingling together in a pot or crockpot.
These Teff-Lentil Sloppy Joes are the perfect comfort food. Teff, a tiny brown grain that’s high in protein, fairly melts into the sauce and really provides thickening without any clearly discernible flavor (and the grains are so small, you won’t notice them in the sauce, either). The HH loved this dish, as did I. We’ll be having them again through the winter months!
Other recipes I can’t wait to try include Portable Oatmeal (what a great idea!), Salsa-Millet Hash, Egg-Free French Toast (I’ll luse gluten-free bread), Nutty Granola, Tomato Soup, Brussels Sprouts-Millet Slaw, Potato-Millet Croquettes, Chickpea-Hemp Veggie Burgers, Chocolate Zucchini Cake (I’ll use coconut sugar) and Strawberry Oatmeal Ice Cream.
Note: while the book is not 100% gluten-free, there are many gluten-free recipes, and others that can easily be adapted. It would make a great addition to any plant-based kitchen.
As we move into the holiday season, be sure to grab some down time, curl up by the fire, and enjoy a plate of comforting, warming Teff-Lentil Sloppy Joes from Ancient Grains!
Your turn: Have you tried teff, or any of the other ancient grains from the book? What did you think?
Teff-Lentil Sloppy Joes from Ancient Grains by Kim Lutz
Kim says: “My family likes the tang of ketchup in these protein-rich sloppy joes, but they’re just as delicious with crushed tomatoes. Eitehr way, you’re sure to love this old-school favorite made healthier with iron-rich lentils and nutty teff. These sloppy joes are delicious served over homemade Spelt Oat Bread (page 72) or Gluten-Free Beer Bread (page 77). For a change of page, serve Teff-Lentil Sloppy Joes over baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.”
1/4 cup (50 g) teff (dry)
1 cup (200 g) brown lentils
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, ribs and seed removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) ketchup or crushed tomatoes [I used crushed tomatoes]
1 Tbsp (15 ml) prepared yellow mustard
1/8-1/4 tsp (.5-1 ml) cayenne pepper
[fine sea salt, to taste]
In a small pot, combine the teff with 1 cup (240 ml) water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the grain is tender. Set aside. (Note: when I cooked the teff, the grains thickened like a porridge rather than individual grains).
Pick through the lentils and remove any stones or debris. Rinse. In a meidum pot with a lid, combine the lentils with 4 cups (1 L) water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, loosely covered with the lid, for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain any excess water.
In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper and garlic and saute for 3-5 minutes or until tender.
Add the teff and lentils to the pan. Mix in the ketchup or crushed tomatoes, mustard and cayenne.
Heat through and serve over bread (I used this one) or potatoes. Makes 4 servings. May be frozen.
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Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
Which bread did you use? It looks tasty but the link to it isn’t working!
Oops! Thanks for letting me know, Sarah. It’s the Grain-free Sandwich Bread from my book, Living Candida-Free. I’ve fixed it on the post. Here’s the direct link.
Thank you for sharing, Ricki! I’m so glad you liked the Sloppy Joes! xoxo
My pleasure, Kim! We both loved them! 😀