It seems the last few days of workouts + gardening + moving furniture have well and truly caught up with me! My shoulders and back were so very stiff and sore when I woke up this morning, and 9+ hours sitting at my desk at work did nothing to help. I think I need to book myself a massage. STAT. Dinner In lieu of sore muscles, a protein packed dinner was just what I was craving. I had a small amount of lean beef mince in the fridge, a heap of veggies and a can of lentils in the pantry. 
Hence this tasty little beef and vegetable loaf was born. 
Although I guess you could also call it meatloaf, BBB style 😉 
This dish pretty much has all the telltale signs of a weekday BBB dinner. 
Easy, fuss-free, but packed to the brim with healthy ingredients. 
And, the best part…. Leftovers for future lunch and dinners! 
We served slices of the loaf with steamed carrots and asparagus. And a good spoonful of homemade tomato and chilli relish. 
But you will have to stay tuned for my easy relish recipe. I’ll be sharing it with you in the next few days… BBB’s Beef and Vegetable loaf (GF)
- 450g lean beef mince
- 1 bag baby spinach leaves
- 1.5 cups cooked lentils*
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 tbs chia seeds
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 60ml organic tomato sauce
- 30ml GF worcestershire sauce
- 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
- olive oil cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease base and sides of a loaf pan, and line with baking paper (allowing the paper to overhang at both long ends)
- Heat spinach in a frypan until wilted. Squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible and finely chop.
- In a large bowl, combine spinach, mince, lentils, onion, garlic, carrot, corn and chia seeds.
- Add eggs, herbs and sauces and mix until well combined (you might want to use your hands for this!)
- Press into the prepared loaf tin.
- Place zucchini strips in a separate bowl and spray with a little olive oil spray. Toss to coat then spoon atop the loaf.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until meatloaf is firm. Stand for 10 minutes then slice and serve.
* I cheated and used the canned variety, well rinsed and drained. If you had the time, you could, of course, use dried lentils simmered in water until soft. What about you? Do you like meatloaf? I am not the hugest fan of meatloaf when in its ‘traditional’ form, but when it’s packed with veggies and herbs I am a convert! Happy Baking 🙂
yum, I have some chicken mince that needs using, I am going to use this recipe as a base for tomorrow night.
I had a massage at a place in weston creek the other day it was great but a little pricey
That's a fantastic idea to do that with the zucchini Lisa – love your loaf – I make a similar style one but haven't tried your topping!
How is it that you manage to make even meatloaf look gorgeous?! 😛 If you find a good massage therapist in Canberra, please let me know! I went to one a year or so ago and it was really disappointing 🙁
Wow – what a veggie filled dinner – love it!
I have actually never had meatloaf before! I should try it 😉
YUM! I love that you can just throw anything you want into a loaf pan and bake it and it turns out great! I made a lentil loaf last week and it turned out amazing. Just one serving left so I am pretty sure that will be lunch tomorrow.
I made a lentil walnut loaf last week-it was good. I went back for leftovers this weekend & my son had eaten the whole thing! I was sad 🙁
I've been catching up on your posts that i'd missed since i've been away and I think you for sure deserve a massage Lisa!
I think my problem with meatloaf is the name. We had meatball sandwiches last night (with 99% FF turkey and lean pork) and I feel like they are basically the same concept.
PS canned beans are OK!! It's an awesome shortcut!
That first photo of all the ingredients in the bowl is awesome! I don't like meatloaf but I'm open minded and would try this one just because it looks so yummy 🙂
I looooove meatloaf, it's one of the things I really miss as a vegetarian! I want to make something similar to this using all lentils, then I can get my fix 🙂
Even when I used to eat meat I never really liked meatloaf. My mom used to make the driest meatloaf ever.
I like meatloaf but I've never made it myself. It looks tasty with the veggies!
I just love how creative you with foods. I'm very much a recipe girl though I do try to experiment from time to time. Meatloaf was something I did enjoy in my meat eating days. I do have a recipe for a nut loaf – but am yet to make it.
Libby
I love the addition of zucchini ribbons on top of the meat loaf!
Loving the amount of veges in this loaf. I find that they add a nice moistness to loaves so that they don't dry out! 😀
this loaf looks delicious and very healthy! Most meatloaf recipes I have seen just have meat in them, so this is a great version!
The zucchini on top is a cute – and tasty- idea! Yumm…