Lentil Loaf with Delicious Saucy Glaze

I love when a new recipe works on the first try!  So, I cannot take full credit for this recipe.  I modified it a bit from Eating Bird Food blog by Brittany. Original recipe link here.
Her sauce for the meatloaf top is on point!  Usually, I buy Honey Chipotle Barbecue sauce from Sweet Baby Rays.  It is delicious, but also high in sodium and sugar.  In 2 tbsp there is 320 mg of sodium and 16 g of sugar and that is just the meatloaf sauce topping!!!!!  So, when I came across this home-made sauce recipe I was excited to try it.  And, Mike liked it too!  What's that commercial with, "Mikey likes it!"  I had to google it- sad, but true.  It was a a Life Cereal commercial that came out in 1978!  OK, back to the recipe.

Lentil Loaf with Delicious Saucy Glaze

Loaf Ingredients 

*makes a loaf for 8 or so 

** And I know there are a lot of ingredients, but they are all healthy for you and it makes a really good meatless loaf :)

• 1 cup dry brown (green) lentils
• 3 cup water
• 2 chicken bullion cubes 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 medium chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (you can use grated cheese)
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (try note to use loaded sugar syrups like aunt jemima syrup)
• 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Delicious Saucy Glaze 

Ingredients 

• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• a little sea salt to taste 

** compared to Honey Chipotle Barbecue with 70 calories, 320 mg of sodium and 16 g of sugar.  This sauce has 22 calories, 10 mg of sodium (probably a little more if you added some.  But, still way less than 320 mg.  That is because we used tomato paste, which is a lot lower in sodium than most of the other canned tomato products) and 6 g of sugar. WINNING! 

Directions

I made a regular turkey meatloaf too.  Just in case.

1. Rinse lentils and add to a pot with water with bullion cubes.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat down and simmer with pot covered for about 15-20 minutes (until the lentils are soft and the water is mostly absorbed). 
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
3. Heat oil in pan and saute onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and peppers.  Until onions are caramelized and celery is soft.
4. To a blender add 1 cup cooked lentils and all other ingredients and pulse until combined well.  
5. Then add left over lentils.  Mix it all together and either make into a loaf or use a loaf pan.  (I ended up making a real meat loaf and this vegan loaf at the same time... just in case haha.  So, the real meat loaf got the loaf pan, so that the grease could collect at the bottom and the lentil loaf got my pyrex dish- which totally worked.)
6. Mix glaze ingredients in a bowel and spread on top of loaf.
7. Bake loaf for 30 minutes.