This post, and recipe for Lentil & Chickpea Peanut Stew sponsored by Purolator Tackle Hunger. I was compensated for my time. All opinions in this post are my own.
When I was asked to take part in promoting the Purolator Tackle Hunger campaign, by helping out some community food banks, watching some sports, and making some tasty eats – of course, I had to say yes.
I don’t often post recipes here, but I REALLY love cooking at home, especially healthy, veggie-laden dishes, so this blog post was a ton of fun to work on!
Purolator Tackle Hunger
Since 2003, Purolator has been helping to Tackle Hunger across Canada through a partnership with the CFL. Each of the 9 teams has their own Tackle Hunger Game day, where football fans are able to donate food or funds towards a food bank in their community. Since it’s inception, Purolator Tackle Hunger has helped deliver more than 13 million pounds of food to feed families across Canada.
The #TackleHunger Game
At the CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats #TackleHunger Game – the Labour Day Classic – the crowd of more than 25,000 fans set an attendance record and together raised 230,000 pounds of food for the community. This surpassed last year’s donation by almost 25 percent!
The donations at this event went towards the community program, Hamilton Food Share.
Hamilton Food Share
Hamilton Food Share has been helping the Hamilton community for almost 30 years. They are somewhat of a “hub” for food donations in the city, gathering donations for Hamilton’s emergency food programs such as other food banks and hot meal programs. Hamilton Food Share serves over 13,000 people each month, over 1/3 of whom are children.
The Kick Off Event
During the Purolator Tackle Hunger kick-off event in Hamilton, I got a chance to visit Hamilton Food Share for a tour alongside some other media friends, and CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats Brandon Banks and Ja’Gared Davis! Celeste Taylor of Hamilton Food Share and her team brought us through the large warehouse building (very much in need of donations at this time of year!) explaining their process, who they help, and what they do at Hamilton Food Share.
They really believe in going beyond Kraft Dinner, and are always looking for protein rich food for stews such as beans, tuna, and healthy food to make a meal.
While assisting with unpacking a donation delivery, Brandon Banks and Ja’Gared Davis spoke about healthy eats they like to enjoy at home before a game and both agreed that Peanut Butter Sandwiches are a great protein-rich go-to meal. Who doesn’t love them?! They’re super simple, delicious and nutritious.
That got me thinking about what else you could make with Peanut Butter, to go beyond the typical sandwich. I came up with this delicious vegan-friendly and inexpensive option: Lentil & Chickpea Peanut Stew!
The Recipe – Lentil and Chickpea Peanut Stew
Ingredients
1 Onion (Diced)
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1 tbsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Ground Curry Powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 Carton Vegetable Stock
4 Heaping Tablespoons of Peanut Butter (Or more if you’re really a PB fan!)
2 Sweet Potatoes, cubed (Optional)
1 Can Lentils
1 Can Chickpeas (You can use either / or / both!)
Instructions
- Put a splash of water in a large pot over Medium/High heat.
- Put the onions and the garlic into the pot and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add to the pot: Ginger, Cumin and Curry Powder. If it’s very dry, you can add another splash of water. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Vegetable Stock and Peanut Butter to the pot. Stir until everything is well combined, and bring to a boil.
- Once the stew is boiling, add the sweet potatoes and bring the recipe down to low to simmer.
- Simmer on low until the sweet potatoes are soft (about 15 minutes).
- Rinse the lentils and the chickpeas and add them to the pot. Stir, and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
This recipe is really interchangeable based on what you have on-hand, and what you enjoy. You can use both Chickpeas and Lentils, like I did, or just choose one of the two. Kale, Chard or Spinach can be added in near the end, if it’s available, or add in more Peanut Butter if you want a serious peanut flavour!
I also added some brown rice alongside this Peanut Stew. With the rice, this made 4-6 servings. You can also freeze this recipe for a quick and easy meal later down the road.
