Gyros/Donairs for Cholesterol 🥙
Get Cholesterol on your side and attack many NCDs at once.
Within reason, of course.
⏲️ Start to finish time: this takes about 25-30 minutes from start to ready-to-eat.
💵 Cost to make: $3.09 CDN / $2.27 USD
🕹️ Difficulty: Easy
No Dairy, no eggs, no wheat, no nuts, no tree nuts, no shellfish, no seafood, no soy, no corn, no added salt, no added oil, no added sugar.
Also sometimes called Shawarma, the donair or gyro (technically all are different) is a tasty pita filled with sauces and, traditionally, meat. We’ll make our own soy-free tofu with lentils or beans/legumes and flavor it with some of the traditional spices for our meat.
Cholesterol & NCDs
“Most noncommunicable diseases are the result of four particular behaviours (tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and the harmful use of alcohol) that lead to four key metabolic/physiological changes (raised blood pressure, overweight/obesity, raised blood glucose and raised cholesterol).”
https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/noncommunicable-diseases-risk-factors
WARNING!
For anyone taking diabetes, heart medications, or with kidney disease.
This meal, and all of my other meals, the healthy ingredients can dramatically lower blood sugar and LDL (bad) cholesterol when taken with insulin or heart medications, like statins, so check with your doctor first if you are taking heart or diabetes medications.
People with kidney disease might also get more nutrients than their kidneys can process all at once, especially stages 3-5—consult with a healthcare professional if you’re unsure or afflicted with any of the above.
This meal is a complete protein
Nutrition Facts:
🔥 681 Calories 🧈 34.6g Fat - Saturated Fat: 4.2 g - Trans Fat: 0.0 g - Polyunsaturated Fat: 19.7 g - Monounsaturated Fat: 9.0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg 🧂 6mg Sodium 🌾 71.5g Carbs 🥬 24.4g Fiber - Sugars: 2.6 g 💪 28.4g Protein
🍌 326mg Potassium
🦴 258mg Calcium
🔩 9.9mg Iron
🧰 Equipment Needed
A seasoned (steel or cast iron) frying pan: https://youtu.be/watch?v=qXEt-fhyCis
A metal spatula (or similar flat flipping utensil)
A clean spice or coffee grinder
A bowl for mixing the pita batter then tzatziki
A knife to cut veggies
🥣 Ingredients
Makes 2 servings gyro tofu
🥙 Gyro/Donair/Shawarma Legume Tofu
¼ cup lentils/beans/peas
(you could also use edamame or tofu if you’re not allergic to soy, try other legumes/beans)I used brown lentils here. They work well with the gyro/Shawarma meat
½ tbsp garlic powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp cumin powder
½ tbsp paprika powder
optional: ⅛ tsp cayenne powder if you like it hot
Propper Seasoning for each:
for Donair tofu: ¼ tsp of cardamom, ⅛ tsp of cinnamon, red pepper flakes and/or cayenne power to add heat.
for Gyro tofu: replace 4 tbsp water with 2 tbsp white wine or other vinegar, and 1 tbsp lemon juice with 1 tbsp oregano. Omit the other spices to get a more authentic flavor.
for Shawarma tofu: remove turmeric (if you must!) and add ¼ tsp of coriander and cardamom.
Wet
1 cup water
🫓 Pita Batter
Makes 1 pita
Dry
¼ cup oats
2 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
½ tbsp garlic powder
⅛ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp mustard seed/powder
Wet
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp water
🥄 Optional Tzatziki Sauce
2 tbsp tahini or sunflower seed butter
2 tbsp oat flour
½ tsp dry dill
2+ tbsp minced/grated cucumber
1 tsp garlic powder and or minced garlic—I add both!
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4+ tbsp water
1+ tbsp lemon juice
🥗 Recommended Veggies & Additional Ideas
cucumber
tomato
red onion
parsley
(bell peppers)
(broccoli)
(avocado)
🔪Directions
Pick through the lentils to make sure there are no small stones or other debris and blend the lentils in your spice grinder—they are done when the spice grinder isn’t deafening you anymore. (If using beans then you will need to cook them first!)
Add the lentils to a pot with the water and cook on low heat until it starts to thicken up. Now add your spices, mix them well, and keep cooking on low for a minute or two longer
Note: if using a Blender then see this lentil tofu recipe by
for important tips! https://plantbasedplanet.substack.com/i/146044408/lentil-tofu
Place lentil tofu into a smooth container, like glass, (so it won’t stick) and let it set in the fridge for 5-10 minutes—if you reduced most of the liquid it should way take less time to none at all.
Blend your pita dry ingredients in your spice grinder, then add to a bowl with the wet pita ingredients.
Pour pita batter into your frying pan, spread it out with a spoon, and then cook on medium heat until the edges begin to lift from the pan on their own.
Flip your pita.
Mix your tzatziki sauce by adding tahini and liquids first then your garlic, cucumber, and dill.
Remove your lentil/bean/legume tofu from the fridge and dish. Slice and fry your lentil tofu.
Now assemble your gyro by putting a layer of tzatziki on your pita, then add your veggies and lentil tofu chicken, more tzatziki and fold it over.
You can cut it or just dig in as is. Warning: it’s messy, but in a really good way.
Enjoy!
🧂If you absolutely must add salt then try to add it to taste, and in small amounts, mostly to the cheese sauce. The same goes for other “less healthy” additions, but the idea should be to try to limit and eventually remove adding them, over time, when you are ready.
Suggest Sides
Broccoli or other cruciferous veggies
Please let me know how it turned out, any changes or additions you might have made, and any thoughts 💭 and feedback 📢 is most welcome!
🔬The Science
🧪 This section tells you all about the ingredients' scientific effects, from the latest medical research, and cites sources so you can investigate further.
Apple Cider Vinegar: “Triglycerides and total cholesterol levels decreased significantly at weeks 8 and 12, compared with week 0 (p<0.05). A dose of 15 mL of ACV for a duration of 12 weeks seems to be the most effective dose in reducing these three blood biochemical parameters.”
https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2024/01/18/bmjnph-2023-000823
Chia: “Such reports demonstrate that consumption of chia seeds can reduce levels of triglyceride and cholesterol,control good glycemic levels, help in weight loss, and lessen risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), obesity, lessening postprandial glucose excursion, and inflammation.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10844609/#:~:text=Such%20reports%20demonstrate%20that%20consumption,glucose%20excursion19%E2%80%9323%2Cand
Cumin: “Cumin powder reduced serum levels of fasting cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL and increased HDL. Weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass and its percentage significantly reduced. It has no effect on FBS and fat-free mass.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25456022/#:~:text=Results%3A%20Cumin%20powder%20reduced%20serum,FBS%20and%20fat-free%20mass."
Dill: “By using Dill, the mean level of cholesterol was reduced by 18%, and by using gemfibrozil, it was reduced by 9.41% (P < 0.05). Gemfibrozil and Dill has reduced triglyceride by 32.7% and 7.38%, respectively. Gemfibrozil has increased HDL by 3.91%, but Dill reduced it by 0.8%.
By using Dill, patients did not express any signs of adverse effects. However, 21.4% of patients who used gemfibrozil reported gastrointestinal complications.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235097/#:~:text=By%20using%20Dill%2C%20the%20mean,0.05)%20%5BTable%202%5D.
Flax Seeds: “In conclusion, flaxseed and pure SDG have significant lipid-lowering effects in animals and humans, while other components of flaxseed have variable and small effects.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7690987/
Garlic & Lemon: “Administration of garlic plus lemon juice resulted in an improvement in lipid levels, fibrinogen and blood pressure of patients with hyperlipidemia.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4977979/
Ginger: “Therefore, ginger could be considered as an effective lipid lowering nutraceuticals.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36786398/
Lentils: “We found that regular consumption of lentils lowered fasting LDL and total cholesterol levels as well as postprandial glucose, IL-17, and IL-1β responses.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38337705/
Oats: “Studies described herein have shown that, on average, oat consumption is associated with 5% and 7% reductions in total and LDL cholesterol levels, respectively. Significant scientific agreement continues to support a relationship between oat β-glucan and blood cholesterol levels, with newer data being consistent with earlier conclusions made by the FDA and JHCI.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21631511/
Onion: “In summary, supplementation of onion was beneficial to control dyslipidemia, including improving levels of HDL, LDL, and TC, but could not reduce TG level.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8269690/#:~:text=The%20pooled%20findings%20of%2010,while%20onion%20supplementation%20did%20not
Paprika: “Moreover, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased significantly in the paprika xanthophyll group, but not in the placebo group. No adverse effects were caused by intake of paprika xanthophyll capsules.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30111683/#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20total%20cholesterol%20and%20low,intake%20of%20paprika%20xanthophyll%20capsules.
Parsley: “Nonetheless, these findings indicate the potential application of parsley as a natural inhibitor of cholesterol and lipid oxidation in food systems such as omelets.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35651051/
Tahini: WARNING: this study was funded by the Sabra Dipping Company, LLC., so—although other evidence shows similar effects—this data is from a biased source and should be noted. “Tahini is also a good source of the antioxidant lignans sesamin and sesamol, both of which have a part in reducing cholesterol. Sesamin inhibits cholesterol absorption and synthesis [66], whereas sesamol improves macrophage cholesterol efflux.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7760696/#:~:text=Tahini%20is%20also%20a%20good,macrophage%20cholesterol%20efflux%20%5B67%5D.
Tomatoes: “In conclusion, raw tomato consumption (14 servings a week for 1 month) showed a favorable effect on HDL-C levels in overweight women.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735277/
If I’ve made any mistakes, or something doesn't make sense, or if you want more/less details, please let me know.
Please tell me how it turned out! Did you: try it, like it, hate it, change it, or do something else unexpected???
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This is such a fantastic recipe! and thanks for the mention! x