Love Them Lentils

Lentils... not just for soup anymore.  And on this super fabulous Meatless Monday I have two, two, lentil recipes for you. 

I was really intrigued when I heard about lentil salad.  I love egg salad, and I used to eat the heck out of some chicken salad, so I thought I'd give lentil salad a go. 

Lentils have a very distinctive taste.  They taste... earthy.  Is that the right word?  I think it is.  So, you have to be into that kind of thing to enjoy this salad. 

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry brown lentils
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

• In a saucepan combine lentils, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme.  Add enough water to cover by 1 inch.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy.
• Drain lentils and vegetables and remove bay leaf.  Add olive oil, lemon juice, celery, parsley, salt and pepper.  Toss to mix and serve at room temperature.

This super versatile salad can be eaten on its own, mixed with a green salad, or my fave, stuffed inside a pita... topped with feta and pumpkin seeds.  Bonus: it travels well for lunch!

So there I was, icing my knees after my 20-miler (!!!) on Saturday, watching some Cooking Channel.  How awesome is the Cooking Channel?  It's like all these fun shows that probably aren't popular enough to show on the Food Network.  But they are so fun! 

The show that happened to be on while I was icing was Spice Goddess.  And what was she making?  Lentil Cookies!  My post-long-run-appetite was kicking in and I immediately decided to try these out.  I mean, who has ever heard of lentil cookies???

Bal's Lentil Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mixed lentils
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup quick rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds (I used a combo of 1/2 cup chopped almonds and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts)
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds (I used 1/3 cup each of pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

• Cook lentils in boiling water for 35 minutes (I only cooked mine for 20 minutes).  Strain the lentils and crush with a fork.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet or line a cookie sheet with parchment.
• In a bowl, cream the crushed cooked lentils, butter, and brown sugar together and then add the egg and blend.  Add the flour, baking soda, and vanilla.  Stir in the oats, nuts, seeds, and chocolate chips and mix well.
• Drop the cookies by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten.  Bake the cookies for 13 to 18 minutes and allow to cool on a baking rack.

Yes, they sound a little funny, but these cookies are actually really tasty.  They are full of nuts and seeds, so they remind me a bit of a trailmix cookie.  You can't even tell there are lentils in there except that they are so filling.  Fiber, right?

Nutty and seedy.

Especially for us non-meat-eaters, it is really important to eat a variety of foods.  Nuts and seeds are a great source of nutrition, including non-animal protein.  So I like to think of these cookies as a healthy part of my diet... despite all the butter, sugar, and chocolate chips. :)

Oh, and Drew loves these too!  See?  Man food.

Happy {meatless} Monday!