Angela over at Oh She Glows (
http://ohsheglows.com/) is an amazing inspiration to me and I often cruise her site to get new ideas for meals to make. I often tend to us a recipe as a base and then throw in whatever ingredients I have on hand. My fridge is usually stocked with a number of things and I don't like going out often to get one or two things that are missing so I just substitute if I can and turn it into something like the recipe. Of course there are some ingredients, such as the tahini in this recipe, that you would not want to substitute. Please note if you haven't already that I am not aiming to take glorious photos like Angela or most other bloggers for that matter. I take the photos as I go very quickly and I am happy if I have the time to post at all. Maybe some day I will have the time to take better photos :)
The spring mix from Whole Foods on Cambie, in Vancouver is totally worth it. It stays fresh for a while unlike the spring mix from Costco which goes bad in a matter of days.
I have an INCREDIBLE rice cooker and if you cook a lot of grains I would highly encourage you to look into the Japanese rice cookers with the fuzzy logic technology. Sounds strange but it has to do with having an intuitive nature to it that cooks whatever you throw into it with perfection. I throw in red rice, lentils, brown rice all together sometimes as I did with this recipe (on the brown rice setting) or I add quinoa and it ALWAYS cooks it to perfection. Measure, add water to the line, press button- cue starting song. Stays warm for over 12 hours! I have a Zojurushi and it is the most used appliance in my kitchen, hands down.
I wish I'd had the red pepper but I used swiss chard, snap peas and cherry tomatoes instead.
Ta da!!!
Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils (yield 2 & 3/4 cups cooked)
- 1 cup uncooked speltberries (yield 2 cups cooked) OR grain of choice, like brown rice
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil, for sautéing
- 1/2 red onion (~1 & 1/3 cups), chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 3 cups spinach or kale, roughly chopped (I used Lacinato kale)
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 1 batch of Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing (recipe below)
- Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
- Lemon Wedges & lemon zest, to garnish
1. Cook lentils and speltberries (or grain of choice) according to package directions. I did this the night before to save time. Drain and set aside.
2. Prepare the Lightened Up tahini-Lemon dressing in food processor (see below for recipe).
3. In a large skillet over low-medium heat, add your olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, being careful not to burn. Now add in the chopped red pepper and tomato and sauté for another 7-8 minutes.
4. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach and sauté for another few minutes, just until tender. Stir in the full batch of tahini-Lemon dressing, the cooked & drained grains and lentils, and simmer on low for another few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with lemon wedges and zest. Makes 6 cups.
Once you cook your desired grains and make the dressing, you simply sauté some vegetables of your choice until tender.
Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing
Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Tahini
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste
- 2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 tbsp water, or as needed
Directions:
1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth. Makes just under 1 cup.
I only had a half a lemon so I squeezed in a few tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate and water because I thought the lemon amount was too much any way for me and because I didn't have the lemons :). I happened to have the nutritional yeast and I think it gives it a nice nutty flavor. If you don't have it you could through in some chickpeas maybe to round out the flavour. You can find the yeast in the bulk section. Good to give added nutritional value to meals.
Angela's lovely photos.
Yesterday, I added Lacinato Kale instead of spinach and I loved it! It’s less bitter than regular kale.
Mix in your grains and dressing.
When it’s all cooked, remove from heat and stir in the minced Parsley for another kick of fresh flavour.
Taste test… Uncontrollably!
Serve with a lemon wedge and zest and you have yourself a protein and fibre packed dinner! It’s creamy & comforting, with a tangy kick that is just irresistible.
This will definitely be my go-to version of this salad from now on. We didn’t miss the 6 tablespoons of oil at all.
