As I was eating my delicious meal, I thought to myself "this is my next recipe for the blog!"
Ingredients:
- small onion, chopped
- garlic, 3 cloves chopped
- 1 1/2 cups lentils (I used red lentils this time round)
- 1/2 cup barley
- 24 oz salsa
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 3 tablespoons flax seed
- spice suggestions: cayenne pepper, cinnamon, black pepper, paprika...all to your taste
** feel free to top this dish with sunflower seeds...totally what I am going to do next time!
Directions:
1. sauté onion in olive oil
2. add garlic, and sauté that a bit too
3. add the rest of the ingredients into the onion/garlic, and give it a good stir
4. cook on medium heat until the lentil and barley is soft, which is about 45 minutes or so.
Make sure to stir often enough so the bottom does burn. So, it takes 45 minutes to prepare...but, the prep time was so minimal that is why I consider this a minute meal.
Friends, making this nutrient packed dinner takes hardly any time so there is no excuse for not trying this. And yes, both my kids ate it up!
*****
Let's talk lentils. Here is a link to the lentil write up on my favorite nutrition site, world's healthiest foods. These little guys are quite powerful. The do everything from lower cholesterol to fill you with tons of fiber (insoluble and soluble!) to making your heart healthy. Not to mention, certain types of lentils have a good amount in iron in them.
Don't be afraid of the lentil. They are very easy to prepare, and they pick up the flavor of what you are cooking with. They are as easy to prepare as rice, and are loaded with good-for-you stuff.
As for the barley, that is good for you too! Barley also has a ton of fiber. Plus, it gives this dish a bit of a bounce with each chew, so that makes it a bit interesting.
Smacznego!
Hi Joanna! I just stumbled on your other blog while reading your post about your husband training for his 3rd marathon. I'm a marathoner dating a pilot so I'm on the flip side of that =) This recipe looks amazing and I wanted to reach out - my pilot boyfriend and I recently moved in together and have been having a hard time shopping and trying to make healthy meals that will last on a 4-day trip. Any advice for some recipes you make? Or do you let him handle his own food when he's away =)
ReplyDeleteHi Christy! You know, I let him handle his own food when he is away. At this point in the game, he will take a good stash of fruit with him (apples, oranges, and grapefruits) and everything else he buys. Subway is his go-to at airports, and if time allows he will eat at a restaurant during a layover (along with a couple beers :) )
DeleteWhen money needed to be watched he would pack a ton of peanut butter sandwiches. He would also take a lots of $1 Big Lot meals (like soup/noodles in a cup and microwave beef stroganoff type stuff.)
I did try to find stuff that was healthy that he could take, and I really wasn't able to come up with anything.
Way to go on your marathon running!
Thanks! That's exactly what we do! Rice is a good staple that isn't terrible cold, but it's so tough for him to be able to pack meals for 4 days at a time! If he's going to a hotel where he's stayed before, he'll bring some salads it he knows they'll have a fridge, but other than that, it's tough! Glad to be following though =)
ReplyDeleteHave your tried Quinoa? It could very much stay for days without refrigeration. It is so nutritional rich, much more than rice, and has high protein. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice
DeleteGlad to have you following!