Thank you for everyone’s really nice comments on my Thanksgiving post. Once again, I gained comfort and insight from our great blog community. If there is one lesson that I’ve learned from working on my mental and emotional health, it has been to experience my emotions and think about how I’m feeling instead of covering them up with unhealthy behaviors like overeating or whatever the compulsive behavior of choice is. I know it sounds hard, and it often is, but the freedom gained is worth it.
I had some leftover lentils from my Baked Lentil Collard Wraps so I made them into a salad. I also had extra brown rice from another dish so I used that, too. I’ve made this salad before, but not without an oil-based dressing. This type of salad is so easy to prepare yet tastes so gourmet! I honestly didn’t miss the oil and the avocado and nuts give it a boost of healthy fat.
After mixing the lentils and rice together, I just added “the goodies” including: chopped onions, bell pepper, cucumber, garlic, ground black pepper and mint. I topped the salad with avocado, dried cranberries, mint and pistachios. The dressing was lemon juice…that’s it!
Lemony Brown Rice & Lentil Salad – Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
2 cups each cooked lentils and brown rice
1/2 large onion, minced
1 medium cucumber, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced very finely or pushed through a garlic press
juice of 2 lemons
ground pepper, to taste
1 avocado, divided into 4 servings
1/2 cup apple-juice sweetened dried cranberries (Eden Organics makes a version), divided into 4 servings
1/4 cup unsalted pistachios, divided into 4 servings
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir. Pour lemon juice on top and stir again. Top with avocado, cranberries and pistachios. Enjoy at room temperature or cold.
I keep forgetting to announce the winner of my Lollihop giveaway! It was Amanda from Hungry Vegan Traveler. Congrats Amanda! If you didn’t win and want to order a box, the kind folks at Lollihop created a coupon code for the first 50 readers. The code is CARRIEONVEGAN20 and it will get you 20% off any gift subscriptions.
Also, remember when I revealed my new secret ingredient in my Anti-Cancer Green Breakfast Smoothie? Hint: it was frozen broccoli. I have another one!
Oh yes I did!
Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. It’s really good, the bok choy is so mild I couldn’t even taste it, even with my sensitive super-taster taste buds.
If you like my blog, there is more of me to go around. Follow me on Twitter here, Facebook here or on Instagr.am (my profile is carrieonvegan).
I’m nearing the end of the semester and my LAST SCIENCE CLASS EVER (1.5 years left of nutrition and public health classes only)!!! My last lab for Microbiology is to swab surfaces around the house to test for microbes. I’m thinking about including my yoga mat, iPhone, water bottle, steering wheel and placemat. Any other suggestions? I’ll post my results!
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I’m taking my next to last science class this semester. I take microbiology in the spring and then I’m finished (with science)! Congratulations! Right now I’m in a condensed anatomy and physiology I and II and it is KILLER. So ready for the break!
That salad looks awesome! Love the addition of cranberries and pistachios.
Thanks Sara! Congrats to you too on your A&P, that’s a hard one!
My favorite bok choy smoothie–but for summer, when locally-grown bok choy is available:
bok choy (to fill Vitamix)
frozen pineapple (handful)
frozen mango (handful)
1 banana
3 dates
1 cup soy milk
1 T. ground flax seeds
Thanks Susan, your recipe isn’t that different than mine. I love it!
I noticed your from slo! I’m on the central coast too! Thought I would say hi, and I will be keeping up with your blog now:)
Thanks Marian, I’ll check yours out too!
That salad looks soooooo good! I can’t wait to try my own version of it. And I never thought of using bok choy in my smoothie–I like to mix it up with my greens. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks Joy! Let me know if you try using the bok choy in a smoothie, I love it.
The salad looks fantastic! Can’t beat a warm salad in the winter. Swab light switches and the toilet flusher!
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for the comment! Agreed, I find a warm salad really comforting when it’s cold outside. I like your suggestions for my microbio lab, I’ll post my results next week. Scary!
I know this post is from a while ago but we just tried this recipe and it is SO YUMMY! It’s made the “must have” list of recipes each week. Crunchy, chewy, sweet, tangy all at once!
Yay, thank you sooo much for the comment, Devon! I was just having a weird moment where I was feeling insecure about my recipes and you seriously just made my day.
Hi Carrie! I love your site, and your recipes. Thanks for all the great content!
Just wanted to let you know that I noticed a BlueFly ad, advertising leather belts on this page. Thought you would want to know
Cheers,
Alexis
Hi Alexis! Thank you so much for the heads up. I just changed to a new ad company and I’ve e-mailed my contact to let him know about the leather ad. If we can’t work it out, I’ll switch companies. I very much appreciate you letting me know; that’s not cool with me.
Of course! Can’t wait to try this recipe, btw!
Looks so delish!! Have a question as a fellow vegetarian…..what are your thoughts on all the bad press for brown rice. Am torn because my family and I eat a lot of brown rice, i use brown rice syrup at times to sweeten my kids baked goods or puddings. They love rice noodles, cereal, cakes, teh works. Curious what others think of arsenic issue in brown rice.
Sarah
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the comment. This is a great question concerning the arsenic levels in brown rice. To be honest, since the report came out, I have been cutting back on my rice consumption and trying to alternate more whole grains like quinoa, amaranth, wild rice, buckwheat, oats, etc. I am definitely concerned about the arsenic contamination.
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