Brown rice Quinoa and Lentil Salad

I always find it oddly ironic that when life gets busy and our bodies are put under more pressure and stress, the first thing that is shuffled to the bottom of the priority list is our mental and physical wellbeing.  When you have left that urgent report until the night before, the concept of taking time to prepare a nourishing meal or making sure you drink your daily litre of water seems impossible, especially when the 2 minute noodles are calling your name.

“A man who is too busy for health will one day find time for illness” It’s during these busy times where there aren’t enough hours in the day that I find this quote especially important in reminding me that taking time for your body is not a waste, but an investment into your wellbeing. If you didn’t have the time to fill up on gas and instead used water for your car, you wouldn’t expect it to run for very long, so why do we treat our bodies that way?

Wholesome and fast aren’t two words that many people would think could co-exist, the problem being that so many people think that the only way to have a diet full of healthy food is if you have hours of free time to spend in the kitchen. Balancing scholarship subjects, school, teaching dance, fitness and various other commitments, it’s important for me to have lots of little recipes on hand which are quick to make, easy to eat on the go and taste delicious.

This recipe was a bit of a happy accident, as after getting home late I grabbed whatever was left in the cupboard, lazily threw it together and created something a little bit delicious. With ingredients like lentils, kale, kumara and quinoa its packed full of fiber, protein, anti-oxidants, foliate, and an alphabet of Vitamins like A, B, C, E, K! Plus the use of packet rice/quinoa and tinned lentils and legumes, means the only culinary skills required is knowing how to work your microwave and use the can opener, wiiiiiin.  

My original dinner that literally took 2 minutes to prepare and plate only included the microwave brown rice + Quinoa, tinned lentils/chickpeas and spinach. Although I’ve found it to be especially delicious with the addition of roast vegetables, so I’ve included them in the recipe.

As per usual it’s totally up to interpretation, so feel free to sub in whatever you have kicking around the cupboards, like boiled beetroot or pan fried mushrooms mmmmmmm

Ingredients (Serves 2)

-1 packet 90 second Brown Rice + Quinoa (or 3 C stove cook rice/quinoa)

- 2 Kumara

- ¼ Pumpkin

- 1/2 can of Curried Chickpeas (I love Delmaine but Wattie's is another great brand)

- 1/2 can Freshwater Lentils

- 2 C Leafy Green vegetables (spinach/rocket/kale)

- 1/2 Avocado

1.     Wash, and cut root vegetables into small even chunks (the smaller you cut them, the faster they will cook) season with coconut oil and paprika

2.     Place vegetables onto an aluminum foil covered tray and bake at 180 for 30 minutes or until soft inside and crunchy outside, then remove to cool

3.     Cook rice packet in the microwave for 90 seconds

4.     Pour the curried chickpeas, fresh lentils and chopped spinach/rocket over the rice and mirowave again to heat

5.     Top with ¼  of a fresh avocado and serve

6.     Immediately go back to the fridge and retrieve the other ¾ of the avocado and shamelessly add it all to the meal, because asdfghj avocado <3

This cheap and easy recipe is not only perfect as a quick and delicious dinner, but also works great to be made in bulk on a Sunday and portioned into little containers for a lunch/dinner go-to during the week!

Happy Monday Ya'll