Lentil & Chickpea Salad

Well, hello. Remember me? I'm the sassy little vegan that sometimes posts really, really delicious recipes here on this blog. Not ringing any bells? That's probably because I've been AWOL for the last three months. But I'm going to start making it up to you just as soon as the fall term ends in October...maybe I'll throw in a few in the meantime if you're extra nice.

To reward you for your patience, I'm going to post about one of my new little salad friends, but first a little background. So, I've been trying to get back into shape after letting my body go for, oh, let's say a decade. Now, I'm almost 40 so I'm not expecting any miracles here, but in my vain pursuit to look 28 again I started a rigorous workout program (Insanity and Asylum, anyone heard of these?). Since June, I've been able to build up quite a bit of muscle, I lost a couple inches here and there, and feel fit as fiddle. However...HOWEVER, I still have this nasty blob of Jello bolted to my stomach. I tried to sweat it out. I tried to starve it out. I stopped giving it booze (mostly). I begged it to leave. Even offered it some money and a plane ticket to the Bahamas. Nothing. It's sitting here right now looking up at me and giving me the finger.

So, I decided to try something new. A sort of "clean eating" type of diet, that involves focusing on the nutrient-density of foods, explained in a two-book set called Eat For Health . The basic gist of it is this: eat low-fat (no more than 1 tbs. of oil per day), eat primarily plant-based foods - especially vegetables - (don't worry, he helps you to wean off the animal products), eat a lot of raw, whole foods - nothing processed (no bread, pasta, etc.), stop using salt (worry not, there are lots of salt replacements out there), and stop eating sugar. WHAT?!?!?! The good news is that he encourages you to eat an ounce of nuts or seeds every day and the book is filled with some terrifically yummy recipes that are very simple to prepare, beautiful to look at and super, SUPER good for you. I know what some of you are thinking, "But I'm already a vegan, that's healthy enough." I'm inclined to agree with you, but if you're looking to push it a little farther and you're like me in that you don't have the cojones to go entirely raw, then maybe you'd like to take a little look-see into this style of eating. BTW, I'm not crazy enough to live like this every day, or anything. You'll still see me posting plenty of decadent vegan dishes in the coming weeks/months.

This recipe is not from the books, but I've figured out how to apply a lot of the principles to other dishes. Here's a yummy one that won't let you down, I promise!

Lentil & Chickpea Salad - Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup dry lentils
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
2 tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, chopped
2 minced hot green chile peppers, seeded unless you like it REALLY spicy
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
juice of 1 lime (give or take, I probably used only 2/3)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I always cheat and use carrot tops 'cause they're always around)
2 teaspoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or other salt replacer)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
lots and lots of fresh, ground pepper

1. Place lentils and broth in a pot. Bring water to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water to cool.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine cooked lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, green onions, peppers, lime juice, olive oil, parsley, and seasonings. Toss well. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve chilled.