“Saskatchewan is the world’s largest exporter of green lentils and the world’s second largest producer” (http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/lentil): that is just one of the reasons I like them. They have a subtle flavour, are inexpensive (less than $1 a can!), only 170 calories per cup, and are a good source of vegetable protein, making them a very appealing food.
I am a big fan of mom blogger Catherine McCord (read her blog at http://www.weelicious.com) and the recipes she shares on her site. The latest one I have tried is called Cranberry Lentil Salad (http://weelicious.com/2010/01/19/cranberry-lentil-salad/). One look at her recipe will tell you exactly where mine is derived from. I have made only a few changes to her master recipe to suit my tastes, the most notable being making the salad bigger so that I could use a whole can of lentils and enjoy about 5 days worth of lunches from it. This recipe suits all kinds of diets, including low cholesterol, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and can be made nut free by substituting shelled, raw pumpkin seeds for walnuts. My recipe makes 5 meal sized salads.
1-19 oz. can lentils, drained and rinsed
1cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
salt to taste
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (or shelled, raw pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
15 cups tender salad greens or spinach leaves
1. Mix all of the ingredients, except the salad greens/spinach leaves together in a medium-sized bowl.
2. To make an individual salad, serve 1 cup of lentil salad over 3 loosely packed cups of tender salad greens or spinach leaves.
Morsels Minus 