Recipes - Lentil Salad

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately but was eating the same thing every single day.  No exaggeration.  So after two weeks, instead of giving up, I decided to get creative and throw together a simple yet delicious salad.  It tastes so amazing and could easily be served as a side dish for grilled meat or chicken or be like me and enjoy it as a filling, low calorie lunch.

Ingredients

1 x 400g tin lentils, drained and rinsed

150g low fat fetta, cubed

2 tomatoes, diced

1 lebanese cucumber, diced

1 red capsicum, finely diced

1/2 spanish onion, finely diced

1/4 cup coriander or parsley, roughly chopped

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper, to season

Step 1 - Combine all ingredients in a bowl, season well with pepper and lightly with salt.   Fold gently and serve. 

Did you know?

Kopi Luwak is the worlds most expensive coffee, retailing at around $600/pound for farmed and up to $3000/pound for wild.

The reason it is so expensive is because the Asian Palm Civet eats the coffee cherry and after the digestive process the coffee beans come out whole.  They are then cleaned, dried roasted and brewed to produce what some believe is the finest tasting coffee in the world. 

I love coffee, but not sure I would be game to try it.  

Top 5 - Vegetarian Meals

I love red meat and white meat and seafood and could never remove this food group from my diet but I do not have to eat meat with every meal, every day.  Vegetarian dishes can be exciting, tasty, versitile and enjoyed by everyone, vegetarians and carnivores alike.  It was hard to narrow this list down to just 5 as there are so many delicious vegetarian meals, but after much deliberation, here is my pick of top 5 for vegetarian meals.

• Cheese and Spinach Pie
• Triple P Pizza
• Roast Vegetable Stack
• Lentil Korma Burger
• Ravjul

Recipes - Onion Bhaji

I am a huge lover of Indian food and I am a huge lover of entertaining/finger food type food.  This recipe ticks both of those boxes.  It's also flavoursome, pretty easy to make and incredibly cost effective.  I completely fell in love with these and can see myself making them all the time, they're just that good!

Ingredients

4 small/medium onions, peeled, halved and sliced

1 1/2 cups besan flour 

1 tsp garam marsala

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground corrainder seeds

1/4 tsp ground chilli powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger
water
olive oil, for frying
raita, to serve

Step 1 - Place onion, besan flour and spices in a large bowl and use your finger to toss until combined.  Add water, starting with about half a cup and stir with a spoon until combined to create a thick batter.  Add more water, little by little if needed. 
Step 2 - Heat a good layer of olive oil in a frying pan and heat until oil just starts to "shimmer" with heat.  Drop tablespoonfuls of the mix into the oil and cook for 2-3 mnutes each side until golden, flip and repeat.
Step 3 - Drain on paper towel and repeat with remaining mixture adding more oil in between batched if necessary.  Serve warm with raita on the side.  

Notes:

Besan flour is made from ground chickpeas.  It is gluten free and available from select supermarkets and most health food stores.


Raita can be made by mixing natural yoghurt with chopped mint and finely diced cucumber and season with a little salt.

Quotes

"Never work before breakfast.  If you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first."

- Josh Billings