Category Archives: lentils and rice

To bagel or not?

Woke up around 6 am this morning, hearing Pixie playing out in the hallway.  I think I dozed for a while and maybe slept more?  Not sure if the balance bar I had later on in the evening mattered or not as far as helping me sleep better.  Need to keep experimenting.

Regular readers know that Sunday is normally bagel day.  I had a bagel yesterday, so I was unsure if I was going to have one or not today.  We went out to Ridge St, where I decided on a bowl of oatmeal, since it was cloudy and snowy:

I definitely like the nana cooked into the oats rather than on top.

Then we hit up the grocery store.  Our fridge was pretty much cleared out of food!

That looks better.

Need to control the eating today.  All this fresh food makes me want to eat!  Especially with a slow work day.

Lunch break was a egg/egg white wrap with laughing cow cheese.  Lots of protein, lots of fiber (smart carb wrap), and lots of flavor!

I am going to try 1 new Indian recipe each week for January and here is this week’s try! Dinner experiment:  Lentil Dal.

I cooked up 2 servings of lentils in about 2 cups of water with 1/2 a cinnamon stick and a bay leaf until they were very soft.  Mashed those and transferred to a bowl.  In the same pot, I added 2 tsp of coconut oil and pan fried 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric,1/4 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper, and 1/4 of a finely minced onion.  Cooked those for a couple minutes and then added back the lentils and mixed thoroughly.  Served along side brown rice (which John cooked yesterday).  It was quite good.  I have more for tomorrow! 🙂

Regarding the google analytics from my keyword post earlier – to use this, just go to http://google.com/analytics and sign up for a google account (if you don’t have one).  Then add your website and give it a day to start tracking.  It’s pretty neat.

Tomorrow starts a new set of lifting moves tomorrow for the month of January, which I will be working on tonight.  Planned snack for later is a balance bar.  My new sleeping pill 😛

Pixie has been sleeping all day, guess she doesn’t care that she woke me up!  I woke her up for a picture and she looks totally annoyed:

Question: Do you eat Indian food?

The Great Vegetable Experiment: Lentils


Are lentils vegetables? Not really sure, but close enough for me!

I was going to make a dahl, but decided instead to have lentils with rice for a complete protein meal.
I heated 2 tsp of coconut oil in the pressure cooker, then sauteed some cumin and black mustard seeds. If you have never fried your spices, you should try it, they are delicious! Then I added some pureed frozen onions and cooked for a few minutes. I added 1/2 cup green lentils and water, then pressure cooked for 6 minutes. Most of the liquid had dried up inside, so maybe next time I would do a bit more.
Then tossed on top of 1 serving of brown rice. This lentil recipe made 2 servings.
On the side is roasted winter mix with curry seasoning.
This was quite a tasty dish.

The wheat berry trek was successful this morning! Not only did I find wheat berries, but spelt berries, too! I cooked some up to add to oatmeal tomorrow.
And the store had some packets of brown rice protein powder. I don’t like how the whey protein is working out in some of my recipes (oatmeal is the biggie), and I don’t want to go back to soy. Rice protein has more protein than whey per serving, but I have seen mixed reviews on the taste. This store had individual packets of brown rice protein powder, so I can give it a try without having to purchase a big can. Another review will be coming up this week!

C25K Week 9 Day 2

There was a break in the weather, so I decided to do a C25K workout. Again a 30 minute jog. It was really, really humid. Yuck! I was sweating like crazy. The humidity makes it difficult to breathe. Wasn’t sure I was gong to make it, but I did. I can see jogging in the evenings later this summer won’t be as enjoyable as it has been during the spring!

Made a yummy dinner:
Egyptian rice and lentils
* 1 cup brown lentils
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 cup brown rice
* 5-6 cups water or homemade vegetable stock or chicken stock

Cooked in a crock pot all day. Really good stats – a serving is a generous cup.
Calories 211 Calories from Fat 36
Total Fat 4g 6%
Sodium 681mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 14%
Dietary Fiber 11g 44%
Protein 12g

Today’s stats:
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,396 • Burned: 323
Net calories: 1,073

C/P/F ratio: 53/24/23