I did something cool last week! (This rarely happens.)

I saw a registered dietician. Our gym hired one and it was free to go once as an employee. Let’s call it market research.

She was super nice and only slightly judgmental as she looked over my food log from the previous week. Breakfast every day: Raisin Bran Crunch w/ skim milk and coffee. Lunch every day: PB&J and Greek yogurt.

“I get in spurts of eating the same thing too sometimes! How long have you been doing this? A few weeks?”

Uhh three years..

She was really awesome and gave me some suggestions for switching up my meals, balancing out my carbs and protein, and eating better to support my exercise habits. She also gave me some info about natural supplements that I could take instead of being on an NSAID regimen for my wrist ganglions. In other news, being on an NSAID regimen is not good for you, especially at 24.

So, in an effort to incorporate more protein into my diet without breaking the bank on filet mignon, I went with LENTILS. Super food.

Lentil Chickpea Burgers (makes about 8 burgers)

1 cup lentils (dry)

1 can chickpeas

2-3 scallions, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp horseradish

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or you can sub oats or oat flour to make these gluten free)

burger buns or sandwich thins

cheddar cheese

spinach leaves

So, I had never cooked lentils before. Actually I had only eaten them once- Mrs. Lee’s delicious lentil soup for good luck on New Year’s Eve like 6 years ago. I have a freakish memory.

Therefore I have no idea if this is the correct way to cook lentils but it’s how I did it for these recipe.

 

Day 1: I put one cup of dried green lentils into a pot with about 3 cups of water and brought it to a boil for about 2 minutes, then turned it off and drained the water. I did this the night before. I’m pretty sure this is the equivalent of soaking them overnight prior to cooking, so you can do that too.

Day 2: I put the lentils back in the pot and covered them over with chicken stock. You could easily use vegetable stock or water to make these vegetarian. I brought it to a boil and allowed it to continue cooking until the liquid was absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Lentils: complete. In keeping with the theme of being tedious, I also peeled most of the skins off of the chickpeas because when you’re smashing them the skins fall off anyway.

Combine the lentils, chickpeas, Greek yogurt, horseradish, seasonings, scallions, and flour until a loose dough forms. I refrigerated it at this point to help it firm up a little.

Pan fry in vegetable oil, and top with spinach, onions, cheese- whatever you want.

I may not have switched up my lunch routine, but I bought new cereal and created these babies all on my own. Making strides, eating protein.