I’ve been away for a while: I got on a plane after 2.5 years and visited my family. I also decided to be away from the internet as much as possible. I only posted random stuff on Facebook and Instagram. Now I’m back on the blog as the holiday still continues. And here is the first recipe after the break.

In the meantime, a couple of weeks ago, I had a complete check-up and received 1 alarming and 2 concerning results. The alarming one is the severe B12 deficiency. As a vegetarian, I should have had a B12 supplement, but I didn’t because I’m an idiot. So now I’m on an intense treatment for that.

The concerning results are high cholesterol and pre-diabetes, and I had none of these issues. Luckily, the levels are not too bad for now. I can still turn it all around by eating healthy and exercising regularly. I used to do all that until 2020. However, the situation with covid, losing most of my income and other stresses covid brought made me give up on many things, including healthy eating. But no more.

And so, since last week, I started to get back to eating healthy and doing sports. I go to the gym and swim in turns to exercise daily. I also prepare dishes at the beginning of the week. This way, when I’m hungry or when it’s time to eat, I don’t wonder what to do, and I don’t end up eating junk.

This chickpea and lentil salad is one of the dishes for this week. It’s pretty easy to prepare and can last a long time. Lentils and chickpeas are high in protein and fibre, among other things. As I did this for the whole week, I made a big batch. Feel free to divide all the measurements in half for a smaller portion. Enjoy!
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Ingredients:

Difficulty: Easy
(serves 8-10)*

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cans chickpeas, drained (4×230 gr net weight)
2 tbsp ground paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp salt plus more to taste in the end
3 dl + 5 tbsp (or 1 1/2 cups)(dry measurement) beluga lentils, cooked for 30 minutes in a pot with water three times the lentil measurement, then drained after cooking
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (90 gr grated measurement)
1 red bell pepper, diced (100 gr final measurement)
1/2 cucumber, diced (145 gr final measurement)
a handful of fresh basil, chopped
a handful of fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp kalamata olive oil (or another olive oil you like)
juice of 1 lemon

*You can divide all the measurements in half for a smaller portion.
Note: I’m using the conversion chart in this link for the measurements.

1. In a large pan, put the first 7 ingredients above on medium-high heat. Stir-fry the chickpeas for a few minutes until all the pieces are covered with spices and oil. Take away from the heat when ready. You don’t need to keep the chickpeas on the heat for too long as they are already cooked.

2. Put cooked lentils and spiced chickpeas in a large salad bowl and mix well.

3. Add carrots, bell pepper, cucumber and fresh herbs and mix well.

4. Add kalamata (or another type) olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well. That’s it! Enjoy!