Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Reading, Eating, Watching and Planning
{Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad}

What a week! Last week my poor husband was stricken with a horrible stomach virus, our exercise was off due to illness and heavy rains and I gained some weight back. Bah! But, this week sees much improvement in all areas of our quiet life. We have been listening to music, watched a few movies and started new books.


Reading... I finished All the Colors of Darkness (#18 in the DCI Banks series) and The Girl in the Castle. Doug finished Lee Child’s latest novel, Night School. Currently we are reading A Yorkshire Christmas by Kate Hewitt and Abandon by Blake Crouch.

nightschool  I also browsed through the Outlander Kitchen by Theresa Carle-Sanders and enjoyed all the stories as well as the recipes. That is scheduled over at Novel Meals this week.

Watching……Christmas movies! My favorite of all times is It’s a Wonderful Life. We also watched Love Actually, Bad Santa (yeah, I know), and were only disappointed by one movie, Independence Day: Resurgence. They shouldn’t have done a second movie, in my opinion.

  georgebailey1

Exercising…continuing to walk roughly 6 miles per day, with the exception of last week. Feeling good and eating well. Doug has lost almost 20 pounds and I’ve lost 12.

Planning…..As I have the past few years I have linked up with the British Book Challenge and new one called 2017 Month Motif hosted at Girl.xoxo Also in the plan for this month is a full cleaning out of the downstairs closet. That will be a chore.


Eating…… We’ve had some good meals such as Mushroom, Zucchini & Black Bean Enchiladas, Cassoulet and seafood.

One good recipe I would like to share with Deb’s Souper Sunday series is this Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad.

lentil
 (Not my photo, the one I took at work isn't this pretty)

 It’s so easy I can put it together in the morning to take to work. Canned lentils are always in the pantry and we usually have sweet potatoes so – winner!


Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad 

Ingredients 

A large sweet potato
Half a large red onion (I say half because I have never ever seen a small red onion)
8 oz Brussel sprouts or a large handful of spinach
1 tsp honey
1 cup cooked lentils
Feta cheese
Olive oil

lentilcook
 
Directions 

Peel the sweet potato and cut into slices or ½ inch cubes. This will help them roast quickly. Combine the sweet potato with Herbes de Provence, 1 tsp. of honey, salt and pepper and a large drizzle of olive oil.
Once this is mixed up cook the potatoes in a 425 F oven for about 15 minutes. OR use a lower temperature if you aren’t in a hurry for the cook time.

 I used canned lentils, the Goya brand. If you aren’t using canned follow these directions: To cook lentils drizzle olive oil in a pot, add the red onion, and cook about 5 minutes. Add lentils, stock and enough water to cover lentils by an inch.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cook about 15 or 20 minutes. Drain cooked lentils, add salt to your taste, and return to pot. Add Brussel sprouts or spinach (I used spinach) and cook until done. Maybe 5 minutes.

The sweet potatoes should be cooked by now. You are going to mix all this up together and top with feta cheese.

Linking up to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday and with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.
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SouperSundays





14 comments:

  1. I LOVE It's a Wonderful Life!! It and the Grinch are my absolute favorite Christmas movies. I think this time of year is impossible to stay on track exercise-wise with all the chaos and then with your husband's illness that makes it extra hard. Right now I'm trying to remind myself to just do my best and I'll worry about the rest in January. I'm curious about Outlander Kitchen. I haven't actually read the books but I'm still intrigued by the food!

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  2. The salad sounds so good. I used lentils for salads a great deal this summer, adding dressings and herbs whilst they were still warm so that they got 'inhaled' by the lentils - delicious. Hope you continue to enjoy the walking.

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  3. That sweet potato lentil salad looks awesome! And those enchiladas are still on my list ... maybe this coming week.

    Yay on the exercise. My daily walk (not counting general walking around) is only about 2 miles and this time of year it gets pretty hard to be outside (we're currently having an ice storm). And I find the treadmill to be boring. But, still, gotta get moving.

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  4. Lentils and sweet potatoes, together or separately, make wonderful cold-weather dishes. Adding feta cheese is a winner!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  5. John is busy reading Jack Reacher, he stocked up before we left.

    I have had two good books in a row, The Mandibles and We Are Not Ourselves.

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  6. P.S. movie wise we have worked through the 7 Harry Potter movies for our visit to Universal last week.

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  7. I am so impressed with your 6 miles a day walking and commitment to healthier eating and you always get back on track even if you get off. Great job.

    The salad looks delicious. I love lentils in salads. Such a good way to add protein and fiber. I love the combination of ingredients and of course feta makes everything even better.;-) Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays this week.

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  8. Looks like a nice hearty salad. I do love lentils!

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  9. I've watched more Christmas movies this year than I have all years before combined.

    I love that Doug loves to read too!

    That salad sounds/looks so good!

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  10. Salad looks wonderful, and it gives me another lentil salad to make this winter. I think it is time for some Christmas movies in our house.

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  11. Thank you all for such nice comments! I hope, no....I know, our walking and exercise will continue in the new year. I plan to keep up with the healthy meal plans as it seems to have worked for weight loss and the fact that we feel better.

    I am getting Christmased-out (is that a word?) on the movies and music but we only have a week left!

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  13. That looks like a great lunch! I haven't started watching holiday movies yet, but it's a Wonderful Life is always top on my list.

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  14. Pam you just can't go wrong with a dose of George Bailey!

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