"I never regret it when I do it, but I always regret when I don't."
This morning I woke up at about 5am and could not get back to sleep. I was thinking of how great I felt after a quick 30 minutes of cardio on Saturday and debated whether or not to get out of bed for the treadmill. That's when this quote I saw on Pinterest popped in my head. I knew I had a long day ahead of me, but I also know exercising gives you energy so I stumbled out of bed, laced up my sneakers, and headed to the gym at the bottom of my building. By the time I got down there it was already 5:20 and I knew I could only workout for 30 minutes. I used to workout all the time, but have gone about 2 years without stepping foot in the gym, so my first time back on Saturday was a reality check. I want to build my endurance to about an hour 6 days a week, but I also want to start small so I can get into the hang of it. I have to say I do feel much better, I feel like I have accomplished so much already and it's only 9am here!
Saturday I also cooked all day. I still have some of my Garbage Chili left that I froze in 1 cup Tupperware containers for an easy lunch, but I can't live on the same flavors for days at a time. I absolutely love Greek food so I knew I wanted something with Kalamata and Feta in it. After browsing the internet for ideas, I came across a recipe for a White Greek Chili and decided to modify it into a lentil dish. I will admit, I made way so much of it, I had to use 2 pots just to contain all the ingredients!
Greek Lentils
Makes about 20 servings (I know, but you can cut in half, fourths, etc.)
2 yellow onions
5 cloves garlic
2 orange peppers (I used small, sweet ones)
2 zucchini
1 summer squash
4 sticks of celery
1 bunch of asparagus
1 16oz can artichoke
1 16oz can chickpeas
1 1lb bag lentils
1 large can tomatoes
6 cups of water
1 1lb bag spinach
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning
Generous handful of Kalamata olives
Lemon juice
Feta
Dice all raw vegetables into bite size pieces.
Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes until lightly browned.
Add remaining raw vegetables plus 2 cups of water.
Cook vegetables for 5 minutes. Add lentils and remaining water.
Add seasoning and cook covered for about 30-45 minutes until lentils are tender. In a separate pan, heat chickpeas and artichokes.
Dice canned tomatoes and add them to chickpeas and artichoke along with all liquid from them. Heat for 10 minutes.
Add two mixtures together, plus Kalamata olives, and cook for an additional 10 minutes until all liquid is evaporated.
Serve warm on a bed of spinach. Top with feta and fresh squeezed lemon.
I used sundried tomato and basil feta which just added to the flavors of this dish. Also my Kalamata olives were marinated in garlic. I had no idea how much this would make. I felt like I just kept cutting up veggies and before I knew it, I was using two pots. I have frozen about 10 1 cup servings and have about half in the fridge. This is a great dish to add to a salad to make it that much heartier!
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