Cookies and Dal

Why is it always nicer to wake up when you know you have a delicious breakfast waiting for you in the fridge? This morning I couldn't wait to get up and finish my yoga session so I could give into this delicious breakfast cookie:


1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp rice protein, 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp dark chocolate pb, 1/8 cup soy milk, raspberries and gojis topped with banana and a cocoa dusting (I seriously love doing this).



I also love making food presentations look nice. Even though I'm spending time making food look pretty that is just for me, it's nice to treat myself to something that both taste and looks good. Why should we just throw stuff on a plate and eat it? I am important to myself and I deserve to take a little extra time to make things a bit special.

For lunch I decided to make red lentil dal, which is one of the dishes I planned to make last night. It was super simple to make; most time was spent waiting for the lentils to cook.


Red lentil dal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked through
- 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 finger hot chili, de-seeded and minced
- 2 tsp homemade curry powder (or whatever you have on hand)
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp parsley or cilantro, some reserved for garnish
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Add coconut oil to a skillet on medium/medium-high heat. Add aromatics and saute until translucent and softened.
- Once translucent, add curry powder and stir constantly to combine. Once combined, add lentils and vegetable stock (or water). Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed and lentils are tender. Serve hot and garnish with chopped tomato and extra herbs if desired.


I had mine with carrots, kiwi and half of the most best pita I've ever had (from the Winter Park farmers market).


The texture and heat of this dish was spot on, but unfortunately it was too salty for my tastes. I think next time I'll either use water instead of stock, or use salt-free stock. It wasn't overwhelmingly salty, but I tend to like my food on the less salty side. That aside, this dish was easy, fast and deliciously heart warming. Dare I say it was dal-icious? I know, I know.