First Black Lentils & Quinoa

Date: August 25, 2009 (made for dinner for us all)

Ingredients
1 cup small black lentils (I got them in bulk from my local health foods store - I think that they might be beluga lentils, but I'm not sure)
1 red onion, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 T organic extra virgin olive oil
Organic No-Salt Seasoning
3 cups water

1 cup quinoa grain (I mixed red and the regular grain color one -- very pretty)
3 cups water

1 medium head broccoli, washed and broken into florets
1 medium head cauliflower, washed and broken into florets

Directions
Lentils: 1-5
Quinoa: 6
Broccoli & Cauliflower: 7

1. Heat cast iron pot. Add olive oil and heat. Add onion and saute for five minutes or until soft and yummy aroma rises up.
2. Add the lentils (picked through) and water.
3. Add as much or as little of the seasoning as you like.
4. Stir to combine spices, lentils, and onion. Bring to boil.
5. Continue to cook until lentils have absorbed all the water, approximately 40-45 minutes.
6. Add quinoa and water to another pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed.
7. Steam broccoli and cauliflower together in another pot.
   
8. Serve Lentils on the Quinoa (you can mix them together if you like), with broccoli and cauliflower.

Recipe Analysis
This made enough for three large servings for us for dinner and two smaller leftover servings, so maybe six servings in total if they were the same size. Nutritional analysis from caloriecounter.com -- they give it an A.
Serving Size: 366 g
Calories per serving: 268, Calories from fat: 50
Details: 13.6 g protein, 41.9 g carbs (14%), 13.3 g fiber (53%), 2.4 g sugars, 26 mg sodium (1%), 0 mg cholesterol, 5.6 g total fat (9%), 0.7 g saturated fat (4%), 3% DV Vitamin A, 57% DV Vitamin C, 6% DV Calcium, 22% DV Iron.
Highlights: Low in saturated fat; No cholesterol; Very low in sodium; Low in sugar; High in dietary fiber; High in manganese; High in magnesium; High in phosphorus; Very high in vitamin C.

Notes

1. I love quinoa. I only have less than 1/4 cup of the pretty red quinoa left, so I need to find where I bought it in bulk and buy more! Hopefully I got it here in BK somewhere...
   
2. J loves these lentils. I really need to figure out what kind they are! And buy more...
3. This is a very filling meal.
   
4. Make sure to work on the three parts at the same time -- don't just do the lentils, remember to put the quinoa on to cook and the veggies to steam around the same time.