If you are like me, you are constantly striving to eat better while saving money. As I shared in a recent Work Wednesday article, the need to save money has reached a new height for me and my family (because, no, I haven’t found a job yet!) In devising this week’s menu, I gathered recipes that offered a powerful nutritional punch for less money.
I’m proud to say that I cut our grocery bill in half this week. I will be using lots of recipes with veggies, taking advantage of ingredients already in the cabinets, and stuffing us with inexpensive proteins like beans and lentils. The following recipe has been one of our favorites for years. It takes only minutes to prepare, is based on protein-packed, inexpensive and substantive lentils, and offers a bright, lemony flavor. I hope you like it.
I found this in my favorite cookbook, The Essential Eating Well Cookbook. But you can also find it online.
Lemony Lentil Salad with Feta
Ingredients:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 15-ounce cans lentils, rinsed, or 3 cups cooked brown or green lentils
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, (about 4 ounces)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup diced seedless cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
Preparation:
Wash and cut vegetables. Chop dill. Drain and rinse the lentils.
Whisk lemon juice, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Add lentils, feta, bell pepper, cucumber and onion; toss to coat.
Doesn’t get any easier than that!
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