What a delightful way to get some fiber!
According to the medical experts, you need about 30 grams of fiber each day (women/25 and men/38). This salad meets about half of your daily requirement.
If you hog all the avocado, you get even closer to your daily fiber target. A whole avocado has about 13 grams of fiber. Good news for avocado freaks! (You know who you are.)
And…if you add 100 grams of dark chocolate as your dessert, you’ve pretty much nailed it. Dark chocolate (70% or higher) has 11 grams of fiber.
See, it’s not so hard to get all the fiber you need in your diet. In fact, it can be downright delicious.
Ingredients
- 1/2 C. dry green lentils
- 1/2 C. dry pearl barley
- 1 garlic clove (peeled)
- 1 tomato (chopped)
- 1 packed cup fresh spinach (chopped)
- 1/2 C. crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 small red onion (finely chopped)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Garnish with sliced avocado, chopped roasted walnuts, tomatoes, red onion and extra feta
- 1/4 C. olive oil
- 1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
- 1 T. grainy mustard
- 1 t. maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
Instructions
- Put lentils, barley and garlic clove into a pot of water The water should cover the grains/lentils by about 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes until the lentils and the barley are tender. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Drain the lentils and barley and discard the garlic clove. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the cooled lentils and barley with tomato, spinach, feta, and onion in a large bowl. Sprinkle with some freshly-ground black pepper.
- Add the dressing ingredients to a bowl or a small jar. Shake or whisk the ingredients together. Pour over the salad (I didn't use all the dressing. Add dressing to your taste.) Toss the salad to coat with the dressing.
- Garnish with additional sliced red onion, roughly-chopped roasted walnuts, sliced avocado and/or a bit of extra crumbled feta. Serve or refrigerate until needed.
This recipe is adapted from one in Spilling The Beans by Rosendaal and Duncan. You can get the cookbook here.