Roasted Vegetables with Lentils

If we were sitting down for lunch together I’d tell you about how I’m a little stressed out this week. I’d confess that by 9 am I already had two cups of green tea when I probably should have had chamomile. At least I started my day with a green juice, right?

If we were sitting down for lunch together I’d tell you about how I’m in the middle of moving… again.  Even though we just moved a few months ago, we got this great opportunity to take over my partner’s brother’s house because he and his wife are moving out of the country. So, in the last two and a half weeks, we broke the news to our landlord and found someone to take over our apartment lease.  The only catch is that the person taking over our lease needed to move in right away so that means we are moving this week. Moving into a house where myself, my partner, her brother, and his wife will be living together for the next month and a half until they move out of the country. Let’s hope they like green smoothies and cats.

If we were sitting down for lunch together I’d take a deep breath, tell you how good it is to see you, and then serve you some roasted vegetables with lentils. After all, it's always good to see you. And I'm really excited for lunch. 

This is such a simple and easy dish to prepare that you can even make it during the week you're moving. (No joke!) Just grab any leftover produce from the fridge, chop it up, and roast it off on a sheet pan while you boil some lentils. No stress and lots of tasty nutrition!

My favorite part of this is the roasted red onions. Roasting them brings out their intense sweetness, which is a winning combination with the acorn squash. Since the skin of acorn squash is really tough, I recommend roasting the squash with the skin on, but scooping out the flesh when eating. And if you wanted to make this a heartier meal, this can be served over a bed of quinoa or made into a hearty salad over a bed of greens.

Roasted Vegetables with Lentils
Adapted from Whole Living
Serves 4

1 tablespoons coconut oil
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 small acorn squash, halved, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup dried French green lentils, rinsed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly-ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
Fresh herbs, if desired

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss vegetables with coconut oil and arrange on baking sheet in single layer. Roast, turning once, until vegetables are caramelized and tender, about 25 - 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place lentils and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes.

Combine olive oil, vinegar, and mustard. Toss lentils with vinaigrette and serve over roasted vegetables. Season with freshly-ground black pepper and sea salt and garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.