I can tell when I haven't been had enough leafy greens in my life. I don't feel as energized and I can tell in my skin too (Honest to goodness. Leafy greens = my skin secret...that and my Grandma is 100% certain kale helped her lose weight). Even the husband was missing kale. So despite having our house being packed with CSA produce for another week, I dragged my CSA spoiled self out to Wegman's and bought kale. This is what I made immediately: BBQ lentils over sautéed kale. Welcome to fall and feeling better.

BBQ_Lentils_Kale_salad.jpg
BBQ_Lentils_Kale_salad.jpg

This dish is so packed with healthy goodness. It's fiber on fiber to help you feel full. It has protein from a super environmentally beneficial source (Lentils are the best! So inexpensive and a culinary blank slate.) and it has so much vitamin A and C it's crazy. Um, oh right, and it's delicious. The BBQ sauce I used was the home made grape based sauce from this recipe. It makes everything taste so ridiculously amazing. But honestly, you could use any BBQ sauce. Just try (please, don't ruin a good thing here) to find a sauce that does not have HFCS as the first ingredient. Or mix up your own personalized batch! Let me know your favorite.

BBQ_Lentils_Kale_salad.jpg

BBQ Lentil Kale Salad

For when you need to jump start healthy again. Because it's so good you'll remember why healthy is so awesome. 

Serves 2

///Ingredients/// 

  • 1 C cooked brown Lentils
  • 2 C raw kale, chopped and deveined
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 C BBQ sauce of choice  

///Directions/// Rinse and cook lentils.   Rinse Kale, devein and chop. Pour oil over kale in bowl and massage (trust me, go with it). Add to a small pot on the stove and sautee, covering half way through to steam for two minutes. Add BBQ sauce to lentils and toss to coat. Serve over kale. 

Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.