This lentil bowl is cumin roasted sweet potato, warm brown lentils and a lemon tahini that ties it together. About 20g of plant protein without a single fake meat product.
A bowl lands around 20g of protein, which surprises people who assume plant based means light on. Lentils carry roughly 9g per cooked cup, the tahini and pepitas add several more, and sweet potato contributes a couple too. Spread across a day with a decent breakfast, that is a perfectly respectable contribution.
The fibre is where it really stands out though, at around 16g a bowl. Most Australians get well under the recommended amount, and a bowl like this closes a good chunk of that gap in one sitting without any effort at all.
Tinned lentils are fully cooked and completely bland. Five minutes in a pan with olive oil, salt and a splash of water changes their texture from watery to creamy and gives the salt somewhere to go. It is the single cheapest improvement you can make to any tinned legume, and it takes less time than opening the tin properly.
Lentils and spinach both carry non haem iron, the plant form, which the body absorbs far less readily than the iron in meat. Vitamin C improves that absorption substantially, which is exactly what the lemon in the dressing and the parsley on top are doing. It is a genuinely useful pairing rather than a decorative one.
Everything except the spinach and the dressing keeps four days. Store the tahini separately in a small jar and add it on the day, since it thickens in the fridge and stops coating anything properly. It eats well cold, which makes it one of the better options after a lunchtime Pilates class.
This lentil bowl recipe is one of 50+ in the Pilates Classes Online recipe library, all cooked and written by Melissa herself. A new one lands every week.
The bits I only worked out after making lentil bowl a hundred times.
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Everything people ask about lentil bowl. Tap any question to open it.
Yes. Simmer 180g of dried brown or green lentils in unsalted water for twenty to twenty five minutes until tender but not collapsing, then drain and continue from step two.
Four days refrigerated with the dressing stored separately. Add the spinach fresh each day rather than storing it wilted through the lentils.
Grilled chicken or lamb both work well with the cumin and tahini. Add it on top rather than mixing it through so the bowl still works as leftovers.
Hummus loosened with lemon and water gives a similar effect, or use a garlicky yoghurt dressing if dairy is fine for you.
For most people, yes, especially with the pepitas. If you have trained hard that day, add a piece of flatbread or a soft boiled egg on top.
Freeze the roasted sweet potato and lentils for up to two months. Do not freeze the dressing or the spinach, since both separate and go watery.
Four more from the library that go well with lentil bowl.
Or open the full recipe collection, book your next Pilates class, or have a read of the blog.
Part of the Pilates Classes Online recipe library. 50+ recipes, a new one every week.
