Daal with kale and quinoa (Thankfulness #14)

Woo woo! Monday is almost over for the week! Isn't that great? I have to tell you that after this weekend, I just didn't feel well rested and when the alarm clock went off this morning, I did NOT want to get up and go. (Our alarm clock records a sound and uses it as the alarm, and the Emperor very helpfully changed it to say MOMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYY yesterday... which certainly did alarm me this morning.)

In my semi-sleep deprived state, I thought of a great thing I am thankful for!

Thing I'm thankful for #15: OATS!

Guys, I eat so many oats these days. I'm like a spoiled pony. (Hmm... I eat a lot of apples too.) My normal breakfast right now is a bowl of healthyish granola with unsweetened soy or almond milk. Later, at work, I usually have a snack/mini-meal of soy yogurt + more granola. And though I've resisted it to this point, at the end of the day, I keep finding myself thinking that what I'd really like for dinner is... a big warm bowl of oatmeal. Mmmm.

Reasons why oats are the perfect food: they have protein! they have fiber! they have a cool texture! they taste good with EVERYTHING! they cook fast! they keep really well! they're CHEEEEEEEAP! Oh man, I love oats.

Maybe we really will have oatmeal for dinner some night this week. But not tonight. Tonight we had another wonderful cheap/fast/easy combo of foods: red lentils with kale and quinoa, and a tarka made out of cumin + coriander seed + mustard seed + some random dried peppers I had.



Really tasty and filling, and requiring almost no work on my part. Some people might look at this and think "sheesh, typical vegan food!" but you know why it's typical... because it's freakin' good.

The Emperor first told me repeatedly that he wanted me to eat his "quinoa rice" while pushing his bowl at me... then once it became clear that I was not going to do such a thing, he demanded his bowl back and ate a ton of quinoa but nothing else. He considered the kale but was freaked out because I cooked it in the lentils so it did have traces of lentils on it. When he finished, he looked over at Josh and said, "I think Daddy is full of dinner." He was intensely irritated when he proceeded to sit at the table and chat for some time after that while I finished my dinner. Parents! Are they just the worst or what?!

Here's a picture of him looking a bit weary of our dinner conversation: