What's so exciting about lentils and rice? Well, I guess not much, but I got to thinking, maybe it could be a more nutritious than red beans and rice -- a guilty pleasure. So here's the side to side on lentils vs kidney beans (per 100 grams):
Calories: lentils 116, beans 333
Carbs: lentils 20g, beans 60g
Fiber: lentils 8g, beans 25g
Fat: less than 1% of your daily value for both
I'm not a nutritionist, but I think lentils instead of kidney beans might help me lose some weight. Sure they have less fiber, but 8g provides ~32% of your daily nutritional value. You could easily find your remaining fiber throughout the day.
Plans for Lentils and Rice
As you can tell from the photo, I had these at the Artcaffe -- a relatively vegetarian friendly restaurant. It came as a side with some falafel, and I'm thinking of trying it out with the same mediterranean vibe.
First idea
Brown rice and lentils, seasoned with ras el hanout
Smaller sized falafel on top
Drizzle tahini dressing on top
Second idea -- and I think the one I'll go with
Brown rice and lentils, seasoned with ras el hanout
Baked cauliflower in harissa sauce
Drizzle tahini dressing on top
What I ate and drank today (7/29/2018)
Rice
Sauteed carrots and zucchini
Butternut squash soup
4 crackers with garlic herb dip
6-8 green olives
Falafel
Lentil rice
Side salad
White wine
Red wine
Exercise
Very little. I do count holding myself while I was standing in the safari truck for 2 hours, though.
What I ate and drank today (7/28/2018)
2 cups of coffee
Lots of water
4 crackers with garlic herb dip
Handful of olives
Veggie sandwich with fries
3 tea cookies
Veggie flatbread
1 beer (because no one told me that was a SPICY veggie flatbread)
Exercise
~2 miles of walking
What I ate and drank today (7/27/2018)
Lots of water
2-3 cups of coffee
1 crepe with strawberry jam
3 veggie samosas
Greek veggie wrap with onion rings
Chips
Crackers with garlic herb spread
2 beers
2 glasses of wine
1 Irish coffee (no cream)
Exercise
Swimming
~1 mile of walking
What I ate and drank today (7/26/2018)
2 cups of coffee (yeah, I'm undoing all the months of weaning myself off caffeine...)
Lots of water
Sauteed eggplant in mushroom sauce over rice
1 vegetable egg roll
3 tomato slices with a little salt
Pasta primavera
Exercise
~2.5 miles of cardio (a little bit of walking, a little bit of running)