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Greek Salad with Marinated Lentils

In the hottest days of summer, you don't feel up to cooking or doing much to prepare for dinner. Salads are a great meal that requires little work and can cool you off. 
Recently, I decided to make a Greek salad with lentils. In the past, I haven't enjoyed lentils too much. They don't always have the right texture or they cause "intestinal distress". So this time I decided to buy a can of brown lentils instead of cooking them from scratch. I then thought about how I could save time during the week and also add more flavor to the salad by marinating the lentils in a Greek dressing. Also, I prepared the salad in the Greek way that my mom taught me from when they visited Greece. Just a little adapted. She said they don't use lettuce as much. 
It turned out really good. A salad that I could eat a lot of and will make again. 
So I thought I would share my recipe with you! 

Greek Salad with Marinated Lentils

Ingredients:

Marinated Lentils
1 can lentils (I used brown, other types may work as well)
1/8 c. red wine vinegar
2 T. fresh herbs, minced (I used thyme, oregano, parsley, and some basil)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil, to preference

Greek Salad
(amounts to your preference)
romaine lettuce, chopped
cherry tomatoes, quartered
red pepper, diced
kalamata olives
cucumber, diced
zucchini, diced
feta, crumbled
red onion, diced or sliced

Directions:
A couple of days before you will be eating your salad, make the marinated lentils. 
Mix lentils with other marinade ingredients. I would save the olive oil for last, and see what amount you need. Store in a container in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat your salad. I think it will keep for about 3 or 4 days but the longer it sits, the mushier the lentils will probably get. 
When you want to make the salad, mix the salad ingredients together and spoon the lentils on top. 
Easy, healthy, and no cooking needed!

Gluten free, vegetarian

Other ideas I had to add to this: croutons, meat, banana peppers, quinoa (I might try mixing cooked quinoa with the lentils as they marinate), marinated artichokes, or serve with pita wedges
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