Mediterranean flavors combine beautifully for this lentil-laced salad for a perfect light and healthy Summer or Fall meal, or a great bring-along for sharing. It’s also a great small side for a mezze platter alongside hummus or another dip, cut veggies, crackers, nuts, olives and maybe a little smoked salmon. Make Mediterranean Lentil Salad ahead of time and just toss the greens into the lentils right before serving. It’s also a wonderful salad for food prepping on a Sunday and bringing for lunch for several days. As is, it is vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and low-FODMAP. If you’re digging more protein, top with some cubes of Tofu Feta, sardines, or pickled herring, if you’re into that sort of thing.
The Mediterranean diet is much more than one of those fad diets that is in one day then goes the wayside after people realize it’s doing more harm than good (or are just attracted to the next shiny object). The mediterranean diet is an eating lifestyle that promotes health through consumption of lots of green vegetables, fruit, herbs, olives and olive oil, legumes (beans and lentils), fish, nuts and seeds. Lemons, peppers and sunshine are also abundant in the Mediterranean, known for being host to two of the five “blue zones.”
Blue zones are five known regions of the globe where a more than typical number of centenarians live (people 100 or more years old). The regions have been and continue to be studied to find out what their secrets to youth and longevity are. Whether in Japan, Greece, Italy, Costa Rica, or Loma Linda, California, they have many lifestyle habits in common including daily activity, strong sense of community, and similarities of a low meat, high plant-based high fiber diet. Dig in and enjoy this Mediterranean Lentil Salad with all its sunny and bright herbs and textures, and maybe even boost your health and live a little longer and more healthfully.
I love brown canned lentils because they’re already made for us! That, and they are the lowest FODMAP legume we can have. 1/4 cup of canned (rinsed) brown lentils is low-FODMAP, whereas moving up to just 1/3 cup is moderate in GOS. This recipe calls for 1 can, which is about 1 3/4 cups when liquid from the can is included. After draining and rinsing, I measured 5 FODMAP servings, or 1 1/4 cups. Distribute evenly into 5 or more servings to maintain low-FODMAP in this salad.
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