First post of 2019! I’m excited to finally share with you a reader favorite slow cooker recipe of mine that I updated into an Instant Pot recipe. This Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili has been one of the most popular and most cooked recipes from the blog, I love that everyone enjoys it so much! Now you can make it in the Instant Pot!

I’ve had my Instant Pot well over a year now and cook a lot of basics in it (chicken, pork, spaghetti squash, hard boiled eggs and now rice), but I don’t make enough full meals in my Instant Pot. I am going to change that this year, that is my goal – starting with this Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili recipe.

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Something a little different for today…I want to introduce you all to a blogger that I enjoy reading for so many reasons – Olena of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. If you are unfamiliar with Olena’s blog then you are in for a treat. Her blog is FILLED with delicious recipes that are healthy, clean and family friendly (and if you can’t already tell – gorgeous). I relate to Olena in many ways…we are both moms striving to be healthier versions of ourselves (with nutrition and exercise) and are focused on feeding our families the best we can. She is very down to earth and real, which I love and admire. You can read more about Olena, her interesting background (she’s Ukrainian and lives in Vancouver), food philosophy and passion for healthy living here.

Also, after the recipe below you’ll find a giveaway for her Clean Quick Dinner Recipes eBook – we are giving away 3 copies so be sure to enter. Thank you so much for being here today sharing your Clean Eating Half Meatless Marinara Sauce recipe Olena! (my kind of eating!!)

Hey guys. My name is Olena and I am an author of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. Besides eating real and “clean” food, our family believes in eating local, organic and sustainable food as much as possible. Also recently we cut back consumption of animal products significantly, started to focus more on plants and meat became more of a side (as much as it makes sense). Healthier for us and for the planet.

Today’s recipe is a great representation of that – hearty, saucy and full of flavour. Ground meat of choice makes only 1/3 of the traditional Italian marinara sauce and the rest are lentils. Black lentils to be exact, which begin to be widely available. Lentils are high in fibre and rich in protein. Besides health benefits, substituting meat for lentils saves you quite a few dollars. I paid $2.50 for 2 cups of organic dry lentils at my local farm market. So, keep your eyes open next time you are grocery shopping.

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It’s been just a month since I made a big change to my workout routine and joined a new gym that offered a great personal training program. Friends, I have never squatted so much in my entire life as I have in this last month. Squats, lunges, mountain climbers, burpees, ropes, kettle bells, sled pushing…these were all slightly foreign to me before this month. I definitely feel stronger, and I’m hooked on getting 4 workouts in each week. The early mornings (4:20 wake up call) are getting a lot easier too (the key for me is to have my clothes laid out the night before, like laid out right next to my bed, things run more smoothly once I get my workout clothes on).

(nothing beats how good it feels to be done with your workout before 6am, truly)

One thing that I’m a little discouraged about is that I literally have not lost any weight. I know my body is changing, and yes I am gaining muscle. My biggest problem lately is that I am not truly focused on what (and how much) I’m eating. I’ve been totally slack with meal planning and our busy family schedule this past month has really thrown me off my game. I’m trying to lighten up my meals a bit and experiment with more meatless options like these Smoky Sauteed Lentils I’m sharing today.

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It happens every year…one second you are trick or treating with your kids, then next thing you know you just finished washing all of your Thanksgiving leftover tupperware and people are asking you if you’ve finished your Christmas shopping yet. It’s seriously so hard to wrap your mind around how fast time flies around this time of year (so cliche, I know). And how “busy” we tend to feel every day.

Personally, I’m not a fan of time flying fast and feeling busy. I have to constantly keep myself in check. My husband likes to keep me in check too. 😉

My friend Sandy wrote a post on savoring the holidays the other day and it really stuck with me. From her post:

DON’T FORGET TO BREATH.

I think as women we sometimes forget to breathe during the month of December! So today I’m sharing my 5 tips for a less stressful month of December. I’m sharing from the perspective of a 50+ year old, married woman, mama of 3 adult kids, and what I’ve learned from some crazy holiday seasons. Seriously, I think in our 30s we’re just trying to do to much and impress one another. In my 40s I learned to slow down, but still piled quite a bit on. Now today, I’m savoring every moment that I can by planning, spreading out the activities, having down time, and not overdoing. Basically, the holidays for our family mean being with the people we love.

Sandy’s words above and tips in her post are absolutely ON POINT. I encourage you to read her post and really think about how you personally spend your holiday season. I am so so thankful to have friends like her who remind me to slow down and breathe (and not just during the holidays).

Another thing that seems to happen to us around this time of year too is feeling tired, run down and just spent. Doesn’t sound fun does it? All the busyness tends to eventually catch up with us and if we are not getting the rest we need, the exercise we need and eating food that is good for our bodies, well…we start to feel it. (Not to mention all the sick germs that are floating around right now too!) I thought a lot about this this morning while I was out walking with my little guy. This past month I have not been doing a good job of taking care of myself (I did get hit with the flu and an sinus infection back to back so that is part of the reason…but leading to that hasn’t been great either). Not getting in walks, not getting enough rest, you know the drill…well, humor me here as I list out a few things that I told myself I need to be doing to take better care of myself — starting now. None of these things are new, they are literally just the basics. And really, they are just a friendly reminder and encouragement for all of us to remember to take care of ourselves during this {hectic} time of year.

5 Ways To Take Care Of Yourself During The Holidays:

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I’m not sure how it happened, but Tuesday is my little guy’s First Birthday. How in the world is that possible? It sounds so cliche, but it feels like just the other day that he was all teeny tiny, snoozing throughout most of the day, snuggling in my arms or in his rock ‘n play, by my side.

Now he’s a wiggly, giggly, fast moving little baby who is super curious and literally always on the go. He’s in such a fun phase, just learning so much and soaking everything around him in.

He loves being outdoors and going for walks with me in his stroller…we like to call it our “zen time” and it’s one of my (our) favorite parts of the day. Balls have become his favorite toy, he knows exactly what they are if you ask him and he’ll throw them your way too.

He loves dogs too and smiles real big and points when he sees one. He’s currently a super fast crawler who is starting to stand a little on his own. He likes to take steps while holding onto my fingers, we are taking quite a few laps around the house that way these days.

Mama is on a mission to tire this guy out any way she can!

We are seriously having so much fun together.

His sweet face and big personality has brought us all so much joy – he truly completes our little family. We are excited to celebrate him and his big birthday all week!!

I guess I should stop rambling about my baby, and tell you more about this chili. This vegetarian Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili was my answer to the start of a busy week after an indulgent weekend. It was the Monday after my brother’s wedding weekend, we were all feeling a little sluggish after all the food and festivities and I felt we all needed to have a few clean meals right off the bat. Since I hadn’t spent time grocery shopping after being away for the weekend, I used pantry staples (lentils, quinoa, tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices) and some peppers that just happen to be waiting for a recipe in the fridge. Everything went in my slow cooker and that was that.

Voila…a good for you, stick to your ribs, vegetarian chili. My meat eatin’ husband enjoyed this chili, a couple of times during the week actually. My kids ate it too (1 in the bunch wasn’t very excited about it), including my baby boy who is in a “loving everything mama makes” phase.

This Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili is full of good vegetarian protein from the lentils and pinto beans, and of course a bowl of it was filled with plenty of nutrients. I always top my chili with plain Greek yogurt and some cheese to make it even more delicious. Leftovers are great over sweet or baked potatoes too!

Hope you have a great Monday! Enjoy the week!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 7 reviews

Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings
• Category: Soup
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Vegetarian

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Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can water (I use the can of diced tomatoes to grab all the leftover flavor)
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 15 oz can Bush’s Pinto Beans
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

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Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.
2. Serve chili with your favorite fixings:  shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado, green onion, cilantro

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Notes

Salt will need to be adjusted according to taste, depending on the broth you use as well as the canned tomatoes and beans. I added 1/4 teaspoon to the recipe initially and then after tasting added a pinch or two until I thought it was right.

I use the Crock Pot 6-Quart Programmable Oval Slow Cooker with Stove Top Browning (affiliate link).

Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator for 3-4 days. I love storing my leftovers in these glass storage containers.

More vegetarian chili recipes:

Slow Cooker 3 Bean Pumpkin Chili

Vegetarian Chili with Cilantro Lime Cashew Sour Cream

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

Smoky Black Bean and Corn Chili

For more slow cooker recipes follow along on Pinterest. Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Slow Cooker Goodness on Pinterest.

The post Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Click here to pin this Mediterranean Lentil Salad recipe!

There are certain foods I find myself slightly obsessed with. Any type of food that can be described as mediterranean can easily fall into that category. There’s just something about the simplicity of the food from that part of the world, the flavors that come together with just a few fresh ingredients – well let’s say, that food makes me happy. This simple lentil salad most definitely falls into that category.

Unless I’m cooking it at home, I don’t get a mediterranean fix that often as far as restaurants are concerned. I just haven’t found a ton of restaurants in my area (other than a couple favorite Greek restaurants) that serve good hummus, pitas and falafels locally. Maybe I need to look harder. One place I tend to eat at often enough (to get that fix) is at a place in our mall’s food court – of all places, yes I know.

They are that place that serves gyros, lavash wraps, hummus, all kinds of fresh tomato and cucumber salads and my favorite falafel. I’m sure most malls have a place like this, but what I love about this one is that it’s run by the same owners, a married couple and sometimes their son, for over 10 years (well at least that’s how long I’ve been going there).

Last time I was there, I ordered a falafel pita and had to choose 2 sides to go with it. I usually go for the tomato & cucumber salad and hummus, but this time I spotted something I hadn’t seen before  – a simple lentil salad.

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So…anyone seeing all the reports on happy people in the news lately? Apparently happiness is contagious…hmmm…I will have to agree with that! Interesting reading…

Speaking of happy…I’m pretty happy that I made this soup today. After a week of splurging here and there, I really need this soup. It’s comfort food, full of stuff that is just good for you. Lentils are so healthy for you, they are low in fat and a good source of protein, fiber and iron among other things. If you haven’t tried them before, don’t be afraid…they are actually a very easy bean to cook, probably one of the quicker ones too. My grandparents and parents make soup like this all the time, it’s so economical and really goes a long way. I’m actually staring at my huge pot of soup and thinking I might of made way too much…but I can always freeze some smaller portions for a quick future meal.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 32 oz cartons of low sodium chicken stock
• 1 lb bag of brown lentils
• 1 large can of Italian diced tomatoes (important that you get the Italian ones, it will add lots of flavor)
• broken spaghetti noodles or elbow macaroni, optional

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat oil and add vegetables and garlic, salt and pepper . Saute for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add chicken broth, lentils and tomatoes to the pot and bring to a boil. Bring back down to a simmer and let cook for 50-60 minutes.
2. If you want to add in the pasta, add it in the last 10 minutes of the cooking process. Check for salt and pepper, add more to taste. Serve hot with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Follow AggiesKitchen on Instagram and show us what recipes you are making from the blog! Use the hashtag #aggieskitchen - I'd love to see what you are cooking up!

Nicole at Test Kitchen Recipes was so nice to pass on the Butterfly Award to me! I recently discovered Nicole’s great blog…go check it out! Thank you Nicole!

Tomorrow the Gators are playing in the SEC Championship!
Here’s our little good luck charm…isn’t he cute?

GO GATORS!!

Have a great weekend!

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