Brown Rice Bowl with Avocado and Lentils
We just got back from a looooong road trip 🚙 and the moment we got home I was desperately craving some REAL FOOD. I did my best to stay on track during our ten days on the road—I packed tons of fruits, veggies and even brought my blender along with some chia seeds and hemp seeds (yea, that really happened). We picked up spinach, bananas, and cantaloupes at grocery stores along the way and I made as many green smoothies for breakfast, before checking out of our hotel rooms, as I could.
But we were gone for ten days, never stayed more than one night in any given place and we spent a lot of time in the car, driving all over the South, so in some situations I had to adapt and make do with some not-so-feel-good-food. 🍟🍕 So naturally once we got home, I wanted nothing more than some of my own home-cooked, feel good food. But I was also tired beyond belief 😴and couldn’t wait to get to bed, so I had no intention of spending hours slaving away in the kitchen. Instead, I scoured the cabinets to put together a warm, hearty, soul-soothing dish that wouldn’t take too long to make. It doesn't get much easier than scooping a couple of measuring cups full of rice and beans into a couple of pots. So I spiced up some lentils, put on a pot of brown rice and roughly diced up an avocado. This meal was so filling, so comforting, and really made me feel good and healthy after eating it. And the bonus is that it requires almost no prep time at all. 🙌
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 mins. | 45 mins. | 50 mins. |
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 1 cup lentils
- 8 cups water
- 1 teaspoon berbere seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- Pinch of salt, optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 avocados
Directions:
- Fill 2 medium saucepans each with 4 cups of water.
- Season one saucepan of water with berbere seasoning, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, black pepper, chili powder, turmeric, and salt. Once water comes to a boil, add bay leaves and lentils. Stir together, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for approximately 25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves before serving.
- Once boiling, add brown rice to the pot of plain water. Stir rice and allow water to return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for approximately 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove from heat, remove lid and fluff rice with a fork.
- To serve, spoon brown rice into a bowl. Top with half an avocado and a large spoonful of lentils.
