Vegan Lentil and Strawberry Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Since I got quite a bit of good feedback on the recipe I recently posted, I thought that I might try to share recipes with you more often! Especially as I'm mainly at home, doing Uni work at the moment, I don't have a big amount of inspiration when it comes to blogging, so recipes are always a good alternative for me to write about, as I do cook at least once a day! When I bought brown lentils a little while ago, I wasn't too sure what to do with them (mainly because I wanted to try something new), but when (as you might've seen on my Instagram) the market at my Uni had strawberries on offer, I went a liiiittle bit crazy and bought five punnets of strawberries, haha! I remembered seeing lentil-strawberry-salads before, so I decided to try it for myself and I love it so much! To me, it tastes very summery whilst still being satisfying and filling. The first time I made it, I actually even added two blood oranges, so you really can play around with different variations of this salad. Enough rambling around for now - let's get to the recipe!

Disclaimer: I like my portions big, which is why I ate the entire serving I made, so if you're not as big of an eater, then you might have some leftovers - but that's never a bad thing, is it?

Ingredients:

• 2 handful of lettuce
• 1 big sweet potato
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• handful of strawberries
• 100g (uncooked) brown lentils
• half a stalk of celery (optional, I like to use it for some natural saltiness)
• garlic powder, basil (or mixed herbs), balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Cover lentils with about twice the amount of water, add chopped celery, some garlic powder and basil/herbs. Bring to a boil and let lentils cook at a low flame for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. (you might need to drain or add some water, so keep on checking on the lentils)
2. While the lentils are cooking, peel (optional) and chop a large sweet potato in cubes and bake in the oven at 180°C for 20-25 minutes (again, check them every now and then). If you like, you can sprinkle some paprika powder or basil (or both) on top of the potatoes before putting them in the oven.
3. Chop lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries and place in a bowl.
4. Add lentils and sweet potato cubes once they're done and decorate with balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!

PS: For an extra iron kick, add some fresh spinach. This recipe can obviously be changed according to your preferences, by adding more vegetables like bell pepper or even avocado.
PPS: As you might've noticed, I've been a little bit on a lentil trip lately - but what's not to love? They're a great protein and iron packed food, so make sure to incorporate them into your diet!