I am jonsing on this salad. It is fresh, it is delicious, and it was really, really, easy to make!

Wednesday is really our get-all-of-our-stuff-done day over here at casa Refined + Rugged. With summer this catching up has really turned into choring, listing, and doing a lot of run around errands each Wednesday. So when I have the opportunity to make my evening as chill and as relaxing as possible by simply preping a salad in the morning to eat that night, I’m on board.

Plus, then I don’t have to feel so bad about my toast addiction (although we also ate homemade wheat bread with this meal) or my random lunch choices. Read: eating leftover veggies from the kids’ plates and really wishing for another piece of toast! 🙂

This salad was so delicious that my husband asked if he could take the leftovers with him on an upcoming cycling race. Instead of sending leftovers, I’ll be whipping up a fresh batch of this for him for the road!

Do not let your jaw drop when you hear that I got this delicious salad from The Scramble. We recently had friends over for dinner and couldn’t stop singing the praises of this awesome meal planning service. We love this site so much, we just can’t help but share our enthusiasm!

I hope your Wednesday is as bright and cheery as leftover beet juice!

XX, Megan

Ingredients for Main Dish

2 cups cooked lentils, (or 1 cup uncooked)
4 beets, diced
1/2 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese
1/2 lemon, juice only, about 1/4 cup
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. fresh dill, finely chopped, or use ½ tsp. dried dill

Sides

Whole wheat bread and pistachios.

If you are steaming the beets yourself (I’ve heard that Trader Joe’s actually has a vacuum package of beets, so yay for you if you can grab one of those) you’ll need to start your salad well in advance of your meal. Steam the 4 beets, green stems removed, in 1-2 inches of water, simmering with the lid on for around 45 minutes or until they are tender.

When your beets are halfway finished, boil 2 cups of water for your 1 cup of lentils. (This is only if you have quick-cooking lentils, make sure to read the packaging on yours as some of them need to be soaked overnight!) Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile you can mix up your dressing. Mix the oil, lemon juice (I used 1 whole lemon instead of just 1/2), honey, and dill in a large measuring cup. Whisk thoroughly. Set aside.

When your beets are finished simmering, drain under cold water and then skin them with your fingers or you can use a vegetable peeler. Let them beets cool for a few more minutes as you drain your lentils. Allow both to cool to near room temperature. Then dice the beets, and mix the beets, lentils, and feta in a medium bowl.

Top the entire salad with all of the dressing and toss gently.

ENJOY!

1. Simmer beets and lentils.

2. Mix the dressing. 

3. Dice the beets.

4. Toss the salad gently with the dressing.

4. EAT!

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 5 weekly meals which means 5 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts. PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.