When I got sick a couple of months ago I knew I had to change my diet. Not that I was doing anything wrong. I wasn’t drinking or smoking, I was eating a lot of veggies, walking more than 10k every day (I couldn’t run because of a knee injury). What I mean is, I was what people would consider a healthy person. But the truth is, I really wasn’t.

As always, my researcher soul made me look for answers. First on the Internet and then on books. I found that I could try several things, among them leaving my sweet precious gluten aside, as well as dairy (which I didn’t eat that often because it’s never been really good for me) . I am now commited to this lifestyle, which includes excluding some more “healthy” things.

The truth about healthy and unhealthy foods is that they are only harmful for some people and in some cases. Well, let me explain. If you think sugar will kill you, that’s probably not the truth, unless you have diabetes. We all know refined sugar is not a good thing, although…there’s people that can have low glucose levels in their blood and that can lead to other conditions. I’m not saying go grab a croissant right now, but I’m an advocate of eating whatever makes you feel good and whatever makes you healthier. Each body is different, and each palate deserves to be treated.

I am lucky I love all foods, and when I discover I have a deficiency in some vitamin or mineral, I get all nerdy and research the best ways to get back to my healthy state. Now that I was diagnosed  with anemia, I know it’s better treating it with supplements, especially mine which was kind of sudden after losing blood during surgery. So, I make sure I take my prescribed 200 mg of Iron every day (one before breakfast and another one in the evening) I make sure I take them on an empty stomach. I drink wome water with lemon or lime to add some vitamin C to aid absorption. And the worst part: I have to wait two hours to eat anything. This last step makes my waiting for the breakfast a long, long way. I am actually writing this while I wait until two hours have passed.

But I can’t really stop right there. Just taking supplements…Come on! my domain is silviafooding.com for god’s sake! So I started researching food high in Iron and vitamin B12, and I’ve been drinking my veggies every morning and afternoon and eating my lentils, leafy greens and any other iron-rich food (including fish and seafood, which have the most absorbable type of Iron). Because I can’t rely only on supplements or medicines, I don’t believe in that kind of thing. I believe that traditional medicine has to be combined with any other alternative methods that help, and food is actually medicine.  Oh, and I already took some nutritional yeast regularly, but I bough 1 kg after I left the hospital. If you’ve never seen a kg of nutritional yeast, you can’t understand how big a bag it is. Still, it’s only been a month and I think I’ve taken half already.

I’m glad I’ve changed the way I eat, because I’ve noticed I wasn’t eating as much veggies, nuts, seeds and pulses as I should. It’s tough to get all your nutrients this way though, especially if you don’t eat big portions, like me. So whenever I feel like I need red meat, I try to go for some protein-rich food. It usually works.

While I get used to this way of living, you can try this recipe at home, and if you don’t like it…I’ll have to have a serious chat with your tastebuds. I’ve got to go now, it0s breakfast time!

Have Fun and Keep Fooding!

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Plant-based lentils

A delicious protein-rich plant-based gluten-free recipe.

Course Main Course

Keyword Gluten Free, Healthy, Plant-based, Protein-rich, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole foods

Servings 4 people

Author silviafooding

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups brown lentils (soaked)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 shallot
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 4 g nutritional yeast (1 tbsp)
• 1 thumb ginger
• 6 leaves chard
• 1 courgettes (small)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 tbsp chipotle chile
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 4 potatoes (small)
• 1/4 cup raw almonds

Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes.
2. Meanwhile, fry the shallot with the minced garlic and ginger.
3. Add the chard stems.
4. Once they start becoming translucent, add the lentils (uncooked, just soaked) and cook covered for 10 minutes.
5. Add the chopped courgette, the chia seeds and a bit of water.
6. Mix with the nutritional yeast, the boiled potatoes cut in chunks and the salt and pepper.
7. Cook covered for another 5 minutes.
8. Uncover and let the water evaporate. Once its done, add the chiles and the chard leaves and finally the almonds. Cook 1 or 2 minutes, don't let the leaves get too soggy.

Recipe Notes

• This is a great pre or post-workout dish, very fulfilling, full of protein and healthy carbs.
• If you wish, you could add some tabasco instead of Sriracha, but be careful to adjust the acidity by adding some chopped carrots.