Yoga and Curried Lentils with Walnuts, Spinach and cherry tomatoes

Well, I was going to risk some low impact kickboxing tonight, but I had to work a bit late. Which meant that  with the extra traffic, I would’ve showed up pretty late. So I went home and thought of some stuff I could do.

I decided to tackle some ankle strengthening Yoga Poses. I decided to do these 4 while I watched The Biggest Loser.

Wonder! At the grace of The Dancer:

Be awed by the quiet dignity of The Tree:

Be amazed at the strength of the Warrior!

And the gentle Hero Pose:

I was the wobbliest Dancer you’ve ever seen. A good Warrior, though! Also, Hero pose is somewhat deceptive. It is really hard to sit like that.

And to supplement this great feat of strength.. or great strength of feet (Thanks, Mel Brooks!) I’m having:

Curried Lentils with Walnuts, Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes

1 cup brown lentils (uncooked)

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp Curry powder

1 minced garlic clove

2 bags baby spinach (8-10 cups packed)

1 cup small cherry or grape tomatoes

2 Tbsp fresh chopped mint

½ cup chopped walnuts

1- Put 1 cup lentils in a medium saucepan and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 20 minutes. (Drain in colander)

2 – Heat oil in a large skillet and add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring, for about 5 min. Add garlic and curry powder and stir for about 1 min. Add cooked lentils, tomatoes, and mint..

3- ...and spinach. I know the spinach looks scary, but it will cook down.

 4- See?

5- Meanwhile, heat the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring for about 5 min. Sprinkle walnuts over the top.

I served this over basmati brown rice with a little scoop of Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese. 

At first I was a little concerned with the fact that I was putting chopped mint into dinner. I usually only see mint as a companion for chocolate.. but it really did add a depth of flavor that wasn’t obnoxious. 

Same with the toasted walnuts. I wasn’t going to toast them, because.. sigh.. that’s another skillet to get dirty. But the toasted walnut really did add something to the flavor. So I would do it again!

OH! And the ankle is definitely feeling better! I didn't even feel it when I started walking this morning! Hopefully I'll be running 8 miles this Saturday! :)