Simple Lentil Rice Salad with Goat Cheese

Simple is always the name of the game in our house, so easy recipes like Lentil Rice Salad with Goat Cheese are a must. Even though we’ve shipped 2 of our 3 kids off to college, theoretically reducing by two-thirds the number of daily activities we’re dealing with, that’s not quite what has happened.

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The first law of thermodynamics states energy can neither be created nor destroyed. In our house, it has just been…re-routed. We took all that energy we’d been spending on our boys’ extracurriculars, and diverted it towards a couple of new/old activities. After a 25-year hiatus, my husband has returned to refereeing high school basketball, and I got back into coaching volleyball. While it adds more responsibilities to our days, the resulting joy is obvious

That said, our busy life requires that I be a devotee of quick and hearty sides. Cue the ever-reliable grain salad. Any kind of grain (brown rice, farro, or pasta) combined with veggies, maybe nuts and/or cheese, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar makes for an easy do-ahead side when your main focus is on the entree. My fave combo often includes brown rice, a legume (black beans, lentils, edamame), cheese, and a crunchy raw vegetable like bell pepper, celery, or diced carrot. (Check out all my go-to salads! )

What makes this particular Lentil Rice Salad so ‘simple’?

First, I’ll forever tout the virtues of frozen brown rice. It’s partially pre-cooked, and only requires about 3 minutes in your microwave. A brilliant hack for the whole grain lover who doesn’t necessarily have the mental capacity to plan 45 minutes ahead

Second, can we all agree that canned beans make plant-forward eating so accessible? Again, it’s that planning thing. The high-maintenance nature of dried beans just doesn’t work for me most days. The soaking, the waiting, the draining, the cooking. They’re just so needy compared to their canned counterparts

Third, save even more time by using pre-prepped veggies here. While I find chopping vegetables weirdly relaxing, I understand that may be unique to me You by no means need to add that chore to your list if you a) hate doing it, b) don’t have adequately sharp knives, or c) don’t own a cutting board LOL. This salad is meant to solve your problems, not create new ones, so take the short-cuts where you can!

Finally, you literally throw everything into a bowl. Just give it a stir and your d-o-n-e. It’s your perfect side dish, and even a one-bowl meal when necessary. A light meal, granted, but I swear to you, it’s all there. You’ve got your veggies, your grains, and a plant-based protein to round it out. And of course FLAVOR The simple red wine vinegar and olive oil does the trick. Though not as trendy as apple cider vinegar or sophisticated as balsamic vinegar, RWV gets the job nicely done, tying together the flavors of the rice, veggies, lentils and cheese.

So, that’s how our energy’s flowing these days. What about yours?