Lebanese Lentil Salad (Fat-Free Optional)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil lentils, then let sit to cool.
- Chop parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, mint, and onions.
- Add parsley, cilantro, mint, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and avocado (optional) to a bowl with the cooled lentils, gently mix together.
- Add sumac, cumin, allspice, paprika, and garlic to the bowl and mix all ingredients.
- Drizzle freshly squeezed OJ and raw honey over top, mix and serve.
With summer right around the corner, I start thinking of my herb garden and all of the creative meals I can make using my abundance of fresh herbs. One of my favorite and most simple recipes is Lebanese lentil salad. This Lebanese lentil salad utilizes fresh herbs, juicy summer tomatoes, and warm Middle-Eastern spices that really bring the dish to life.
Growing up in the Middle East, this dish was a staple at local restaurants!. It’s light, fresh, and easy to whip up and bring as a side dish.
Not only is it delicious, but this salad has an abundance of healing properties.
Parsley
Parsley is the most amazing alkalizing herb. It is alkalizing to all of the body systems. Parsley is the most powerful weapon for fighting acidosis.
“Parsley’s specialized mineral salts bind onto unproductive acids in the body to drive them out. This alkalizing skill makes parsley helpful for preventing and battling every type of cancer.”
-Anthony William, The Healing Power Of Parsley Blog
Packed full of nutrition such as B vitamins like folic acid, traces of B12 coenzymes, and vitamins A, C, and K, parsley fights all pathogens and keeps bacteria, parasites, and fungus at bay. Additionally, parsley helps to remineralize the body as it is packed with trace minerals such as magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, chromium, selenium, iodine, and calcium.
One of the most incredible properties of this miracle herb is its chelation effect. Parsley has the ability to pull stores of herbicides and pesticides such as DDT.
Growing parsley doesn’t require much tending – in fact, it’s practically a wild food and can handle colder weather, making it adaptogenic in nature.
Cilantro
Cilantro is all the rage right now – it’s a common ingredient in recipes and found at popular restaurants, whereas just a few years ago, it wasn’t common at all! It’s easy to find at local grocery stores, and during the spring, packets of cilantro seeds are easy to come by for home gardeners. Fortunately, cilantro is one of the rare food trends that can stick around forever because not only is it a delicious herb, it has so many amazing health benefits!
Cilantro is also known as “coriander” or “Chinese parsley.” It has been found growing wild throughout much of southern Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, so it’s nearly impossible to determine where it truly originates. However, cilantro (or coriander) is a main component of many cuisines around the world, including Thai, Mexican, and Indian.
With its vivid green leaves and crisp flavor, cilantro adds a brightness to many dishes. While dried cilantro is available, so much of the flavor and aroma is gone. Fresh cilantro is easily accessible and a great addition to a window herb garden!
While the flavor is fantastic, the health benefits are outstanding. Anthony William, Medical Medium™ has put together some incredible information about cilantro in his book “Life Changing Foods.” Cilantro supports the digestive and endocrine systems, and it can also support heart health by lowering LDL cholesterol.
Cilantro benefits so many illnesses and chronic conditions, so if you have any of the following health concerns, cilantro should be a regular part of your diet:
- “Autoimmune disorders”, including Fibromyalgia, Addison’s Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Multiple Sclerosis
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Colitis
- Infertility
- Bell’s Palsy
Not only is cilantro packed with Vitamin A, K, and C, but it also has blood-enriching iron, immune-boosting magnesium, and bone-strengthening calcium. In addition to the nutrients, cilantro is an amazing detoxifier, able to sweep heavy metals like mercury and aluminum out of the body. Cilantro contains dodecenal, a natural antibacterial compound which kills off salmonella and other causes of foodborne illness.
Cilantro has a strong flavor that some people may find soapy, and if you don’t care for the flavor, Medical Medium™ protocol recommends either juicing with fresh fruits and vegetables or using cilantro oil, which less effective than fresh cilantro. However, I created a Basil-Cilantro-Pesto that I think will make anyone appreciate the delicious flavor of this herb! It’s super easy, takes hardly any time to put together, and it’s so much better than store-bought pesto! Pair it with rice, spiralized fresh vegetables, or pasta for a delicious, healthy entree!
Red Onions
Red onions contain sulfur compounds that strengthen the immune system, brain, and nervous system. These compounds also help to detoxify heavy metals from the body such as mercury, cadmium, and lead.
Furthermore, onions are the highest food source of quercetin, a potent antioxidant that can help prevent blood clots, asthma, sinus infections, bronchitis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins C, K, A, and B-complex, and well as minerals such as potassium, chromium, biotin, and beta-carotene. All of these vitamins and minerals help boost the adrenal glands and the immune system. Additionally, they help lower blood pressure, offer protection to the skin, and improve cardiovascular health.
Tomatoes are also a great source of lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant known to help prevent various types of cancer.
Being sweet and abundant in the summer, tomatoes make a wonderful addition to any salad.
Combining these healing ingredients with boiled lentils and adding some spices for seasoning makes a satisfying, delicious, and powerfully healing meal the whole family will enjoy!
While I like to drizzle some fresh squeezed orange juice and honey over the top, there are many options to dress this salad. Try my: Tomato-Herb Dressing, Creamy Avocado Dressing, or Spicy Tahini-Cilantro Dressing.
You could also try pairing it with any of my recipes from my Chutneys and Sauces Recipe eBook. If you like things spicy, I recommend using my family favorite, the Cilantro-Mint Chutney drizzled over top of this Lebanese lentil salad. Truly, any recipe in this eBook would pair well with this dish.
This eBook is filled with my classic family recipes for chutneys and sauces. With a wide variety of mouth-watering recipes, writing this took me right back to my childhood. I was blessed to grow up in a family that shared in the love of traditional cooking and passed these techniques down from generation to generation.
My passion for flavorful cooking is something I wish to share with each one of you!
It is amazing how the addition of a simple sauce can literally transform any recipe. This eBook gives you many options for meal-altering, taste bud tantalizing, and recipe game-changers!
ALL proceeds from this book will be going to Underdog Warriors, a not-for-profit organization, co-founded by two incredible individuals who recovered from chronic illness using the power of Medical Medium® information, and who decided they wanted to give back. Knowing what a struggle even the most simple tasks in life can be when you are chronically ill, Underdog Warriors support those suffering who have been left without the financial means or professional support they need to heal.
Underdog Warriors provides scholarships to help subsidize the cost of Medical Medium® recommended tools and supplements, as well as health coaching sessions for those in need.
Please leave me a comment below, letting me know if you make this dish and what dressing you decided to use – I would love to hear from you.
To your health & happiness,
Muneeza
