Spring Is Here...Eat Your Colors!! Lentil and Grilled Pepper Salad

Spring is just an excuse for me to say eat your colors. There is a higher variety of fruits and vegetables in season at this time of year. Not only that, but because the weather is warmer, people are usually more inclined to eat things to keep them cool. Of course for some, this can mean ice cream bars galore, but for my more health conscious people, this means....(drumroll) MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!!!

So I found this awesome recipe online. It has quite a few little ingredients, but I can promise you once you make it, you will want to make it over and over again. Not only is it colorful and pretty to eat, but the fresh cilantro, which is a natural cleansing agent for the body and anti-inflammatory, and green onions with kalamata olives really enhance the taste of this dish, making it seem like it came from a restaurant and not your very own kitchen!

Grilled Peppers and Lentil Salad

· 1 of each--red, green and yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded

· Cooking spray

· 1 1/8 teaspoons salt, divided

· ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

· 1 ½ cups dried lentils (about ¾ pound)

· 1 small onion, peeled and halved

· 1 bay leaf

· ½ cup chopped green onions

·1/3 cup cilantro leaves

· 1/3 cup fresh lime juice

· ¼ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

· 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·  1 teaspoon cumin

Directions

Preheat grill to high heat, or use broiler. Lightly coat bell pepper pieces with cooking spray. Place bell pepper pieces, skin side down, on grill rack; grill 12 minutes or until skins are blackened. Place bell pepper pieces in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes; peel and chop bell peppers. Discard skins. Sprinkle with 1/2-teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Place bell peppers in a large bowl. Rinse and drain lentils; place in a large saucepan. Cover with water to 3 inches above lentils; add onion and bay leaf to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Drain lentils. Discard onion halves and bay leaf. Add lentils to bell peppers. Add remaining 5/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and remaining ingredients to lentil mixture; stir well. ENJOY!