Lentil Tomato Sauce. Vegan. Gluten Free.

Happy Monday friends! After a long swimming-packed rest weekend – It was hard to get rolling this morning. But it’s a Monday and I’m not big on excuses. So the day started. Running. Swimming. Tennis and then volunteering for me and my girls. Pretty uneventful day except that our weather has gotten terribly hot here. It was 80 degrees at 5 am. Heatwave has arrived… much to my dismay. I know, the snow will be here before we know it but geez this is the fringe of hell heat.

This recipe was created last week. I’m always looking for extra ways to add protein to meals. I was shocked when even my 78 year old very Italian father ate the pasta with the lentils! He liked it. #forthewin But I have to give credit where credit is due… my youngest volunteers at two senior centers during the week. She picked up a monstrous zucchini at their market and I knew I had to make some zoodles with it… I’m mean really, what else could I do with a 5 lb zucchini she was so proud that she bought me?

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 large zucchini for spiralizing pasta noodles or use your favorite pasta
1 -28 ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil and parsley for finishing.
1 can of BPA free lentils – drained and rinsed

Directions:

Make your zoodles with your spiralizer sold here. If not, make your favorite pasta.

In a large Dutch oven, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Then add your onions, garlic and peppers. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Then add your spices and tomatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend down the sauce until you reach a puree. Taste and add salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 30-60 minutes. Right before serving, I add the lentils and give a good stir. Serve the sauce over your pasta or veggie noodles.

You can eat the zucchini raw or as I’ve found – I add them to a pot of salted boiling water for about 4 minutes and drain then serve.

Top with fresh parsley and basil. Enjoy!

I finished out last week with 50.25 miles with 4 days of running. That was a lot for me. I decided to take the weekend off and recover- which was nice. I needed it. So back at it today…

Monday: 10 treadmill miles at pace