10 Minute Lentil Taco Bowl

After weighing in at my Weight Watchers meeting, I made the decision to reset the scale. Resetting the scale means a fresh start. All of my previous weight records - the gaining, the losing, the gaining, the losing - is erased.

I had made the same decision in February of last year, hoping it would kick start something in me.

It didn't.

To be honest, as much as I was frustrated and wanted to change, I just wasn't willing to put in the effort to make the change. I'd put in the effort a few days out of the week and then not the rest. I wanted to lose weight doing what I was doing - not being 100% committed. I ended up gaining an additional six pounds on top of ten that made me reset the scale the first time around. Sixteen pounds. Yikes. It just felt like that number kept hanging over my head. Even though I was losing weight, I never saw the negative number because the booklet kept showing me that I was still up pounds. That number was slowly being chipped away, but I didn't really see the progress. So I decided to erase the whole thing and start fresh again. I can now see the progress - down .4lbs this week. I need to keep chipping away at my ultimate goal, but it feels good to see that minus sign and not that plus sign.

In the spirit of new and fresh starts, I decided to try Simple Start for a week. Actually, I've decided to combine tracking with Simple Start. The point of Simple Start is to eat Power Foods since they are the most filling - and eat until you are satisfied. Not full, but satisfied. No measuring, no tracking, just keep it simple by focusing on the Power Foods. To help me keep a handle on what I'm eating, I'm going to track/measure as I go along. It's been a really great challenge to see what meals I can create based on Power Foods.

Here's something I came up with using lentils. It really took me all of ten minutes to make - thanks to a package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils. The longest part is just waiting for the lentils to simmer with the taco spice. Build the bowl however you want. I used brown rice, but feel free to use quinoa or even polenta. Whatever floats your boat!

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10 Minute Lentil Taco Bowl

1 package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils  - or - 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
2 Tbls homemade taco seasoning or 1 taco seasoning packet
1 cup of water
1/2 cup brown rice per person/serving
Lettuce
Pico de gallo
cilantro
green onions
2 Tbls fat free Greek yogurt per serving

Place the lentils in a medium sized saucepan with taco seasoning and water over medium high heat. Bring the mixture up to a hard simmer and then turn down to simmer. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes until the lentils are heated through and spices are absorbed. Serve 1/2 cup of lentil mixture over 1/2 cup brown rice. Top with veggies and fat free greek yogurt. Enjoy!

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5 servings | 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus