Are you stuck in a lunch time food rut? It’s easy to get into the routine of eating the same things for lunch each week. This is especially true if you don’t have much time on your hands – you tend to go on autopilot and stick with the familiar for ease. Now’s the time change things up and make lunch times exciting again with this wholesome lentil ribbon salad with feta and ras el hanout sweet potatoes.
When I was commuting to London for work, I always found it difficult to know what to pack for my lunch. At the weekend I would batch make my lunches for the week, but sometimes by the middle of the week I was bored with eating the same lunches over and over. Often I would end up spending lots of money in the local coffee shops and buying takeouts from the nearby sushi restaurants. Not that there is anything wrong with buying your lunch from the shops and I loved my bought in lunches, they were a lovely albeit expensive treat; the cost soon added up. Also, sometimes when I thought I was making the most wholesome choice for lunch, it actually wasn’t, particularly in relation to the amount of hidden sugar and salt in the food.
Are you stuck in a lunch time food rut? Change things up with this wholesome lentil ribbon salad with feta and ras el hanout sweet potatoes.
- 1 carrot
- 1 courgette
- 400 g green lentils (cooked)
- 50 g feta cheese
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3 tbsp ras el hanout paste
- mixed salad leaves
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Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
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Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Coat them with the ras el hanout paste and bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven. Set aside once cooked.
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Using a speed peeler, create ribbons with the carrot and courgettes. In a large bowl, place them on top of the mixed salad leaves.
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Pour over the green lentils, feta cheese, and baked sweet potato cubes.
I’m on a real salad kick at the moment and absolutely love how versatile and exciting you can make them. I know many think that salads are boring and will have them reaching for the biscuit tin an hour later. For me, experimenting a mix of legumes, grains and fibrous vegetables and protein make them more satisfying. My go to add-ins are lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, cous cous, feta cheese, salmon, tuna, sweet potatoes, halloumi, feta cheese, roasted vegetables, hummus. I know as long as I’ve thrown a few of these ingredients into my salad, it’s going to be good!
El ras hanout paste is a new addition to my kitchen cupboards. I’m always looking for new spices and ingredients to try and since I love North African food I’m shocked that I hadn’t come across it sooner. Roasting the sweet potatoes in the paste really brings out the sweetness in the potatoes while adding a wonderful Moroccan flavour. If you’re bored of using the same old spice blends then I can definitely recommend ras el hanout as an easy way to make your lunches more exciting.
What an interesting looking salad, I’ve not seen feta made into ribbons before but I bet it actually works really well like that!
This looks so pretty. I really love the idea of cutting vegetables into ribbons!
Thank you! I’m always thinking about different ways to present vegetables. ?
Oh this looks amazing, I’m kind of obsessed with lentils at the moment and love feta too. What a pretty looking dish as well.
Thank you! ?
This looks beautiful and sounds so tasty. I love ras el hanout but I haven’t used it in ages – thanks for the reminder!
Thank you! It’s such a beautiful spice blend.
Whilst I don’t commute all the way to London, I still find it difficult to determine what to pack for lunch…
It can be a tough one can’t it!
Ooh this sounds delicious Jemma. I have to say I never get bored of lunch, but time is always an issue. This would make a fantastic supper dish too I reckon.
Thank Choclette. Yes, it would make a great supper too.
That’s so good that you batch make lunches, this is definitely something I should be doing more of x
It definitely helps with busy working weeks.
I’ve got a real thing for feta right now, and I love the sound of the sweet potatoes. Definitely my kind of recipe!
I’m obsessed too! Feta all over everything for me. ?
Now this is definitely an upgrade in comparison to sandwiches. I love how fresh and healthy the lentil salad looks x
Ooh this looks delicious, I’m loving anything to do with sweet potatoes at the moment! xo
Thank you! I love them too.
I love salads but I’m always so boring when I make my own. This sounds delicious ad a great way for me to be a bit more adventurous. Plus, I love feta.
Thank you! I’m a massive feta fan too.
This looks delicious, that squash looks particularly tempting! I usually have crackers with hummus for lunch which does get boring after a while!
Hummus can never get boring, can it?
This hot/cold salad looks so good. I’ll try it once I stop breastfeeding, as lentils are off the menu for me right now.
You could use chickpeas instead or perhaps rice.
Ras El Hangout is something I’ve not cooked with before but definitely should check out. What an interesting salad!
It’s such a lovely spice blend. I highly recommend!
This looks heavenly. I definitely need to give it a try, as I love feta cheese!
Thank you!
This looks heavenly. I definitely need to give it a try, as I love feta cheese! xx
I’m a huge fan of salad but I haven’t tried this yet. I love all the ingredients and this looks yummy and healthy!
Thank you!
This looks really good. The combination of lentils and feta cheese is interesting. Would love to try this.
Thank you!