Do you ever get tired of the same old salad? Do you ever want a more substantial salad that features more fiber and protein?

Well, that’s what I was craving over the weekend so I decided to create this quick Lentil, Kale and Baby Beet Green Salad. I had about two cups of French lentils that had been kicking around the pantry for too long so I decided to drag them out and just cook them. Because these lentils cook quickly and hold their shape, they are perfect for adding to big hearty salads featuring a motley collection of ingredients. I didn’t think too hard while crafting this dish. I just used what was around the kitchen and in my garden.

While the lentils cooked, which took about 15 minutes, I gathered a dozen or so cherry tomatoes and some baby kale and beet greens from the garden. About ten big basil leaves were plucked while I was headed back en route to the kitchen. The kale, beet greens, and basil were stacked and cut into strips. The tomatoes were sliced in half and a handful of pine nuts were toasted in a pan on the stove.

After draining and cooling the lentils ever so briefly, I tossed about one cup of cooked lentils into a big bowl and then added the greens, the tomatoes and the pine nuts. A balsamic mustard vinaigrette was made by stirring one tablespoon Dijon, one tablespoon balsamic vinegar and about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a tablespoon vegetable oil. Part of the vinaigrette was drizzled over the lentil mixture and a few shavings of Parmesan were tossed into the collection. A generous flourish of French sea salt and freshly ground pepper finished off the gig. In all, it was a great super healthy high fiber salad that hit the mark for me. I have more vinaigrette and lentils sitting in the fridge, so maybe I’ll build an even better salad today…