Millet, Lentil & Roasted Veggies Bowl--Inspiration for Veganuary & Beyond!

Hello dear Steemit community!  If you checked out my #fruitsandveggiesmonday post yesterday, then you know I promised a recipe from my meal plan this week.  I thought it would also be a good time to continue to advocate for @lolzwithlisa's #veganuarycontest!  You can check her latest contest info post here, and definitely join in if you can!  There is plenty more time left in the month to participate-both on Steemit and in your kitchen!

As many of the other fabulous foodies on here have mentioned before, the best thing we can do to encourage people to try a plant-based lifestyle is create and share beautiful and delicious foods!  Well, mine may not always be beautiful, but if I share it on here at least I am pretty sure it tastes good.  If you don't like my take on vegan food, then there are tons of other people to follow. ;)  So my continuing advice to the folks just trying out this lifestyle is to keep finding people who share food you will actually make or who inspire you to try your own creations.  You tend to adopt similar habits to those you spend the most time with, so surround yourself with people you want to be like (even if it is virtually). 

I have to put in a big plug for the vegan community here on Steemit, since I'm on the topic.  This is a fantastic place to find support for this lifestyle.  I was having an exchange with @heart-to-heart just the other day about how welcome I felt once I started finding people to connect with on here.  Although I had already adopted a plant-based diet years ago, I can imagine it would have been even easier if I had this kind of support back then.  I won't go through and try to list everyone (there are getting to be so many--yay!), but I think the vast majority of the vegan folks on here are happy to lend a word of support whenever you may need it to help keep you motivated for Veganuary or longer! ;)

I suppose that's enough of a pep talk for today--on to the yummy stuff!  This recipe may seem a little bit complicated at first glance since it has a few different components, but it is pretty straight forward to make.  As usual, you can substitute any of the ingredients to your liking!  I know a lot of people don't like beets, so you can change out with any other root vegetable--parsnips, carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes would all work here. 

I used mint that we dried from our massive bush in the garden.  It was broken up into fairly large pieces, so take that into account when measuring if you decide to use dried ground mint instead.  It is pretty subtle in the dish, but does pair nicely with the cumin, coriander and sumac.  I have all of my fabulous flavored vinegars from Oli + Ve, so that's why I opted to make my own dressing.  If you want to keep it even more simple, just use your own favorite dressing or drizzle with plain balsamic.

 Millet, Lentil & Roasted Veggies Bowl

Makes 6 servings

• 1 cup millet
• 1 cup French, black or green lentils
• 3 beets, trimmed & chopped
• 2 small or 1 large acorn squash, seeded & chopped
• 1 bulb fennel, woody stems removed (try to reserve the leafy fronds for your dressing) & chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried torn mint leaves (use less for ground)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried cumin
• leafy greens for serving
• green olives, pitted & halved

Balsamic Mint Dressing

• 3 tablespoons herb-flavored balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon white balsamic vinegar or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice + 1 tablespoon white balsamic
• 2-3 tablespoons water to thin out or reduce the acidity as needed
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried torn mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh fennel fronds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place your prepared beets, squash and fennel on a baking sheet lined with a silicone or parchment liner.  Sprinkle with mint, coriander and cumin then mix lightly.  Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, depending upon how big your pieces are.  Stir at least once halfway.

While your vegetables are roasting, cook the millet and lentils according to package instructions in vegetable broth or water.  *I cooked mine separately so I could get the lentils to the desired texture, but if the package states similar cooking times feel free to cook together to make it easier!  Set aside until you are ready to put together your bowls.

Once your items are cooked, place a few handfuls of leafy greens into each of your bowls.  Top with a healthy scoop of millet, lentils and your roasted veggie mixture.  I added a few halved olives to each of my bowls, but left them off of my boyfriend's servings.

Enjoy!