Recipe: Olive Oil Pasta with Walnuts, Lentils & Red Peppers

Monday was an unplanned rest day because my gym = a university gym, and because it's spring break this week, there was no spinning on Monday.

I thought about running, but I got stuck at work for about an hour and a half later than I had planned.  Then I had to swing by the grocery store on my way home, then I made dinner.  Suddenly it was 8:00!  I did approximately 100 crunches on the living room floor so I wasn't completely lazy.

Dinner was a recipe from the blog Oh She Glows: Olive Oil Pasta with Walnuts, Lentils, and Red Peppers.

Here are the ingredients for a large serving, check out her blog post linked above for the cooking instructions:

• 1 serving (3oz) spaghetti (I used Kamut pasta)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, dry toasted
• 1/2 cup + 1-2 tbsp medium heat salsa (I used Simply Natural brand)
• 1.5-2 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2-2.5 tbsp nutritional yeast (gives it a creaminess)
• 1-1.5 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried basil (fresh would be lovely!)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1/3 cup cooked lentils

My modifications:
-No idea what kamut pasta is.  I used whole wheat spaghetti.
-Couldn't find nutritional yeast at my store, and I'm not vegan, so I found an asiago cheese described as having a nutty flavor to substitute.
-I skipped the ketchup because we don't own any, minus a couple packets from take out food.
-I multiplied the recipe by about 4 so we'd have leftovers.  And we've each had 2 meals out of it...with more left in the fridge.
-I added 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes...holy hotness. Husband loves it; I need a large glass of water.
-I didn't have pre-cooked lentils, so that added to the prep time.  I think I had this whole thing ready in about 45 minutes.


It was a pretty good protein-packed pasta dish.  Husband gave it a thumbs up too.

Here are some photos from the process.

Finished Product

(I don't know why the spacing is off, I tried to but cannot fix it).

I think Daylight Savings time is evil!  It is making it harder for me to leave work on time, because it's still so bright out, so I think it can't *possibly* be time to leave work yet.

Today I stayed at work later too, because a meeting ran way longer than expected, but at least I didn't have to go to the grocery store, and dinner tonight was leftovers from last night.  So after work I got in a 5.5 mile easy run...in daylight.  Amazing!

Wednesday I'm planning to do some kind of speed work, then make some fabulous St. Patty's Day-colored baked goodies to bring into work on Thursday.  I'm helping it will improve the tone of my Thursday meetings :)  I'll share the recipe & pics after I make them!

How are you adjusting to Daylight Savings Time??