I just joined SparkPeople, a diet support and planning site. It’s free, so the price was right. I was delighted to find they have a fairly extensive collection of vegetarian recipes. Here’s the one we had last night:

Vegetarian Lentil Meatloaf

-Boil salted water in a saucepan.
-Add lentils and simmer covered for about 30 minutes (varies with the type of lentils). Boil until the lentils are soft and most of the water is absorbed.
-Drain and partially mash the lentils.
-Scrape into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
-Stir in onion, oats, and cheese.
-Add egg, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, parsley, and pepper and mix.
-Scrape into a loaf pan that has been sprayed generously with pam non-stick cooking spray.
-Smooth the top of the loaf.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, firm, and golden brown.
-Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
-Run a knife along the edges of pan, then turn out loaf into a serving plate.
-Makes 4 generous servings

“Generous”. Ha! Even I couldn’t have eaten a fourth of that size loaf. Maybe if I didn’t have anything else. But how could I eat meatloaf without mashed potatoes and corn? I’m asking you: How could I? Well, I couldn’t, that’s how.

Couple of things I did differently: I put some carrots and celery and peppers into the mix. I used crushed tomatoes rather than sauce, and poured spaghetti sauce over the hot loaf after I turned it out.

What I’ll do differently next time: I’ll use the spaghetti sauce IN the loaf rather than crushed tomatoes AND put the sauce on the top.

Two thumbs up. Lots of leftovers, too. Om nom!

WRITING PROMPT: Is your main character happy with his/her weight? Is it a question that would even come to mind? If not, why not?

MA