Vegan Lentil and Veggie Stuffed Peppers

Hi Guys!

This post isn’t getting much of an intro because I’m so freaking excited to share this week’s featured recipe and I’ve got a wicked workout experience to tell you about. Let’s get straight into it!

1. Recipe of the Week. If there’s one ingredient in my kitchen cupboards that I won’t need to buy any more of for a long time, it’s lentils. Somehow I’ve acquired TONS, a statement I believe I’ve made on the blog before. Seriously, if you need some, let me know.

Although they don’t sound like a very exciting ingredient, there’s a lot of nutritional goodness going on inside these guys. I’m making an effort to eat lots because of their high iron content, especially since restoring iron is one of my goals for this month/year.  In addition to that, they’re high in plant-based protein and dietary fiber, and make for a great addition to warm winter recipes…. like stuffed peppers!

These Lentil and Veggie Stuffed Peppers have been sitting in my list of recipes to test for months now, and last week, they finally came to life.

For those of you who have low iron or are anemic like me, this meal is an iron-clad superstar. I highly, highly recommend using red bell peppers (as opposed to any other colour) because they’re jam-packed with vitamin C, which aids in the absorption of iron. As far as the other veggies in the mix go, feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I mixed up a bunch of sliced leek, carrots, celery and tomatoes, but zucchini, onion, peas, and diced sweet potato would also work really well.

Thinking that these look fancy and too difficult to make? Think again! Trust me, if I had the patience to do this while already feeling a little hungry and take photos before digging in, you can do it too!

Click here for the recipe!

2. A workout at Redline Conditioning. Recently one of my friends told me she’d been doing a new training program at a studio in Kitchener called Redline Conditioning, and that her trainer was totally kicking her butt. Since butt kicking and that painful-but-wonderful-at-the-same-time muscle soreness are my idea of a good time (seriously), I really wanted in on a bit of the action. One of the owners, Stephanie happens to work out at my gym as well and I met her after finishing my cardio session last Friday. I’d just polished off 14 miles on the bike and 15 mins of stairs, and was spraying some paper towels to wipe off the Stair Master. We said our hellos, and she commented that I looked like I was “really givin’ er”, when what she probably really wanted to say was “wow, you’re a hot sweaty mess!” In all fairness, I totally was. As it turns out, I couldn’t have been too smelly because she offered me some complimentary sessions at Redline. As you can imagine, I was thrilled and offered to chat about my experience on the blog in this week’s Try Something New Tuesday recap.

Redline Conditioning is the official strength and conditioning provider for the Kitchener Rangers and Kitchener Dutchmen, two of our junior hockey teams. (On a side note, in case you hadn’t noticed, our Canadian boys have been doing pretty darn awesome in Sochi where hockey is concerned!) The space has some of your standard gym gear like bikes, a treadmill, BOSUs, free weights, and squat racks, but then there’s also a ton of fun stuff like TRX straps, weighted sleds, and battle ropes.  Stephanie runs a number of group training classes for women including HIIT Fit, Core Cut, and Olympia (a total body strength building workout).

My first visit was on Saturday, and the second was yesterday. For Saturday’s class, I didn’t really know what to expect so after my morning run, I skipped strength training at the gym (figuring I didn’t need any unnecessary muscle fatigue!) and went to Redline instead. The group of us (about 6) started with a quick warmup on spin bikes, then moved through a big circuit that Steph set up that included trap bar walks, plie squats, sled pushing, battle ropes, single-leg step-ups, box jumps, barbell deadlifts, and weighted hip thrusts.

We did each move for 2 minutes each before resting for one minute and moving on to the next. The box jumps (which I normally hate) weren’t too bad, but the battle ropes totally fired up my arms and the weighted hip thrusts were absolutely brutal in the last minute!

We finished off with some foam rolling and stretching, and because I had such a great time, I decided to return again yesterday for another beating workout. Everything we did was different from Saturday’s class (more group-oriented, with everyone doing the same moves together as opposed to working through stations), but I enjoyed it just as much. As many of you know, I like my routines but part of me is really liking the whole never-know-what-you’re-gonna-get thing. Since one of my goals for this year is to become as versatile an athlete as I can, the plan is to to continue going to these classes to add more variety to the activities that are already part of my fitness regime.

If anyone local happens to be interested in checking Redline out, they’re currently offering a deal for people that aren’t yet members that kicks off in March. Capacity is limited though, so if you want to get in on it you’ve gotta move quick! To get all the details, including who to contact, you can check out the flyer here.

Now I want to hear from you:

• What are your favourite stuffed pepper fillings?
• Have you recently discovered any new-to-you fitness classes? What did you try and how did you like it?