Another Non-Sacrifice

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

Ingredients

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup lentils

1 small onion , diced

1 cup quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, jack or american)

1 egg , beaten

4 1/2 ounces spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

-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