Lentil Vegetable Salad with Vinaigrette Recipe- Vegan, Gluten Free, GAPS Legal

I haven't been eating the type of diet I would like to be eating lately. First I was eating too many grains and carbs and not enough vegetables. Then I decided to try to eating more veggie heavy, and lower carb/grain, which meant that I ended up eating animal protein heavy- animal proteins two or three times a day, which I try to avoid both for cost reasons and for morality reasons. (I'm not opposed to eating meat, but overeating meat is something I don't support.)
I wanted to include some vegan meals into my diet, but I felt like all vegan meals either were grain heavy and super carby, or cause stomach issues.

Then I thought about a lentil salad. The weather lately has been hot here, which makes light meals appealing to me. On top of that, I could leave out the grains, and make it vegetable heavy, so that it would be lower in carbohydrates and still somewhat diet friendly. (Yes, I've fallen off the bandwagon with that, but I'm trying to get back on it.)
I couldn't figure out what precisely to put in my salad, but then just decided to go with what was in my fridge.

It was amazing.

Really hit the spot, and seemed like something you'd order in a nice restaurant. In fact, I think I've gotten very similar to this, only with the addition of feta cheese, in the past at a restaurant.

While I used these specific veggies, the exact veggies make less of a difference- use what you have in the house. I think the only veggies that need to stay the same are the carrots and tomatoes, but the rest you can simply use what you have- zucchini, cucumbers, roasted eggplant, peppers, lettuce- whatever floats your boat!

Lentil Vegetable Salad with Vinaigrette Recipe- Vegan, Gluten Free, GAPS Legal

Ingredients
4 carrots
1 small purple onion
6-8 mushrooms
2 tablespoons oil for sauteing (I used olive but any is fine)
2 large tomatoes
1 3/4 cups green/black lentils, cooked until al dente
3 large swiss chard leaves and stems or other greens, like kale, lettuce, spinach, etc...
1/4 cup walnuts- optional
1/3 cup oil (I used olive, but any liquid oil is fine)
1/3 cup vinegar (I used kombucha vinegar, but wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or any other vinegar is fine)
2 teaspoons salt
1 garlic clove

Instructions
1. Boil your lentils until al dente- you do not want mushy lentils for this! I used a smaller variety of brown lentils, large brown lentils would also work, as would puy lentils- red lentils wouldn't work for this. Let cool, then strain.

2. Grate up your carrots. Add.

3. Slice up and saute your mushrooms. Add.

4. Chop up your tomatoes. Add.

5. Chop up your swiss chard into thin strips. Add.

6. Thinly slice your purple onion. Add.

7. Mince your garlic clove.

8. Mix your oil, vinegar, salt, and cloves. Pour over the salad, to taste.

9. Top with chopped walnuts, if desired.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite light vegan dish? Do you make lentil salad? How do you make it? Does this look like something you'd enjoy or make?