Lentil Spinach Soup

I love simple recipes, especially simple soups.  Some days are so busy, that I truly appreciate a meal where I can just dump a few ingredients into my crockpot and walk away, knowing that dinner will be ready when it's time to eat.  Lentil Spinach Soup is one of those recipes.  It's also warm and happy on a cold, dreary day.  These are all ingredients that are fairly easy to keep on hand for when you need to just throw a meal together.  This recipe is also great for potlucks/lunch meetings.  Last year I took this to church for a meeting after worship.  I took all the ingredients with me and put them in the crockpot first thing.  It was ready by lunch.

Lentil Spinach Soup

1 lb. green lentils
12 oz mirepoix (soup starter: onions, celery, & carrots)
12 oz spinach
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
6-8 cups water

Sort and rinse dry lentils and place in crockpot.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook on low all day or on high for half the day.  Serve with whole wheat bread, if desired.

Chili

This chili is great on a cool night, on a camp out, or for feeding a crowd.  The black lentils are a great substitute for ground meat. I made it for a soup pot-luck at church once and no one realized that it was meat-free, until I told them. 


Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup dry or 1 (15 oz) can black lentils*
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
10 oz frozen corn
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp dried basil
2 1/2 cups water*

*Reduce water to 1 1/4 cup if using canned lentils.

If using dry lentils, rinse lentils and remove any tag-alongs from the field (small rocks, etc).  Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high (I set it for 300) for about 4 hours.  It can also be cooked on a stove, camp stove or over the fire.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about an hour for dry lentils or 1/2 hour for canned lentils.  Serve with rice and/or corn bread, guacamole, Bean Queso, etc.

In The News

Eat More Legumes for Better Diabetes Control

Lentil Barbecue

When I was growing up, our church hosted an annual Christmas bazaar.  Many crafts and baked goods were sold to raise money for the women's group.  Lunch was also served and it was always Beef Barbecue.  It was a favorite!  Moving to a more plant-based diet doesn't have to mean depriving yourself of favorite flavors.  Recipes, like this one, that are based on seasonings are easy to convert.  We've actually substituted lentils in many other favorites:  Cincinnati Chili, Sloppy Joes, taco filling, and chili sauce.  The results are just as tasty, healthier, and more economical (1 lb of dry lentils = 3 lbs of cooked lentils)

This is the Beef Barbecue recipe that I grew up on, but with lentils.  It was always made for a crowd, so this makes a lot (the original recipe calls for 6 lbs of beef).  I'm working on testing it to see how it works in smaller batches.  In the mean time, I'm enjoying the large batch that I started with.  I packaged the leftovers in 1.5 cup portions and froze them for future use.  They are wonderful on those evenings when I either don't have a dinner plan or don't have time to cook.  I just thaw/reheat and serve with some baby carrots, sugar snap peas, or some other quick and easy veggie.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Lentil Barbecue

2 lbs (4 cups) lentils
8 cups water
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
1 tsp Tabasco  sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 bottle catsup (14 oz)
3 Tbsp barbecue sauce (CNYers - I used Dinosaur BBQs original sauce)
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a large crockpot and cook on low for several hours, until lentils are desired consistency (not crunchy, soft but not mushy).  I'll continue to work on this to get a more specific time for you.

A Case for Lentils

Lentils have become one of my favorite go-to foods.  They come in too many varieties to count, are good in many types of food, are packed with great nutritional benefits, and are extremely economical!  They are used world-wide and in many different ways, although I do believe that they are under-utilized here in the US (the fact that I have to go to a specialty grocery to find a variety other than green supports this).  Lentils are great in soups, sauces, dahl (one of my favorite Indian dishes), veggie burgers, and more.

To see a selection of recipes using lentils, just click on "Lentils" on the "Topics" list on the right. 

More and more we are using lentils to replace ground meat in recipes.  We've used green lentils, French lentils and black lentils.  Any will work just fine, although our favorite is black lentils.  If you have a Whole Foods nearby, you should be able to find all three of these varieties, and more.  If you are in the CNY area, Wegman's has green lentils and Natur-Tyme and Green Planet Grocery have green and French lentils.  We have yet to find black lentils locally, but we haven't checked the Asian groceries.

Lentils are extremely economical!  For environmental reasons (as well as health and nutrition), I try to buy organic when I can.  Legumes are one area where I can justify the expense.  At one of our local grocery stores, I can get organic green lentils for $1.89/lb, organic brown lentils for $2.29/lb, and organic french lentils for $2.81/lb.  These prices are for DRY lentils.  Once I cook these, one pound of dry lentils turns into 3 (yes, THREE) pounds of cooked lentils.  I use cooked lentils as a 1 to 1 substitute for ground meat in many of my recipes.  That works out to be $0.63/lb of cooked green lentils, $0.76/lb of cooked brown lentils, and $0.94/lb of cooked French lentils.  When was the last time you saw ANY ground meat for those prices?!  This is one of the ways that I am able to feed our household a healthy diet on what the USDA considers a "trifty" to "low-cost plan".

Lentils are packed with great nutrition!  They are a great source of fiber, iron, calcium, folate, potassium and many other vitamins and minerals. There is only one nutritional concern I've heard from others regarding lentils:  carbs.  Due to the successful marketing of some diet plans, the idea is out there that carbs are bad.  What these diet plans don't always tell you is that not all carbs are created equal.  You should limit your refined carbs (bleached flour, sugary cereals, regular pasta, white rice, etc.).  Complex carbs (such as lentils) are perfectly fine and are actually great for you.  You need the fiber that comes from eating complex carbs to help keep your digestive system flowing.  Plus, there are many vitamins and minerals that your body needs from those complex carbs that you will not find in animal products.   

Following is a list of the nutritional benefits of one serving (1 cup) of cooked lentils compared to one serving (4 oz) of grass-fed beef. 

	lentils	beef
amount	1.00 cup cooked	4 oz
total weight	198.00 g	113.4
calories	229.68	175
calories from fat	6.77	27.45
calories from saturated fat	0.94	10.53
protein	17.86 g	26 g
carbohydrates	39.86 g	-- g
dietary fiber	15.64 g	-- g
soluble fiber	2.57 g	-- g
insoluble fiber	13.07 g	-- g
sugar - total	3.56 g	-- g
monosaccharides	-- g	-- g
disaccharides	-- g	-- g
other carbs	20.65 g	-- g
fat - total	0.75 g	8.1g
saturated fat	0.10 g	1.17g
mono fat	0.13 g	2.8g
poly fat	0.35 g	2.5g
trans fatty acids	0.00 g	0.13g
cholesterol	0.00 mg	74 mg
water	137.89 g	83.26 g
ash	-- g	1.92 g
vitamin A IU	15.84 IU	0.00 IU
vitamin A RAE	0.79 RAE	0.00 RAE
A - carotenoid	1.58 RE	0.00 RE
A - retinol	0.00 RE	0.00 RE
A - beta carotene	9.90 mcg	51.00 mcg
thiamin - B1	0.33 mg	0.06 mg
riboflavin - B2	0.14 mg	0.14 mg
niacin - B3	2.10 mg	7.60 mg
niacin equiv	4.77 mg	7.60 mg
vitamin B6	-- mg	-- mg
vitamin B12	0.00 mcg	1.44 mcg
biotin	-- mcg	-- mcg
vitamin C	2.97 mg	0.00 mg
vitamin D IU	0.00 IU	0.00 IU
vitamin D mcg	0.00 mcg	0.00 mcg
vitamin E alpha equiv	0.22 mg	0.25 mg
vitamin E IU	-- IU	0.37 IU
vitamin E mg	-- mg	0.25 mg
folate	358.38 mcg	14.74 mcg
vitamin K	3.37 mcg	1.02 mcg
calcium	37.62 mg	10.21 mg
copper	0.50 mg	0.08 mg
iron	6.59 mg	2.04 mg
magnesium	71.28 mg	26.08 mg
manganese	0.98 mg	0.01 mg
molybdenum	148.50 mcg	-- mcg
phosphorus	356.40 mg	240.40
potassium	730.62 mg	387.82 mg
selenium	5.54 mcg	23.93 mcg
sodium	3.96 mg	62.37 mg
zinc	2.51 mg	4.09 mg

French Lentil Taco Filling

Over the last few weeks we've been making several of our favorite ground meat recipes (sloppy joes, taco filling, bbq) with a combination of green lentils and quinoa. Then we discovered French Lentils. They are smaller than green lentils and have more of a ground meat look. Perfect! Here's how we used them to make a taco filling this week. In the picture is a soft taco tortilla with brown rice (cooked with Sazon Goya con Azafran), French lentil taco filling, and roasted corn salsa (will post recipe in the summer).  Yum! 

French Lentil Taco Filling
In a large pot, saute until translucent:
1 lg onion
5 garlic cloves (minced)

Add:
1 lb French Lentils
4 cups water
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
~20 grinds of black pepper

Simmer 45 min or until water is absorbed.

Lentil Soup

I have tried working with lentils several times in the past. When I first started, lentils were the one food my not-too-picky-eater (at the time) would not eat. It didn't matter how I fixed them. They were off the list, especially lentil soup. So, when we finally started to reintroduce them, we called them by a different name - split peas (split peas were loved - go figure). We started with red "split peas" for dahl. Then we took a favorite recipe, Cincinnati Chili, and made it with lentils instead of meat. At first we didn't say anything, but it went over well and we quickly confessed. Next we tried Taco Style Lentils and Rice, another hit. We are finally over our issues with lentils. Yesterday I decided it was time to reintroduce lentil soup. This time I consulted several cookbooks and came up with my own version using what I had on hand. The soup went over very well, especially paired with rice. As an added bonus, I have enough leftover to put away for future lunches, saving money and providing a healthier option at noontime.

Lentil Soup

2 cups (1 lb.) Lentils
8 cups Broth
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
1 Carrot, thinly sliced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) Diced Tomatoes

Sort and rinse lentils. Put all ingredients in a stockpot or crockpot and simmer for 2 hrs. Serve with rice (optional).

Cincinnati Chili with Lentils

I know there’s a group of Cincinnatians out there just cringing right now. I am messing with a classic. However, you probably weren’t too thrilled with my use of bison and TVP in my last entry either. This adaptation was inspired by a recipe a friend of mine e-mailed to me. It was another version of Cincinnati Chili with Lentils. It started me thinking about using lentils in the recipe in my previous post. So, I gave it a try and it turned out pretty well. No, it’s not exactly the same. However, if you are looking for a healthier, vegetarian, or a more economical alternative, this will work. It also passed with flying colors with the rest of the household, which is a major plus.

Cincinnati Chili with Lentils

3 cups lentils
9 cups broth
3 cups onion, finely chopped
4 ½ cloves garlic, minced
22.5 oz tomato sauce
3 Tbsp chili powder
3 Tbsp chocolate chips
1 ½ Tbsp vinegar
3 Tbsp honey
1 ½ Tbsp pumpkin pie spice*
1 ½ tsp cumin
¾ tsp cardamom
3/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in stock pot. Bring to a simmer (you may want to save adding the chocolate chips until now) and let simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. When lentils are cooked, blend mixture. I used my immersion blender, but you can blend a bit at a time in a regular blender. This will give it the same texture as the original recipe.

Serve over spaghetti with the following toppings:
Shredded cheddar cheese (for a 3-way) plus
Red beans OR chopped onions (for a 4-way)
Red beans AND chopped onions (for a 5-way)

*Pumpkin Pie Spice (substitute, 1 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves


While we all loved this, we are still playing around with the technique of making this recipe.  Why?  Because we think it's fun to experiment with different ways of doing things.  We're going to try running the lentils alone through the grinder to see what that does to the texture and I'm going to try making this in the crockpot.  I will ammend this post with the results of our effort - so be sure to check back!