The Magic Lentil Soup

So, today I made lentil soup.  There's a reason.  The lentil soup holds me to my goal to be healthy.  I can make up tons of little tupperware containers of soup and take them to work with me with a banana and a handful of almonds.  Because bad things happen when I don't take my lunch.



The food choices at work are difficult for me.  The ARE better choices than pizza and a coke, but I don't always make them.  If I take my lunch with me, I stay away from that temptation entirely.  And the lentil soup is magic.  Normally 5 or more bowls of it in a week will lead to at least a pound of weight loss.  Lentils are full of fiber, as are all the veggies in the soup, and it really fills you up and helps to control your blood sugar.  

I figure I'd share the recipe with you.  At one point, it came from Dr. Mark Hyman's Ultrametabolism book but I just do it from memory now.  (Those of you that haven't read that book, it's AWESOME.  And if you do the allergen elimination diet, well, it was life changing for me)  

We start out with a bunch of fresh veggies.  The leeks and shallots go first into the pan with a generous portion of olive oil (or sometimes coconut oil).  While those are getting happy in the pot, it's time to cut up a bunch of celery and carrots and a good helping of garlic.

This ended up not being enough carrots so I cut up a bit more.  The goal is to fill the pot just less than half full with veggies.  You don't have to use the ones I did.  I've used onions, squash of various kinds, kohlrabi, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and once, regular potatoes.  The regular potatoes made it a bit starchy for my liking so I decided not to use it again.

Next, you take half of a 16 oz bag of dry green lentils.  Put them in a strainer or colander and rinse them.  Look any little stones that may have been missed.... you don't want to eat these.  :)  

Then add most of a 2 quart carton of broth to the pot, followed by the lentils and stir.  Top it off with a couple of sprigs of thyme -- then cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about an hour.

After the hour is up, fish out a lentil and make sure it is smooshy and not hard.  Usually it is, but today I must have had the heat turned down too much because they weren't soft enough.  I just added the rest of the broth and brought it to a slow boil for about 10 minutes more and it did the trick.  I then stir in a 15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes.

Now this used to be where I was done.  But since being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, I can't tolerate a lot of whole lentils.  In order to properly digest and absorb all of the nutrients and fiber in the lentils and veggies, this is when I throw the entire thing into my trusty Ninja.  In the past, if I wasn't putting it in a blender, I would have cut my veggies much smaller than I did above.  It makes about 8 1-cup servings.  It even reheats well straight from the freezer.

So, now I'm set for lunches for at LEAST the next week.  :)  It will keep me away from the pizza and cherry coke.  :D