Healthy Lentil Soup: Meatless Monday
This healthy lentil soup is my family’s favorite. I try to make a plant-based dinner on occasion. but they all roll their eyes. So every now and then I will throw in some chicken sausage. Lentils are super heart healthy plus they contribute to weight management. Loaded with healthy goodness and protein for those muscles.
1½ cups dried lentils
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 Vidalia or sweet onion, chopped small
4 garlic cloves minced
3 carrots, chunked
3 celery stalks, sliced small
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
4 ounces tomato paste
64 ounces vegetable broth
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp black pepper
5 cups of fresh kale chopped, remove most of stems
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
On medium heat, add olive oil to a medium pan and cook onion carrots, celery until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to low boil with lid tilted. Lower heat and cook 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Add kale, cook 2-3 more minutes. You could also do this in a crock pot. Dump it all in and cook on low 8-10 hours, or high 4-5 hours. Be sure to add kale at the last 5 minutes. Get a big spoon and dive into this delicious healthy lentil soup. Enjoy!