What would you say your favourite vegetable is? Do you even like vegetables?
When I was little. I remember hiding uneaten veggies in napkins and making a wild dash to the nearest garbage so I could dispose of the evidence (sorry Mom and Dad, I hope you aren’t reading this!).
I hated vegetables. I thought my parents were force-feeding me these bland and tasteless semblances of food (steamed veggies just didn’t cut it for me back in the day). Id rather eat candy. Or steak.
Now that I live on my own, I find that I can’t seem to get enough of them (I’m sure that my background in nutrition hasn’t hindered my regard). Since I have been in charge of my own food, I have experimented with cooking vegetables in new and exciting ways that can pack in tons of delicious veggies (and at the same time, make sure that vegetable haters will devour them).
Kale is a definite favourite in my house. My parents planted over 40 kale plants in our garden this summer to ensure that we never have to go without this nutritional powerhouse of a vegetable.
Kale is chock-full of wonderful nutrients such as Vitamin A, K and C as well as a rich source of polyphenolic compounds (natural plant products) called glucosinolates that have many beneficial properties. Now since this is a recipe and not a Nutrition Lecture, I will get on with my soup.
This lentil soup was wonderful. It was full of veggies, and spiced to perfection. This soup will make you regular. I was shocked that even my brothers (who are self-described kale haters) also loved this soup and ate every last bit of kale.
I was so proud.
Recipe: Mixed Lentil Soup
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups green lentils rinsed
1 cup red lentils rinsed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne
1 tbsp chicken spice (optional – but I love chicken spice)
1 carrot diced
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced or crushed.
1 small green zucchini diced
1 small yellow zucchini diced
1 can diced tomatoes in juice (~28 oz)
1L low sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth)
500mL-1L water
1 bunch kale (3-4 cups after de-stemming)
Variation:
Add protein! (chicken, shrimp etc)
Methods:
In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic until translucent and stir in the spices. Add the green lentils and stir to coat. Pour the tomatoes with their juice and half of the stock and water. Bring to a boil before covering the pot and simmering for ~20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the red lentils and the carrots as well as the remaining water and stock. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes before adding the zucchini. When there is 5 minutes left, stir in the kale. Adjust seasonings and liquids to taste (the lentils soak up a lot of liquid so you might need to add more so it is more like a soup unless a more stew-like consistency is preferred).
