Let’s fight doom and gloom together!
We at Living Vino are on the mission to introduce you to a variety of healthy foods. Apart from health, they can boost our moods and happiness levels too!
For example, lentils are known to contain a lot of folic acid (B vitamin folate) and it helps to produce serotonin. The latter is a neurotransmitter and so called ‘happiness hormone’. Do we need to persuade you further?
Keeping your gut bacteria happy is also very easy with lentils, they are a perfect source of fibre (fiber). When you come across fibre-rich ingredients, make a note, they also release sugar into bloodstream very slowly. It means no mood swings and better weight management. Sounds wonderful?
High in protein and containing a wealth of nutrients, they are truly a miracle food. A scientific study found that eating lentils can reduce inflammation. It means your body can cope with various lifestyle diseases like heart disease to cancer better.
Lentil Soup Recipe
Our current recipe comes also packed with other anti-inflammatory compounds like turmeric, uses plenty of veg and is very satisfying. Meet lentils soup!
To make 6 servings you would need:
- 8 cups homemade vegetable stock (or 6 cups plus 2 cups of water, if you like less concentrated flavor)
- 2 onions diced (we like it a bit chunky)
- 3 carrots, more finely diced
- 1/4 cup olive oil (not extra virgin / or good quality refined sunflower oil)
- 2 stalks of celery, finely diced (like carrots)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 small green bitter peppers, de-seeded and diced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 cups dry lentils (we were using red lentils)
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp dried coriander
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup spinach
- Pinch of sumac (optional)
How do you cook your lentil soup:
We were using multi-cooker, but usual pot will do just fine! Pour oil and when hot, add diced carrots, celery, garlic, onions, bitter pepper, turmeric, oregano, basil, dried coriander and chilly powder. Sautee until onions are translucent and carrots softened a bit. Add lentils to the mix and stir for a few minutes so they toast a little bit.
Add stock and water, bay leaves, red wine vinegar and season well. Slowly simmer for up to an hour.
It is basically ready. Serve in bowls.
We love slightly wilted spinach, so arrange shredded spinach on top of your soup so it wilts a bit. Sprinkle with sumac if desired. Enjoy!
You can have a deeper look into our nutrition guidelines and take a note of 7 foods that help to boost our immunity too. Stay healthy!
PS. We like this soup slightly spice with our dash of chilly powder. How do you like it?
