Skip to main content

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

My son and I were home alone on Sunday and had one of those super lazy days where we stayed in pajamas all day long and didn't leave the house.  What a nice treat complete with hard rainfall, cozy covers, and movies on t.v.  Around 11:00 a.m. I got up and threw together a simple slow cooker lentil soup and enjoyed the yummy aroma emanating from the crockpot throughout the afternoon.  It's really nice to know that dinner's cooking and you don't have to worry about it later- gives you more time in your day and something to look forward to that night.  


INGREDIENTS (from America's Test Kitchen)
  • 2 medium onions , minced
  • 4 medium garlic cloves 
  • 2 TBS Extra-virgin olive oil (for serving, optional)
  • 1TBS tomato paste 
  • 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked, rinsed and minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves , or 1 teaspoon dried
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 slices of bacon 
  • 3 carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks 
  • 12 ounces portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (I used sliced bella mushrooms)
  • 1 cup brown or green lentils (1 cup), rinsed and picked over
  • 1 bay leaf (not pictured)
  • 8 oz. Swiss chard leaves only (I used collard greens) 

To maximize the flavor of the soup, I cooked the first few ingredients (onion, garlic, thyme, bacon, tomato sauce, porcini mushrooms) over the stove for about five minutes, but the recipe says you can have the same effect by microwaving those same ingredients for 5 minutes. 



Lentils are a great source of protein with about 3 grams of protein per tablespoon.


Stir both broths, bacon, carrots, fresh mushrooms, lentils and bay leaf into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low until the soup is thickened and the lentils are tender, 9 to 11 hours. (Alternatively, cover and cook on high for 5 to 7 hours.) 


When the soup has about 30 minutes left to cook, remove the bacon and bay leaf, and add in the chopped swiss chard (I used greens because my store was out of chard).  


At the end, season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle in a bit more olive oil.  I served ours with toasted French bread, but a healthier option would be to skip it or use whole wheat. 



* * * * * 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40 Day Fat Loss Challenge

At the beginning of last year (2014), I challenged myself to get in shape for my first ever NPC bikini contest and reached that goal after 5 months of training (July 2014).  Since then, I'd been pretty much slacking on the diet and workouts, but by October 2014, I was not liking how I felt physically when I had gotten used to being in great shape.  My weight was creeping back up and my muscle was turning into fat.  In November, I started back with my trainer and by December had started embracing my bikini meal plan again, but not nearly as strictly and not without lots of "cheats".  It was the holidays after all.  And I like to eat as much as the next person. Read more »
Post a Comment
Read more

Healthy Meal Prep | Grilled Chicken Salad

Today (Thursday) marks Day 7 of our 40-day Fat Loss Challenge.  I measured in on Day 1 at 24% (calipers) and today was at 22%!  Woo-hoo!  A 2% difference in 1 week is a big deal!  I'll show you some progress pics soon so you can see what it looks like.  I'm also using my heart-rate monitor (twice) and have been surprised at how little amount of calories it says I'm burning during my workouts.  I'll get into more detail on that in another post soon too. Today, I'm sharing one of the meals I've been eating- a Grilled Chicken Salad and I always make multiples at a time so I can just pull the assembled salad out of the fridge and I don't have to spend time reprepping.   Step 1 is to always have grilled chicken on hand or prepare enough for several salads.  If I'm just cooking 4-8 chicken breasts at a time, I use a grill pan.  Spray that pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium-high heat.  I pound my chicken breasts a little so they are thinner and cook eve
Post a Comment
Read more

40-Day Fat Loss Challenge (Day 14 Update)

It's time to check in and update my progress for the 40-Day Fat Loss Challenge I entered at my gym.  For my body fat percentage, I'll use my trainer's caliper measure since I won't have access to the machine until the 40 days is up.  The machine measured about the same as my trainer anyway.  My goal is to lose at least 1% body fat each week so that at the end of the 40 days (nearly 6 weeks), I'll have gone from 24% down to 17%.  I'm on track for that now, but would love to get closer to 15%.   PROGRESS Day 1:  24% body fat (112.4 pounds) Day 7:  22.4% body fat (110 pounds)  Day 14: 21% body fat (109.4 pounds)  (These numbers reflect what I weigh when I weigh-in at the gym mid-morning.  My weight below I take first thing in the morning when I wake up, so it's slightly lower.)  Below is a picture of where I'm at as of Day 13.  I didn't take a good "Day 1" picture, so the "start" is from December, but it's a good representation o
Post a Comment
Read more