Dr. G's Lentil Soup: A Bowl of Warm Me Up! AND A Discussion About Iron Too :)

If you don't think that you like lentil soup that is because you have not tried this one yet.  It has all of the regular lentil soup stuff with a special Dr. G twist.  Lentils are a legume and come in a variety of different sizes and colors.  They are also a particularly nutrient dense food, FYI.  I especially like legumes because they are my go to answer for one of the most annoying questions that I get from skeptics of a plant based diet: If you don't eat meat, where do you get your iron from?  Ummm...Legumes, you know like beans and lentils.

For comparison's sake:

1 cup of green lentils	4.2 oz of beef	5 oz chicken breast
230 calories	230 calories	230 calories
1 gram of fat	13 grams of fat	5 grams of fat
18g of protein	29 grams of protein	45 grams of protein
6.6mg of iron	2.1mg of iron	1.5mg of iron

Yes, there is more protein per calorie in meat than lentils, but notice that there is also more fat and less iron.  By the way, we will talk about protein in Sipping Tea with Dr. G #2, so keep an eye for that soon.

Ok, are you ready to cook now or what?  Here is what we are making:

Dr. G's Lentil Soup

You will need:
4 cups low sodium vege broth
2 cups of water
1 cup green lentils
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons Armenian 7 spice* to taste






* Armenian 7 spice and it's Lebanese, Greek, and middle eastern cousins can be found at specialty food stores or you can make it yourself! Just mix together allspice (1 tablespoon), cinnamon (1 tablespoon), cloves (1 teaspoon), black pepper (1 tablespoon), mahlab (1 teaspoon, optional), nutmeg (1 teaspoon), and ginger (1 teaspoon).  By the way check out this post Armenian Festival: Vege style of course! for more Armenian recipes. 

Throw your celery, carrot, onion and garlic into the bottom of a soup pot and cook them down just until they start to soften a little.  

Now, dump in the rest of the ingredients and put over a medium high heat.

Cover and let simmer (or low boil at the most) for 20-30 minutes.  Check a lentil or two; they should be tender, but not mushy when done.


I usually remove the bay leaf when the soup is done cooking if I can find it.







Hint: The lentils will continue to absorb liquid so you may need to add a little more broth or water to the left overs.

I sprinkled this bowl with hemp seeds and topped with a basil leaf, but that is optional.




ENJOY!












I hope that you like this recipe, and that you learned something today :)

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G