Red Lentil Soup Recipe (Loaded with Vitamins!)
Want a healthy, low-calorie vegan soup loaded with vitamin A, C and K … and that will also keep you satisfied for hours? Try this red lentil soup recipe from my new book Ancient Remedies.
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Why it works: Want a healthy, low-calorie vegan soup loaded with vitamin A, C and K … and that will also keep you satisfied for hours? Try this red lentil soup recipe from my new book Ancient Remedies.
Ingredients
- coconut oil or unsalted grass-fed butter1 tablespoon
- carrots, peeled and chopped3
- celery stalks, chopped3
- onion, chopped1
- garlic cloves, minced2
- low sodium vegetable broth5 cups
- red lentils (or green or brown)1 cup
- dried thyme1 teaspoon
- stemmed and chopped kale or Swiss chard2 cups
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the broth, lentils, and thyme. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
- Add the kale and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes to wilt the kale. Season with salt and pepper.
Swaps & notes
Serve as a starter for your dinner or even have at lunch with a chunk of crusty sprouted wheat bread. Enjoy!
The following is an adapted excerpt from my new book “Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History" (Little, Brown Spark)
Want a healthy, low-calorie vegan soup loaded with vitamin A, C and K … and that will also keep you satisfied for hours? Try this red lentil soup recipe from my new book Ancient Remedies.
Lentils are considered a top “functional food” due to their high nutritive value, polyphenols, minerals, fiber and other bioactive compounds. While they’re known for providing protein and fiber, their polyphenol content is becoming the focus of ongoing research, since polyphenols are know play an important role in the prevention of degenerative diseases.
One serving of this red lentil soup provides 25 percent daily value of vitamin C, 392 percent (!) daily value of vitamin A and 84 percent of vitamin K, for instance. Wowsers!
How to Make Red Lentil Soup
In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Next, add the broth, lentils and thyme. Lentils-wise, red lentils produce a beautiful color, but green or brown lentils can work just as well and provide nearly an identical nutritional profile. If you're not a vegan, consider using bone broth from scratch (or protein powder from bone broth mixed with water) for more nutrition. Bring this soup mixture to a boil.
Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add the kale and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes to wilt the kale. Season with sea salt and pepper.
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