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. I friggin’ love this soup.
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:
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1 cup of green lentils
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4.2 oz of beef
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5 oz chicken breast
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230 calories
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230 calories
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230 calories
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|
1 gram of fat
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13 grams of fat
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5 grams of fat
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18g of protein
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29 grams of protein
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45 grams of protein
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6.6mg of iron
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2.1mg of iron
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1.5mg of iron
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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, if you have questions about protein, check out the Sipping Tea With Dr. G – Protein post.
Ok, are you ready to cook now or what? Here is what we are making:
OOhhh, pretty, right?
I hope that you like this recipe, and that you learned something today 🙂
Happy eating and best health,
Dr. G
Notes
* 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).
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
- I sprinkled this bowl with hemp seeds and topped with a basil leaf, but that is optional.
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George Garabedian
I made this the other night for dinner and it was awesome!! If you don't have Armenian 7 spice, just google it and you most likely already have most of the ingredients in the cabinet to make your own.
11 . Nov . 2015