Yesterday morning was a crazy one. I was running behind from the gym but I wanted lentils for lunch. When I made it home from the gym at 6:05 am, I had about 45 minutes before I needed to leave for work. I figured that would be enough time to cook up some lentils and I created something delicious.
Lentils are part of the legume family and are a super healthy food. In one cup of lentils there is 18g of protein which is pretty impressive. Also, lentils take on the flavors of what they are cooked in so you can change the flavor of a lentil pretty easily. I went hot with my lentils yesterday!
Here’s what you need:
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup spinach chopped
2 cups chicken stock (I use low sodium)
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayanne pepper
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 bay leaf
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil (or any oil of your choice. TBH I used cooking spray!)
Here’s what you do:
1. Saute the onions, garlic and carrots with the oil. Cook until carrots become softer and onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms right before the other veggies are done.
2. Add the chicken stock, lentils and spices.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. After a rolling boil for 5 minutes, reduce the heat for a simmer and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. (This is really a life decision. I didn’t have much time but really the longer the better with lentils. What you’re really looking for is the lentil not to be hard because no one wants to eat that. Everyone’s preference is different.)
5. Remove the bay leaf and add in spinach.
6. Serve hot over brown rice.
This would be really great with some turkey sausage too. So that’s optional.
