Lovely Lentil Soup with Greens
Beauty is a reflection of what goes in your body as well as what goes on it. Rich in fiber, lentils stabilize blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and improve cardiovascular health. These health benefits create radiant beauty from the inside out.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 5
- 1 cup lentils, soaked
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4–5 cups spring water
- ½ cup winter squash
- 1 piece wakame, 3″ long, soaked
- 1 medium bay leaf
- ¼ cup celery, diced
- ½ cup carrot, diced
- 1½ tablespoon sweet white miso
- 1 cup kale or collards, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- Lemon juice, to taste
Soak lentils overnight and drain. In a stockpot, sauté onion in oil until translucent. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute.
Add lentils and water, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam.
Peel squash and cut into ½″ chunks. Slice wakame into thin strips. Add squash, wakame, bay leaf, and remaining vegetables except greens to pot. Bring to boil, lower heat, and simmer until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes.
Purée miso with a little cooking liquid. Add miso purée to soup.
Add greens and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Season with lemon juice.
PER SERVING Calories: 186 | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 144mg | Carbohydrate: 32g | Fiber: 13g | Protein: 11g
Adjusting Cooking for Cool Weather
Adjust your cooking to create hearty (yang) meals in cool (yin) weather. To make a dish more yang, use cooking methods that add warming energy and concentrate flavors, such as pressure cooking, adding more salt, increasing cooking time, cutting vegetables into bigger chunks, using a heavy pot, and using less water.
