Winter Lentil Soup

(adapted from Real Simple 2006)

Real Simple is simply not simple enough for me. I did a search for lentil soup on Cooking Light’s website and this recipe came up. Being a bit lazy and not wanting to buy a whole slew of items, especially ones that are not in season right now (re: leeks), meant I changed the recipe quite a bit.. Here’s what I did, and it is delicious.

RhodeyGirl’s take on winter lentil soup:

Serves: 5
Calories/serving: ~200

Ingredients:
1 35 oz can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into pieces
6 cups water
1/2 cup of rinsed brown lentils
3 cups of fresh chopped kale

Directions:
I didn’t add any salt or pepper to this recipe because the can of tomatoes already had some salt, but feel free to add if you like your meals a little salty haha. The directions are simple, as usual.

1. Put the tomatoes, sweet potato, and water in a big pot and bring to a boil. After it boils bring it down to a simmer and stir once in a while until the potatoes soften, about 30 minutes. Using your handy dandy hand blender blend the pot of yummy goodness. When it is nice and thick and creamy add your rinsed lentils + kale. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the lentils are done. Enjoy!

I was in the mood for a really thick soup, and this really hit the spot. It has creamy, chewy, tasty- lots of fun adjectives can be used!

I enjoyed a portion of this with 4 Kashi party crackers for lunch today. 4 of these big guys = 15 of the smaller TLC ones as far as calories go, and it was nice to have a change from the other crackers.

Oh, and by the way, I did the search for lentil soup in the first place because I wanted to show PB how easy it was to make it. He just bought 5 cans of Progresso lentil soup at $2.49/can, and it would be not only so much cheaper but much, much healthier to make his own! If you are worried about not having time, then make a big batch when you do have time, then freeze them in individual portions. This whole big pot of soup (5 normal servings or 4 PB size servings) cost a whopping total of $4, and that was with a whole bag of lentils (of which I only used 1/2 cup).