Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lentils With An Italian Kick!



I love lentil soup but have tried to keep it more organic and rich with this recipe. You'll notice my stock is large cuts of carrots and celery and I've added a lot more spices to spice it up of course!  I love lentil soup by itself but when serving for others I always feel it should be paired with a meat.  In this case I found a great product that added the italian kick I was looking for.


I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did last night. Whats even greater about the first serving is the second and third servings.  The flavors keep building over 24 hours.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 bay leafs
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) whole tomatoes
  • 2 cups dry lentils
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and layered on soup
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • also add these for some punch (cumin, red chili pepper, or turmeric)

Optional: 
Italian style sausage by aidells at www.aidells.com I opted for their smoked chicken & turkey sausage made with poultry raised without hormones. This product also has no gluten and no msg.
Directions
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.
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2 comments:

  1. theresa vinciguerraSeptember 26, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    I like your sausage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 24, 2010 at 9:53 PM

    Enjoyed this very much. Thanks for introducing me to this recipe. I can't wait to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete

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MUFA The New Mantra

What are MUFAs? Pronounced (MOO-fah)

MUFAs are Monounsaturated Fatty Acids. In biochemistry, we learned that Mono-Unsaturated Fatty acids have ONE single double bond in the fatty acid change where as the PolyUnsaturated fatty acids have more than one double bond (hence mono and poly). MonoUnsaturated fats are plant based fats, see below for foods high in MUFAs.

What are the Health Benefits of MUFAs?

Studies show that a foods rich in MUFAs help reduce LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol, the kind that clogs up arteries, and possibly help boost HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol, the kind that sweeps cholesterol out of the arteries and clears it from the body. They can also lower the risk of heart disease and improve insulin.

How much fat per day should I eat?

Fat should not take up more than 20- 35% of your daily caloric intake. So lets say you consume 2000 calories a day,
- 0.20 x 2000 = 400 fat calories
- 0.35 x 2000 = 700 fat calories

How many grams is that?

We know that 1g fat = 9 calories therefore;
- 400 cal/9 cal per g = ~ 44.5 g
- 700 cal/9 cal per g = ~ 77.8 g

This means that out the 2000 calories that you eat per day, 400 – 700 calories or 44.5 – 77.8 g should come from healthy fats.

What are some foods that are MUFA rich?

Oils
Pick your MUFA: Canola oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, pesto sauce, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil, hemp oil
Use them like this: Stir-fry with sesame, peanut, or canola oil; pan-fry in walnut or olive oil; cook with safflower, soybean, or sunflower oil; use flaxseed oil and hemp oil

Nuts and Seeds
Almonds, Brazil nuts, natural peanut butter, dry-roasted cashews, dry-roasted peanuts, dry-roasted sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts. This also includes nut butter; almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter


Use them like this: Eat nuts as a snack or sprinkle on a salad, oatmeal. Spread nut butters on toast, add them in your oatmeal or top it on your sweet potato.

Avocado

Pick your MUFA: Florida avocado, Hass avocado


Use them like this: Slice and serve with a salad or any entrée; mash with lime juice, salt and pepper and serve with chips; chop and fold into store-bought salsa

Olives
Black olives, black olive tapenade, green olives, green olive tapenade


Use them like this: Serve olives as a snack; sprinkle sliced olives on pizzas, salads, or pastas; spread tapenade on crackers or sandwiches

Dark Chocolate
Pick your MUFA: Dark or semisweet chocolate chips, shavings, or chunks


Use them like this: Any way you crave!