Last summer when food prices were starting to increase like mad, I took the time to stock up on basic food items like flour, sugar, beans, rice, oats, spices and canned goods {including a boatload of chicken and tuna from Costco}.
I did this because 1. I’m a bit of a nutter and don’t like to leave the house unless I absolutely have to {or there is pie involved} and 2. It just made sense. Prices were going up, and so it seemed like a good time to fill the pantry.
When you think about it, people eat 3 times a day {and some people eat even more} and we do this 365 days a year. And you know what, not all of the meals you eat need to be firecrackers.
Lentils are cheap, filling, pretty low in calories {230 calories per 1 cup of cooked lentils} and an excellent source of protein and fiber. Plus they’ve got a bunch of other stuff {I never think about} like iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
And they’re perfect sort of thing to enjoy for your main meal on a cold and blustery winter’s day.
The HH whipped up a pot of lentils yesterday and seasoned it with a few vegetables and some rosemary and thyme and you know what, it were fantastic.
We enjoyed our lentils with a slice of buttered crusty bread and left the table satisfied knowing that not only our bellies were full, but the entire meal {with leftovers for the next day} only cost us about $1.50.
Lentils, they’re a great way to stretch your grocery budget. And good for you too. 🙂
I hope you like this recipe as much as we do,
~Mavis
Lentils With Carrots and Thyme
Ingredients
16oz. lentils
4 cups chicken broth
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Laura Z says
I love lentils! We eat a lot of curried red lentil soup in my house. The red ones are a good meat substitute for chili and pasta sauce, the little puy ones are great chilled in a vinaigrette for a salad, and you can even use the regular old brown ones instead of ground beef for a shepherds pie. Yum! I’m really loving your challenge this year. Thanks for sharing it with us. It’s encouraging me to stick to my budget!
Nancy Settel says
We had this for dinner last night as well (I added a can of diced tomatoes in it also) and we love them. So quick and easy to do. We also add the carrots to it and carrots are so cheap and last in the fridge for such a long time we put them in so much. Next time you make tuna salad try shredding them up or (I use the food processor to do a bunch) of carrots add that to tuna. I am always trying to put them in something.
Love your ideas for getting through this year on very little money. Just think how great it will be to simmer all these soups on your Aga next year! Oh how I would love one.
Katie C says
Looks delicious! I’ll definitely have to try that one.
Katie C says
Made them tonight and they’re great. Thanks for the recipe!
Mel says
This looks similar to my lentil soup recipe! I also add lentils to sloppy joe filling and occasionally make lentil loaf instead of meatloaf.
suzanne says
Lentils are my favorite. I make lentil and shredded carrot tacos for vegetarian family parties and everyone else eats them. They really absorb flavors so well.
Ca says
I make this using Better Than Bullion Ham Base in place of chicken broth. I really like the smokey flavor. Definitely carrots in all bean and lentil soups. BTW, I made the Crusty Dutch oven bread you had on you blog yesterday. It turned out great. Thanks!
Rosaleen says
Try sprouting your beans and lentils before cooking them. It seems to help reduce gas and bloating as they are digested. Sprouting is also supposed to increase the bioavailabilty and nutriton.
Gigi says
I love this red lentil recipe. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon I love that it has a great base and then everyone can add their own toppings to make it perfect for them.
Jenny says
I’d like to read the NYT article/recipe but can’t because it says one has to be a subscriber.
Trish says
Thank you for this! We have loads of lentils and very few recipes for them. I plan to adapt it for my vegetarian kid by using not-chick’n bouillon cubes.
Liz Finkelstein says
I’m vegetarian as well and I use vegetable broth. It’s delicious.
Patricia K Mayhew says
Unfortunately I can’t have lentils due to the phosphorus in them, It is so hard to find recipes low in phosphorus for kidney patients. It seems like everything I like is bad for me.
Jules says
Love lentil soup! I usually make my in the crockpot but I’m going to try your recipe so I can have a spontaneous soup night
Jamie says
I made this soup for lunch! Thank you for the recipe. We have some dehydrated vegetarian chicken in our food stores that needs using over the next two months that added really well to this recipe. We also use lentils to stretch our meatloaf (veggie loaf in our house) and taco fillings as they take up the seasonings really well and add a nice texture.
Brenda says
Try them the middle eastern way. Its called mujadara, very easy to make.
Deborah says
I love lentils. They Cook fast and taste so good. I’ve made this before, but mine had more juice than yours did. I love the juice in all soups/beans.
NeeNee says
I make lentil stew all the time
Just lentils boiled in water with onions celery carrots a little hot sauce a can of diced tomatoes and I put a cup of elbow macaroni
It’s delicious and like chop suey with no meat
Holly Sieger says
Made this for dinner tonight, delicious! I added some leftover rotisserie chicken from the night before. So filling!
Deb says
I made this today for lunch and it was delicious! I used the ham based bullion. It made a lot…next time I will cut the recipe in half.