Green Lentil Vegetable Soup
Green Lentil Vegetable Soup…who would’ve thought I’d be creating warm soup recipes in the middle of July?! But, here I am 🤷🏼♀️
I’m often confronted with people telling me they’re searching for more protein in their diet. Especially when contemplating switching to vegan/plant-based. I find it comes easy to me, once you really open up to other foods that you normally wouldn’t go for. Nuts, seeds and different vegetables all provide exactly what you need.
This soup is just one more example of me accidentally making a high protein vegan meal. Not only that but its also high in fibre! Remember, the animals the average human consumes eats a plant-based diet. There are tons of vegan athletes and beyond that live a healthy, well balanced and successful plant based diet.
This recipe is another super easy one to make. Plus, you can prep it in advanced or make it by crockpot on a 4 hour slow cook (adding noodles afterwards).
what are lentils and what are their benefits?
Lentils are very underrated in my opinion. I hadn’t even heard of a lentil until about 4 years ago. My aunt was just diagnosed with breast cancer and had been doing a lot of research on nutrition — in her discoveries she shared her love for lentils. It was only about a year ago when I decided to give them a try.
Lentils are seeds that are derived from the legume family. They are a great natural source of vitamins and minerals, including a great plant-based source for protein, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. They are also full of fibre to help keep things flowing smoothly.
Lentils have also been proven to fight chronic diseases and type 2 diabetes because of their phytochemical content. Not only that but they’re also rich in polyphenols. Many polyphenols are anti-inflammatory and help in decreasing inflammation. These polyphenols have all been proven to fight against cancer cells and improve blood sugar and blood pressure.
It sounds like Lentils should gain traction to be the next ‘super food’!
Green Lentil Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 celery stocks
- 1 Bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 cup chopped mushrooms
- 7 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can 125 ml coconut milk
- 1/2 cup uncooked green lentils
- 1 tsp better than boullion
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes optional
- 3/4 cup ditali noodles or small soup noodle (orzo works as well)
Instructions
- Start by prepping all of your vegetables. Mince your garlic, finely dice your onion and celery. Cut your carrots, broccoli, bell pepper and mushrooms. Set all of it aside.
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil then add onion. Cook until translucent then add your garlic and celery and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of your vegetables and saute for a few minutes then add remaining ingredients except for your noodles.
- Mix well then bring to a boil. Once your soup is boiling, bring down to a simmer and let it cook for an hour stirring occasionally.
- Once your soup as cooked for an hour add your noodles then continue to cook until your noodles are cooked most of the way. You want to leave them slightly undercooked as they will coninute to cook even after the soup is off the heat.
- Enjoy as a side dish, with a sandwich or on its own. It's surprisngly quite filling!