It is COLD here in New Hampshire, I mean REALLY cold.... And today, we woke up to a blizzard. Winter in New England.....
With all this cold weather, many of us find ourselves craving warm and filling comfort foods. If one of you goals in 2018 is to incorporate more PLANT BASED PROTEIN into your diet, I have just the recipe for you. LENTIL STEW
Incorporating lentils into your diet can be an easy first step to getting more plant based protein into your meals because they have a very similar texture to ground meat. Especially when paired with mushrooms, as I did in this recipe.
DID YOU KNOW....
1 CUP LENTILS
18 grams protein
15 grams fiber
6.6 mg iron (37% of the DV)
Lentils also have the second-highest antioxidant content (behind black beans) among all tested legumes.
A diet rich in lentils and other legumes, such as chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans, may help reduce cholesterol, hypertension, the risk of pre-diabetes and certain cancers.
Lentil Stew is a family favorite at our house, and when paired with high protein pasta such as Banza Chickpea or Barilla Protein Plus, it becomes a delicious and filling plant based meal that everyone loves.
LENTIL STEW
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup dry lentils
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 onion (chopped)
1 cup mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup chopped peppers (optional)
2 cloves crushed garlic
oregano, basil, parsley (to taste)
1-2 Tbl olive oil
2 -3 cups prepared pasta
In a large pan saute the onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms in olive oil until soft
Add spaghetti sauce, lentils and seasonings
Simmer until lentils are soft (about 1 hour)
If the sauce is too thick for your liking - add a little water to thin it out.
Prepare pasta as directed on package
Spoon sauce over pasta
Incorporating more plant based protein into your family meals does not have to be difficult or take a lot of time. One tip that worked with my boys was to gradually add legumes into meals that have meat. Simply cutting back on the meat and adding in some beans made the transition easier.
Habits not Diets and Baby steps to better health are the mantra of Your Forever Nutrition Counseling as we head into 2018
To Your Health - Noreen