Nick Polizzi recently sent me an Irresistible Guilt-Free Healing Soup Recipe! I was immediately taken by the picture! As winter is coming and the bite is in the air, I reproduce this, tilting my hat to his instinctive acumen for the kitchen and health! And give thanks for his perspicacity.
He makes the point that the vast majority of ingredients we use today were cultivated after we humans settled down into agrarian societies, and as he puts it ‘began planting and harvesting on a seasonal calendar’. But one food, the Lentil that is known under it’s Latin tag of Lens Culinaris, is one of the oldest foods in human history. It was as he describes ‘a pivotal staple’ long before. Hunters and Gatherers treasured the taste of the Lentil and for it’s nutrition. It seems that Northern Africa and regions of Asia provided lentils that were consumed over 13,000 years ago because of the exception nutrition provided.
To quote Nick “Dried lentils are 26% protein (one the most protein-rich legumes) and are a good source of potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, lysine, and folate. Plus, they have a ton of dietary fiber. It’s no wonder our distant fore bearers turned to them as a primary source of plant sustenance.”
My thoughts: because of the high protein content it provided a high calorific return. In other words it was a vegetable but an efficient one. Our primal ancestors, who of course were Omnivores, were capable of calorie catch up. Herbivores have the advantage of usually being surrounded by their food, Carnivores have to catch it. When they do, they have this primal urge to cram the food and gorge on it. This DNA quality unfortunately provides the cravings that often put our modern society off kilter! This is because we as Omnivores have the characteristics of both herbivores and carnivores! The lentil is an efficient healthy vegetable that provides the instant calories but with the vegetarian healthy consequences! Included as a microbiome plus is the high proportion of fiber! Irresistible Guilt-Free Healing Soup Recipe!
Recipe as follows:
Savory Winter Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
10 Cups Of Water
5 Cups Vegetable Stock (Or Chicken Stock If You Prefer)
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil / Butter
3 Stalks Celery
1 can Diced Tomatoes
3 Cups French Lentils (dry)
1 Yellow Onion
1 Bunch Swiss Chard
1 Butternut Squash
3 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 Tbsp Raw Honey
2 Bay leafs
1 sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
– Pour 10 cups of water and 5 cups of stock into a large pot, on medium heat.
– Dice celery and onion.
– Peel butternut squash, slice in half, remove seeds and pulp, and dice.
– Chop swiss chard into small strips.
– Rinse lentils and remove any stones.
– Add celery, onions, squash, chard, diced tomatoes, and lentils to pot of heating water.
– Add curry powder, thyme, salt, pepper, bayleaf, honey and coconut oil.
– Once the water begins to boil, bring the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot.
– Cook for 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
– Ready to serve!
2 little secrets to make this soup even more delicious and nutritious:
Add a half-teaspoon of coconut oil and a pinch of crushed red pepper to each bowl after it is poured. Then you have an Irresistible Guilt-Free Healing Soup Recipe!
