Tomato Soup – Homemade & Healthy!

I love tomato soup. It’s just so wonderfully comforting and filling, and is a wonderful vehicle for consuming a large number of grilled cheese sandwiches (one of my favourite pass times!). This tomato soup is, if I do say myself, a gorgeous and slightly more grown-up version of the traditional “from a can” stuff that you probably had as a kid. And it’s ever-so-satisfying to the tastebuds as well as the stomach—the addition of red lentils makes this soup heartier and more filling.

Another great thing about this soup is how quickly it can be made; I literally threw it together in fifteen minutes, then just had to let it simmer for a little while. If you have nothing but tinned goods in your pantry but need something warm and filling, this fits the ticket admirably! Consider replacing the tinned diced tomatoes with fresh tomatoes, about 2-3 per tin, depending on their size. The soup would also be wonderful with a handful of fresh basil leaves, blended in or as a garnish.

Enjoy this hearty and delicious soup!

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Edited: May 17th, 2011

Lentil Carrot Soup

Well, if you couldn’t tell from some of my recent posts, Australia’s weather has taken a turn for the cold—at least by our standards! My house has been enjoying some cold-weather dishes, and this soup is one of them. “Good” recipes to me these days seem to be ones that fulfill a number of criteria: simple to make, healthy, budget friendly, large enough to create leftovers, and of course, tastes good! This recipe is a perfect example of all those criteria, so it gets a gold star from yours truly.

This can be made on a stove top or in a slow cooker. My flatmate recently cashed in some of his reward points for a spiffy new slow cooker, and its maiden voyage was this recipe. Maybe it’s time to get your slow cooker out and try it!

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Edited: May 23rd, 2010

Mushroom, Lentil, & Rice Bake

After my last post about Stuffed Mushrooms, I was in a real mushroom-y mood and went out and bought a big bag of them. I don’t know what I was planning on cooking, but it ended up being this! This dish was also inspired by my boyfriend Luke’s recent visit to a nutritionist—turns out that as an athlete he needs a tonne of protein in his diet (about two volumes’ worth of his palm every day). Our household is neither overly vegetarian nor carnivorous, and we certainly can’t afford to feed him a steak every day, so enter the wonders of complimentary proteins from stage left!

Not only is this recipe chalk full of nutrients and proteins and dietary fibre, but veritably flew out of the fridge into lunchboxes. I half expected the boys to turn down their noses a bit at the sheer health volume of the dish… but I guess it has its share of cheese and butter too! This is would be a very easy recipe to make vegetarian, or your own version of!

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Edited: March 31st, 2010

Healthy Lentil Salad

Last summer, I was looking for recipes that would work well served cold–eating hot dishes on hot days just isn’t very satisfying. I had also just received a bag of green lentils from my SPUD! subscription–they had caught my eye because of their oh-so-affordable attributes. This recipe is easy to do on a budget, as lentils are cheap and the veggies required are delicious in-season but also store well if you’re making this in the winter months for packed lunches at work.

Lentils are a cheap dietary staple, packed full of health essentials like iron, folate, magnesium, thiamine, dietary fibre, and have a low GI (Glycemic Index) rating, meaning that they help to stabilize your blood sugar levels while providing steady amounts of energy. Because this recipe contains cheese, you’re getting some full protein action, too–omit the cheese for a vegan option, and pair instead with your favourite grain (rice, barley, cous cous, corn), or your favourite nuts.

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Edited: January 13th, 2010