By Fredrica Syren
A friend and I talked about busy days and how hard it can be to cook something tasty, nutritious and fast at the end of the day when the kids are super hungry and cranky. This is one of my fast recipes that I use often. It’s quite popular with the kids. I serve it tossed with whole wheat pasta for a complete meal.
As a vegan family, we find lentils a very important part of our diet as a great source of protein. However, lentils are great food for anyone, meat eaters and vegans alike. Lentils are considered one of world’s healthy foods for a good reason. Not only are they a great source of protein and cholesterol-lowering fibers, but they also contain excellent amounts of seven important minerals, as well as folate, iron, potassium and B-vitamins. One of the great things about lentils is that they are virtually fat-free so they fill you up, but not out.
There are four kinds of lentils: green, puy lentils, red lentils and yellow lentils. I personally like red lentils the best because they cook very fast and become a bit mushy which is perfect for sauces and soups.
- 2/3 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed well
- 1 vegan bouillon cube
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped and diced
- 1 large garlic clove, grated
- 1 can crushed tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 1 tbs. brown sugar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tbs. oregano
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- salt to taste
- Cheese to sprinkle over dish before serving
Place lentils, carrots, water, onion and garlic in a pot, and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are done (about 10 minutes). Add remaining ingredients except the cheese and blend well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour sauce over pasta of your choice. Sprinkle with grated cheese before serving.
Laura Plumb
this is so beautiful. yum! can’t wait to make it.
thank you dear fredrica. xo
Green Mom
Ahhh thank you and you’re welcome. Off course you have some amazing lentil recipes on your blog foodalovestory.com as well I highly recommend.