Last week, I decided to try the Vegetarian Lentil Soup that I shared from Relishing It. Turns out, I didn’t have all the ingredients listed in the recipe. Also, I might have forgotten that I needed to cook the dry lentils before adding them to the soup, which led to quite the experiment in lentil extraction. Needless to say, I had to improvise a little. And the soup turned out good. So good, in fact, that I decided to share my version of the recipe with you.
2 cups dry brown lentils, rinsed– let’s not revisit the lentil mishap2/3 cup dry red beans (or 1 can), rinsed– (1) 16.5 oz can of kidney beans – don’t drain it2/3 cup dry black beans (or 1 can), rinsed– (1) 16.5 oz can of black beans – again, don’t drain- (1) 16.5 oz can of pinto beans – you catch my drift
- 4 potatoes – peeled and diced
- 1 cup of carrots – chopped
- 2 celery stalks – chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 quart puréed or crushed tomatoes
- 1 quart vegetable broth (or use chicken, if you’re not trying to stay vegetarian)
1 heaping cup frozen corn– (1) 16.5 oz can of corn- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of one lime
- handful of spinach
- scallions, jalapeños, sour cream (if vegan isn’t your aim) and limes as garnish options
The taco seasoning recipe is below. After all the lentil drama, I was pretty beat. So, I did a few shakes of:
- ground cumin
- paprika
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- allspice
- salt
- black pepper
For the Taco Seasoning:
(makes a scant 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
You can find the entire recipe by visiting Relishing It here. I did not use a dutch oven – just a regular soup pot. I threw the potatoes and carrots in first, since they take the longest, and I threw everything else in as I chopped it. I also topped mine with fresh avocado…which of course was perfect…because it’s avocado. We decided that, again, it could use a little more of a kick so I will add some chilli peppers next time. We also reheated it up today and threw in a cup of rice to add a little variety to it. Few days later, and it was still just as good and hearty. I love soup season!
Do you have a favorite healthy soup recipe? Or did you give this one a go? Share in the comments and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #myhealthylife. You can also find more healthy inspiration on my Pinterest! I will continue to share more recipes, exercises and blogs that I find awesome and worthy of sharing…so please let me know of any that you would love to see on the blog!
