



When I'm alone with my thoughts, I occasionally play geeky dietitian games in my head. I guess the calorie count of random foods. I try to imagine the most allergenic dish possible. Shrimp pad thai? And I think about what foods I'd pick if I was stranded on a desert island and could only have five foods for the rest of my life. Lentils always make the cut.

Why are lentils my survivor food of choice? For starters, they deliver both protein and carbs, the latter which are among the lowest glycemic and highest quality carbs available to eat. Lentils contain some of the most gut-nourishing varieties of fiber out there, and they're one of the best sources of plant-based iron to boot. They're full of folate and other essential vitamins, and lentils are super filling, helping make lower-calorie meals satiating for longer. They're versatile, too, an important attribute if you're only going to be allowed to eat five foods for the rest of your life.

As a mom, my appreciation for lentils extends beyond the admittedly geeky reasons I've cited. Lentils can be cooked quickly from scratch -- they usually take about 20 to 30 minutes without any pre-soaking required. This makes them an essential pantry staple for weeknight meals when you've failed to plan ahead. Because of their high protein and folate content, lentils also deliver similar types of nutrients found in green vegetables, in a form that many kids find more acceptable.

When my kiddos are on a prolonged vegetable strike, adding a few lentil meals during the week helps me feel like I'm still covering the family's nutritional bases. The economics of lentils also can't be beat: Dry lentils are among the cheapest sources of protein you'll find, and they never spoil.

So why aren't you eating more lentils and feeding them to your family? That was a rhetorical question; I know the answer. It's because you don't know how to cook them. Or, more accurately, you don't know how to cook lentils in a delicious way, so that your family will gobble them up lustily -- and which won't require advanced kitchen skills or take more than about 30 minutes.

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Well, I'm here to help. Behold: my two most tried-and-true lentil recipes, beloved by my frequently finicky children and husband alike. From my fictitious desert island to yours.

Recipe: "Pizza Soup" -- aka Red Lentil Tomato Soup

This recipe was adapted from a Bob's Red Mill recipe called Rachel's Lentil Soup. I re-christened it "Pizza Soup" because the combination of crushed tomatoes, oregano and a Parmesan cheese garnish allude to the flavor profile of pizza. In reality, this is a veggie- and nutrient-packed meal-in-a-bowl that gets its body and beautiful salmony-orange color from fast-cooking and easily disintegrating red lentils.

It's a winning recipe that comes together fast and requires very few fresh ingredients. It makes a generous batch that can be frozen. Don't skip the pureeing step at the end, as it creates the soup's beautiful color and velvety texture; plus, pureeing makes it impossible for children to pick out pieces of offending vegetables. Serve it with whole-grain toast points for dipping or even a garnish of crumbled tortilla chips. The soup is so righteous you'd be hard pressed to sully it.

-- 3 tablespoons olive oil

-- 1 onion, chopped

-- 3 large carrots, chopped (or 2 carrots and 2 stalks celery if you have celery on hand, which no one ever does)

-- 2 cloves garlic, minced

-- 1 bay leaf

-- 1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano

-- 2 cups red lentils

-- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

-- 8 cups water

-- 2 tablespoons vinegar

-- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.

2. Add onions, carrots (and celery if using); cook and stir until onion is tender.

3. Stir in garlic, bay leaf and oregano; cook for 2 minutes.

4. Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour, uncovered.

5. Turn off the heat. Fish out the bay leaf. Puree soup in the cooking pot using a hand-held stick blender/immersion blender (or transfer soup to a blender or food processor if you don't have a stick blender). Puree until the soup is a uniform color and consistency.

6. When ready to serve, stir in vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more vinegar if desired.

7. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This serves six to eight people.

Recipe: Easy French Lentils

If you're getting bored of your rice, pasta and potato rotation, try this super simple recipe for lentils to stand in for your usual side of starch. It's surprisingly rich and flavorful despite the short ingredient list. (Behold, the miracle of butter and salt!) And, like the previous recipe, this requires little by way of time or fresh ingredients.

I prefer French lentils, sometimes labeled "lentilles du puy," for this recipe because they hold their shape slightly better. But plain old green or brown lentils work swimmingly, too.

-- 1 cup dried lentils (French green lentils or plain old brown ones)

-- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

-- ½ large onion or 1 large shallot, finely chopped

-- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

-- ¾ teaspoon salt

-- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

-- 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Prepare lentils as follows: Cover lentils with cold water by 1 1/2 inches in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 12 to 25 minutes. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl and reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Return drained lentils back to the saucepan.

2. While lentils are cooking: Melt butter in a small or medium-sized saucepan over moderately low heat. Then stir in onion, garlic and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant, soft and golden brown, or 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Add onions and garlic to the lentils in the saucepan, and add back enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten (1/4 to 1/2 cup). Stir until combined and the mixture is heated through.

4. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and olive oil.

This serves four to six as a side dish.





Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian whose NYC-based clinical practice specializes in digestive disorders, celiac Disease, and food intolerances. Her personal blog, www.tamaraduker.com, focuses on healthy eating and gluten-free living.