Mmmmm—soup…warm and comforting, delicious, nutritious and super filling.

And I’m not talking about the canned kind which is basically salt water chock full of bad fat and mushy veggies.

Nope—I am referring to homemade soups—an inexpensive and incredibly tasty way to add in healthy legumes, vegetables, grains and extra virgin olive oil to your day. What’s more, soup has been proven to help with weight control by curbing your appetite and helping you to slow down at the main meal.

So this fall and winter, ladle up a hot and savory bowl of soup, serve with a crusty loaf of whole grain bread and enjoy one of the many culinary pleasures of the fall and winter seasons!

Dr. Janet’s Lentil Soup

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1/12th of recipe, 258 grams or ~ 1 ¼ cups soup)

•  1 package (16 ounces) French green lentils
•  2 teaspoons sea salt
•  1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 carton (26 ounces) Parmalat chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped kale, stems removed
• 3 cans (14 ounces each) reduced sodium chicken broth
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh parsley, for garnish, optional
• Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

Wash lentils and place in a large soup pot. Cover lentils with water and add 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse lentils and set aside. Heat olive oil in soup pot with bay leaf over medium heat.

Add in celery, onions, carrots, and garlic and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in kale and cook until wilted (approximately 5 minutes) then stir in tomatoes. Add in chicken broth, remaining salt, and lentils to pot. Stir all ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add pepper and remove bay leaf before serving. Divide into bowls and garnish with parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a touch of olive oil if desired.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (~ 1 ¼ cups soup):

• Calories: 220
• Fat: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg,
• Sodium: 742 mg,
• Carbohydrate: 30 g,
• Dietary Fiber: 7 g,
• Sugars: 5 g,
• Protein: 12 g

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Recipe Source: An excerpt from the book Cholesterol Down by Janet Bond Brill,
Ph.D., R.D., LDN; Published by Three Rivers Press; December 2006;$13.95US/$17.95CAN; 978-0-307-33911-9 Copyright © 2006 Janet Brill, Ph.D. To learn more about this book please visit CholesterolDownBook.com.