Homemade Lentil Soup-Nutritious and Delicious!
Cover the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil. Saute a diced onion and two stalks of diced celery until soft….add 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Towards the end, add two cloves of garlic and lightly brown (don’t burn). Then add a cut-up tomato and cook for a few minutes. Then add a small can of organic tomato sauce, stir and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add basil if you have and some chopped parsley. Add a half bag of dried lentils (about 8 oz.) and approximately 10 cups of water. Add a container of organic, low sodium vegetable or chicken broth and a teaspoon of organic turmeric. Add 4-5 carrots and one sweet potato peeled and cut-up. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about an hour and a half, with a cover ajar. Optional: Add small, cooked pasta before serving. Serve with grated cheese. (You can enjoy some soup and then freeze the rest, in Pyrex or freezer safe glass.)
Keeping Kids Healthy
One of the ways I suggest in my book to keep kids and teens healthy is to cook nutritious soups for them. If you make a large pot of soup, some of it can be frozen (only in glass containers or stainless steel) for later use or for when you are too busy to cook. I would like to share a recipe for homemade chicken soup, the way I make it. Chicken soup has been referred to as “Jewish penicillin.” (Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish rabbi and philosopher, prescribed chicken soup for respiratory illness.) Interestingly, when my friend went to the doctor recently for a bad cold, besides recommending medications, the doctor told her to have chicken soup or broth, frequently while sick.
Homemade Chicken Soup (Large Pot)
Saute one large chopped onion in olive oil (cover bottom of pot)
Add 2 or 3 large pieces of celery
After that has cooked for a few minutes…
Add 2 pieces of garlic, lightly cook (don’t burn)
Then add a 15 oz of organic chopped tomato sauce and fresh basil (basil is optional)
Add a 1/2 teaspoon of organic black pepper
Cook for 10 minutes ..stirring often
Then add 5 or 6 pieces of chicken breasts (you can use a whole chicken but make sure to remove all bones after cooking)
Add a 32 oz container of organic, low-sodium chicken broth
Add peeled and chopped carrots, parsley, a turnip cut in half, a cut-up sweet potato
Add 1/2 teaspoon of organic tumeric powder
Add 10 cups of water
Bring to a low boil then simmer for at least an hour and a half with the cover ajar.
Cook small pasta (your choice) seperately and then add chicken soup to bowls with desired amount of pasta. Can be served with grated cheese. Enjoy!
Keeping Kids and Teens Safe and Happy 