Crock Pot Red Lentil Soup

I'm finally starting to get some use out of that crock pot I picked up at a donation resale shop. At first, I had no idea how to make vegetarian meals in that thing. I remember using one only for pot roasts in the past. Well, those days are long gone for me, so I've been searching around for ways to use it more to my veggie liking. Honestly, this was one of the quickest meals I've ever made, and it lasted us for at least 2 dinners and 3 lunches.

Ingredients:
* 1 c. red lentils
* 4 c. water
* 1 veggie bouillon cube
* 1 small diced onion
* 2-3 cloves garlic
* 1 large diced carrot
* spices (unmeasured): cumin, cayenne pepper, sea salt, garam masala

I started with the lentils and water cooking for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then I simply, added the rest of the ingredients, and voila, a soup was formed. Throwing it in the blender at the end would probably make it even yummier, but I never quite got around to that!

Tip: We usually ate it with some diced up greens (kale, spinach, or collards) added in when reheating.

Sneaky Healthy Pizza

We devoured some delicious pizza tonight. It looked like pizza, it tasted like pizza, but it certainly wasn't a typical tomato and cheese pizza from the neighborhood shop. This pizza was loaded with some secret, (healthy) ingredients. When it's one of those "don't feel like cooking, don't feel like eating out" kind of nights, pizza it shall be. There were a few steps involved, but it felt more like assembling than cooking.


Here are some of my tricks for getting healthy ingredients into pizza:


*Mixing shredded carrot into the tomato sauce.
*Adding a layer of sauteed spinach and garlic, and roasted zucchini and onion.
*Using a whole wheat pizza crust.
*Topping with non-dairy cheese (Especially during cold and flu season research shows that it's important to avoid dairy products because they are mucus forming in the body.


The layering process:
1. Carrot-filled tomato sauce
2. Loads of spinach
3. Roasted zucchini and onion
4. Topped with Daiya (non-dairy, non-soy) cheese. This "cheese" is a treat for me when I'm craving pizza. It's a little pricey and of course, processed, but it melts really well and tastes delicious.

Sweet Potato-Carrot-Lentil Soup

It's wintertime and that means soup! We have been loving this one. It's hearty, delicious, and easy to make.


Ingredients:
-diced carrots (I use either 1 large carrot or 2 medium sized ones)
-cubed sweet potatoes (about 2 or 3)
-1/2 c. - 3/4 c. dried red lentils
-1/2 onion, diced
-2 tbsp canola or sunflower oil
-spices: 1 tsp. tumeric, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, sea salt
-vegetable broth (about 4 cups give or take)


Heat the oil in a large pot. Add onions and saute. Stir frequently until they soften. Add spices and continue stirring until it begins to brown slightly. Add sweet potato chunks and stir to coat in spices. Add broth, carrots, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils and potatoes are softened. Use a potato masher or fork to mash up the potatoes and lentils. Enjoy!