On Mondays, I like to make sure my meals are as green as possible which is why I came up with this Green Lentil Stew for the first weekday. Why, you ask? Well, I dunno about you, but Sundays are sort of my “indulgence” days. I don’t like to use the word “cheat day,” because it implies a sort of rigidity to the rest of my days (sort of a recipe for disordered eating). Rather, I like to call Sundays my “day of rest” (as God intended, y’all), which means that I don’t run, I don’t work out, I don’t work (if I can avoid it). I eat whatever I want to eat (vegan, of course), watch whatever K-drama I feel like, and wear the rattiest most comfortable clothes I own.
I usually go to bed feeling extremely satisfied, but sometimes a little icky in the stomach, you know what I mean? Now, this is usually where some folks might spend paragraphs regaling you with the so-called benefits of juicing or detoxing or blah blah blah. I am not one of those persons. Again, I don’t like to govern my eating with extremes. I don’t ever want to feel deprived at the end of dinner. Whether I’m eating the greenest “healthiest” thing on the planet or a bucket of French fries, I want to walk away from that meal saying, “Man that Green Lentil Stew was the BOMB.”
It’s not really just about avoiding sugar and fried things, though. It’s also about adding all the things that Dr. Greger tells you to eat every day. Cruciferous greens (my favorite is collard greens, what’s yours?) and legumes (I love love lentils). Whole grains, etc. So, I created this Green Lentil Stew with those things in mind, while also adding a few “Korean-y” items to make them extra tasty to my Korean palate.
The result is an incredibly nutritious but still absolutely delicious stew that you can add into your weekly rotation. Whether it’s Monday or Friday, you will LOVE this Green Lentil Stew because it’s so easy to make and will leave you feeling like a rock star.
Green Lentil Stew
Ingredients
- 1 cup green lentils uncooked
- 4 Tablespoons brown rice uncooked
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable paste can sub miso paste
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 stalk celery small diced
- 1 carrot small diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 7-8 leaves collard greens chopped
- 1 cup rice cake balls optional
Instructions
- Rinse rice and lentils thoroughly under hot water until water drains clear. Place in large soup pot, together with vegetable/miso paste, spices, and water. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer.
- In the meantime, in a large pan, saute all veggies with oil, seasoning with salt.
- When onions are translucent, dump veggies into pot with lentils. Stir until all veggies are evenly coated.
- Add vegetable broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until lentils are tender and rice is cooked.
- Add frozen rice cake balls (you can find these in frozen foods aisle at a Korean grocery store) and chopped greens. Stir until rice cakes are soft and hot. Taste and add salt as needed. Serve over rice or by itself.
