Carrot Lentil Soup

After the rich foods of the holiday season, I always look forward to recentering my eating (and my family’s eating)in January. It’s so easy to over consume sweets and meat-heavy dishes during the holidays, meaning we’re not consuming enough of the fresh plant-based foods we need. With less going on for many during January, it makes it the perfect time to reestablish good old habits or establish good new habits.

I love this soup for a quick easy dinner or as an accompaniment to a larger meal. This recipe makes enough to have leftovers for another dinner later in the week or to take as lunch a few days, depending on your family size. It’s a great vegan and vegetarian dinner. I opted for serving this as our main course, as we had just returned from our 2-week trip to Paris, and I was working with a very limited pantry. I served with a fresh salad. Chris and I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Having just returned from a 2 week trip, I had limited produce and energy, so this soup was the perfect dinner.

Ingredients

• 4-5 stalks of celery

• 4-5 carrots

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 1 tbsp minced garlic (feel free to use fresh, the jar of minced in the fridge saves me immense time with 6 kids!)

• 1 tsp ginger (and I use fresh from a jar in the fridge!)

• 2-3 tbsps curry powder

• 2-3 tbsps tomato paste

• 2 cups green lentils

• 6 cups chicken stock or veggie stock, if vegetarian/vegan

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 can of coconut milk

Step 1

Dice celery, carrots, and onion (4-5 stalks celery, 4-5 carrots, 1 onion) to a medium dice. Saute over medium heat in a large dutch oven with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Cook until tender.

Step 2

Add garlic and ginger (1tbsp garlic and 1tsp ginger) and saute for 1 minute. Add curry powder and tomato paste (2-3 tbsp of each) to vegetables/garlic/ginger and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Step 3

Add lentils, stock, and diced tomatoes (2 cups lentils, 6 cups stock, and 1 can diced tomatoes) to vegetables. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer and cover with lid. Cook for 25 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Step 4

At this point, the soup is basically done. This is the time to taste the soup and adjust seasonings (maybe a little salt, maybe a little more curry powder) You can keep on very low heat until ready to serve or serve immediately. I add the can of coconut milk very last, right before I carry the pot to the table.