Spicy Lentils with Veggies

I have mentioned around here a few times that I have been trying to make better food choices. Cheese is probably my weakness, along with other dairy foods. I have been doing lots of thinking about my egg and dairy intake. While I would love to be able to be a vegan, I am just too weak. I tried vegan Mondays, but that failed too. I started making conscious choices to cut down all animal products; no eggs in my fried rice, no cheese on my veggie burger.

Eventually, these choices weren't conscious anymore. I found that so many times I would be halfway through a meal that I cooked, and realize that it is completely vegan! Now that I am supporting myself, I am cooking more and ordering take out less, which made it a lot easier to cut out dairy. I used to rely on bagels and pizza when I was living in New York. I guess one TINY good thing about being away from home is that I am away from the most tempting of dairy products.

I have seen lots of "one-pot" meals, but it was only as I was cooking this that I even realized this meal was vegan! I love that making the right food choices has become so instinctual.



Inspired by Eat Live Run.

What you need:



2 cups of lentils
2 bunches of kale
2 sweet potatoes
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 serrano peppers
4 cups of vegetable broth
3-4 cloves of garlic
salt/celery salt to taste
oil for cooking

What to do:
Chop up the kale, serrano peppers, garlic, and peal and chop the sweet potatoes.
Heat the oil in a large pot and add the carrots and sweet potatoes. Cook until softened.
Next, add in the garlic and kale, until the kale starts to wilt.
Add in the peppers, lentils, salt, celery salt, and vegetable broth.



Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer, until the lentils are soft and the water has been absorbed.
Serve hot.











These lentils were chewy and hardy. I was nervous that the pepper would be too spicy, but it added the perfect amount of heat. The sweet potatoes and carrots were nice and soft, and added an element of sweetness. The kale was mild, and the veggie broth and celery salt added lots of different flavors. This ended up tasting just like how I would have described my grandma's cooking: comforting and healthy!

How easy is it for you to eat vegan? Will you try this one pot lentil meal?

Bye from the Veggie Side!