SuperFood: Lentils

Today I am blogging about lentils. They fall under the category of beans, but since there are so many types of beans, I'm going to try to hit a few and focus on the individuals rather than beans as a whole.

Lentils are a source of:

• Low-Fat Protein
• Fiber
• Potassium
• Folic Acid
• Magnesium

There are many varities of lentils, brown, yellow, red, green, large, small, they're very versatile!

Some Bean/Lentil sidekicks are: String beans, Sugar Snap Peas and Green Peas (my favorite!)

Lentils are a SuperFood because they lower the risk of heart disease, stabilize blood sugar levels, prevent and combat anemia, reduce obesity, and relieve constipation.

Lentils are a great dried bean because when boiled, they cook in only 20 minutes, where most dried beans need to be soaked overnight. Also, red lentils can cook even faster than that. They are featured in many cuisines around the world, and are very inexpensive. They are often considered a better source of protein than animal meat because a cup of lentils provides 17 g. protein and only .75g fat. Lean sirloin contains 7x the fat!

Tonight for dinner, I created a recipe using lentils - Lentil, Barley and Goat Cheese Patties. They are similar to a veggie burger, but I ate them without buns.

Here are some other lentil dishes I've made: Butternut Squash and Prune Khoresh with Lentils, Harira Soup, Sausage and Lentil Stew, Dal Bhat (Nepalese Spiced Lentils), Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup