Meal Bite: Vegan Lentil Soup
Hi Busies! Sorry for the radio silence – life for an accountant during busy season usually means 60-70 hour weeks, sometimes more! 😩 Although I love my job, during this time of year I feel like I lose parts of myself – I stop being a girlfriend, a dog mom, a sister, a friend, even stop being Busy Girl. I’m an accountant – ALL the time. And anytime I’m not being an accountant, all I want to be is asleep! 😝😴
When I’m working this much, meal prepping becomes even more important – A) so that Drew has food to eat while I’m working late, and B) so that when I do make it home, making dinner is easy, not adding stress. My brain is usually BEYOND fried at the end of a long week, so an effortless Friday meal that’s fresh and healthy is a great way to start the weekend off right.
Meal prepping is just one of the things I do to keep my life organized this time of year. But before I get more into that, I need to talk about this lentil soup! I’ve already made it 3 MORE times since the first. Drew took one bite and said it was one of his favorite things I’ve ever made! I added chorizo to his, but without the chorizo this lentil soup is vegan. The protein kick from the lentils is plenty filling, AND, the soup is nice and creamy without the addition of any dairy! The trick to a creamy soup is blending up a portion of the lentils and re-adding them to the soup – check out the tips in the recipe below for full instructions!
Meal prep for this recipe is super simple. The soup takes about 30 minutes to make, then just pop it in pre-portioned containers (I just used a gallon size freezer bag) and freeze! This would make a great work lunch if poured into a thermos in the morning with a nice chunk of crusty bread on the side.
Simple recipes like this with whole, plant-based ingredients and whole grains really help me feel clean and healthy. When you’re sleep deprived, it’s easy to reach for coffee, sugary treats, and other quick energy fixes. But I know that I feel 100x better when I fuel myself with healthy, clean food like this!
Carrot + Celery + Shallot base
Add lentils and tomato sauce…
Thickener – before…
…and after!
Stir the thickened soup back in!
Busies, I know that everyone’s life gets busy at one time or another. For my busiest times, I rely on a technique called acting with intention. When I have such limited free time, I try to think in advance and make sure that I’m spending that free time doing things that will help me feel relaxed and recharged. It’s so easy to burn 30 minutes on social media, or an hour watching a TV show. While I definitely do need those things in my life sometimes, I find it easy to go overboard, and these activities don’t always leave me feeling recharged. Suddenly one ep of my favorite show on a Friday after work turns into a 3 hour TV binge, and I’m falling asleep on the couch! I would have rather spent those 3 hours spending quality time with Drew or my friends, taking the pups for a long walk outside, or doing another activity I truly enjoy. Then somehow it’s Sunday night and no chores have gotten done…where does the weekend go?!
To fix the Sunday night panic, I set my intention to spend 1 hour on Friday evenings being productive. Laundry, dishes, sorting the week’s mail, or cleaning up after the pups (who love to scatter their toys everywhere) – anything to help me wake up on Saturday morning feeling like the weekend is already off to a good start. Setting this intention allows me to have more time on my days off to spend quality time doing things that really will recharge me. Then, Sunday nights can be spent relaxing instead of panicking about how I’m going to run out of clothes halfway through the week!
So, in addition to meal prepping, give setting an intention a try – pick one thing that’s most important to you, and figure out what you can do to make that a priority every weekend. For me, it’s the hour of productivity on Friday. What will that one thing be for you? Let me know in the comments below!
Simple Vegan Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 yellow onion or shallot (diced)
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cups dried green lentils
- 6 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
Instructions
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Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
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Add carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion and carrot are softened.
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Add lentils, tomato sauce, broth, and spices. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
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Bring to a simmer then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 20-25 minutes or until lentils are softened.
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To thicken soup: use a few spins of an immersion blender until desired thickness is reached, OR remove 1-2 cups of soup and place in a blender (careful while the liquid is hot). Blend until smooth, then stir back into soup. Repeat until desired thickness is reached.
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Serve with warm bread and fresh herbs for garnish. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Meal prep tips - this soup is perfect to freeze! Just let cool in the fridge, then place in a freezer bag or other container in the freezer until ready to serve. Thaw overnight, stir and reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Adapted from RecipeTin Eats