One of the challenges in going veggie is finding protein sources. Meat, as we all know is one good source of protein. Thankfully, athletic vegans and vegetarians have proven that there are plant-based protein sources, and these, in fact are healthy and lean proteins. Some of them are beans, tofu, legumes, mushrooms, and even vegetables like broccoli.
I love vegetables but I admit, I have a hate relationship with beans and legumes. I don't like monggo or all permutations of it, as some people love it. It's scratchy, grainy, and starchy, and has no taste at all. Lentils are something similar though to monggo. They look alike, and sort of taste alike. I just had to give this legume a chance because, according to Wikipedia, it has the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut. I want to build muscle and still live. So here I go give this baby a try.
I found a lentil soup recipe from the Facebook page Going Vegan By Dirdy Birdy. Dirdy Birdy (that's her screen name!) is an awesome pole dancer based in Australia. She's also an animal lover, owning three adorable cats: Billie, Stewie, and Minty, two of them rescues. She turned vegan just recently and does awesomely at it. Her vegan Facebook page features a lot of easy and tasty vegan recipes to try at home as well as her daily vegan meals whether she's at home, touring the world, or just walking the streets looking for something to eat.
I wanted to give her lentil soup a try. It uses a lot of rich spices like paprika, cumin seed, and cayenne pepper, which means it would be richer in taste than monggo soup, I would guess. So on a grocery trip, I packed the grocery cart with a whole lot of veggies and gave it a go. I actually thought I'd be making an extra trip to Healthy Options to get them lentils but thankfully, SM had a bag for like 53 pesos. Thank you SM, you are awesome and you do have it all, even for vegos like us!
Lentils, are you ready for me? Or should I say, am I ready for you?
Chopped fresh veggies - onions, carrots, and fresh mushrooms, just added the mushrooms from the original recipe
My very high-tech and environment-friendly guide. No printouts here.
Lentils take quite a long time to cook, especially for those that aren't canned, since I want them tender. I had to season a bit extra more since I wanted it really flavorful.
Tadaaa!!!! Yeah, you really look like monggo, with carrots, peas, and mushrooms.
Somewhat, the texture is almost the same, except that there's more tasty, spicy thingies. The recipe suggests to serve with toasted bread, but I'd probably go with this: Fried spinach with garlic and soy sauce.
Not to mention, spinach is a good source of iron, which I need.
Hello lunch! You're filling, you're tasty, and you didn't make me burst. The house smelled like cumin even up to like 8 pm. So aerate is the bird's word. And odor absorber.
More soups and recipes up! But I think I'd need a bit of getting used to with lentils, which I'm having for lunch again today.
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