The creativity of cooking.

I just ate my second bowl of lentil soup today. Not counting the bites I took out of the pot. And the bowl I had last night for dinner. I wonder how many calories or grams of fat were in those. But, honestly, it was the best soup I've ever had—and I made it. Who knew I could cook so well. Since I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, I'm going to put my recipe on here anyway. Be warned: I make these things up as I go along, rarely measuring anything.

Lentil Soup
*I used half a bag of green lentils. If you want to use the whole bag, just double everything.

Saute 1/2 diced onion, 3-4 large cloves garlic in olive oil.
10-15 small tomatoes halved. Add in 4-6 chopped carrots.
(I would have added 3-4 small diced potatoes, and some celery would have been good too, or spinach, but any of those would have required me to go to the store.)
Sea salt
Lots of fresh ground pepper
Cumin
Let it cook for a few minutes until the veggies absorb the flavors.

Half bag lentils in pot with 3-4 cups waters + 1 can vegetable stock. 2 bay leaves.
(Or more stock, less water, I just had one can of stock on hand.)
Let it start to boil, then turn down to medium.
Add in the sauteed veggies.
Let the soup simmer until it reaches the thickness you like.
I like it a little thicker, so I let it cook longer.

Garnish with a few crushed pecans and a dash or two of hot sauce. I served cornbread on the side. And a Guinness. As Rachel Ray would say, "Dee-lish!"

So I look up the nutritional value, and this stuff is great for you, low in fat and calories. Yum.