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Lovely Lentil Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 yellow onion peeled and chopped
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes with liquid
  • 1 cup brown or green lentils picked over and rinsed
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cups fresh spinach or other greens if using greens like kale or collards, remove stems and chop leaves into small pieces; if using spinach, use the leaves whole
  • 2 Tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, and Italian Seasoning; cook for 2 minutes more.
  2. Stir in lentils, and add water, tomatoes with juice, sea salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 30 minutes, stirring and adding more water as needed. Reduce heat, add carrots, and simmer for at least 30 more minutes or until carrots are tender and lentils are soft. When ready to serve stir in greens and cook until they wilt, but their color is still bright green, about 1 minute for spinach and up to 5 minutes for other types of greens. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with sea salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.

Recipe Notes

Makes 8 servings

Dee McCaffrey, DCN, MS
administrator
Dee McCaffrey is an organic chemist turned nutritionist and weight loss expert. She is an internationally acclaimed author who lost 100 pounds and has kept the weight off for over three decades. Dee frequently conducts nutrition lectures and cooking classes at venues throughout the United States. She has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows throughout the U.S. including National Public Radio (WNPR), The Doctors, Better TV, The List, and The Dr. Steve Show. Dee and her husband Michael McCaffrey are the founders of Processed-Free America, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing a global awareness of the effect processed foods have on our health, and the healing properties of natural whole foods. In addition to her published books, Dee has developed an award-winning nutrition curriculum for children, and a certification program for adults to who want to teach the Processed-Free lifestyle to people in their communities. Dee holds a doctoral degree in Human Clinical Nutrition and Integrative Health, and is an adjunct faculty member at several colleges. She a professional member of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP), The American Nutrition Association (ANA) and the American Association of Nutritional Consultants (AANC). She lives in Tempe, Arizona with her husband and two cats.