On the nights when I’m stumped on what to make for dinner, I usually turn to lentils. I like lentils for several reasons: they cook quickly and they don’t require the forethought that dried beans do (aka the overnight soak) and they’re super nutritious.

One cup of cooked lentils provides:

• 6.6 mg Iron
  • RDA for women is 14.4 – 32.4 mg
  • Men is 14.4 mg
• 2.5 mg Zinc
  • RDA for women is 8 mg
  • RDA for men is 11 mg
• About 18 grams protein:
  • To figure out how much you should be eating in a day, here’s a simple formula:
    1. Weight in lbs divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
    2. Multiply that number by 0.9 = how many grams of protein you should eat daily
  • Example (a 140 lb, somewhat sedentary woman; a weight lifter or pro athlete would require more protein than an average person)
    1. 140 / 2.2 = 63.63
    2. 63.63 x 0.9 = 57.3
  • Personally, I eat an adequate number of calories and a varied diet; therefore, I usually don’t even keep track of my protein consumption for the day.  This last trimester of my pregnancy, though, I’ve been paying closer attention just to make sure I’m getting enough since my needs now are higher than normal.
  • Most people eat way more protein than they need to:  When you consider that a 3.5 oz serving of chicken is about 30 grams of protein, and the person eating this chicken has another serving of meat at another time during the day, you can see that it’s very easy to eat more than you should.  Besides that, 3.5 oz is not a very large serving (about the size of a deck of playing cards) and most people would tend to eat more than this serving size at one sitting.
• 15.6 grams dietary fiber
  • The World Health Organization recommends an intake of 27-40 grams of fiber per day for most adults

You can get all that just from one cup of lentils!  And there’s so many great ways to prepare them… here’s one that I came up with last night.  Literally, I made this up as I went along and was pleasantly surprised by how good they turned out:

Quick and Spicy Lentils

1 small onion, diced

1 small carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

2 cups water

2 TB tomato paste

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large skillet with high sides (and a lid), saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in about 1 TB of olive oil.  When just starting to get tender (after about 5 minutes), add the rest of the ingredients except the salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook covered for 25-30 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the lentils are tender.  You may need to add up to 1/2 cup more water for the lentils to be completely cooked.  Once cooked, season with salt and pepper.  (Cooking them with salt makes them not tenderize properly.)

I served these with a side of oven roasted potatoes and a green salad.  You could serve this wrapped in a tortilla, with a side of rice or other grain or eat them plain!  Such an easy dish to prepare.  While eating these with the potatoes, I thought they would be mighty tasty with a dollop of vegan sour cream or some sliced avocado.