Sweet Potato + Lentil Soup

Although spring is right around the corner, it’s still very cold most days here in SLC. We are currently enjoying a lot of soup to warm up & also because soup is often more affordable and budget-friendly (which we could all use these days )

My family eats a lot of soup these days! It’s an extremely economical, and pretty easy way to use up whatever is in your kitchen, and you can load it up with nutrient-dense veggies for an easy Clean Eating meal.

Here are some reasons to make soup a permanent part of your Clean Eating lifestyle:

Hello, healthy comfort food! I love that soup is warming, but not too heavy. It’s my
go-to when I want to use up left-over veggies in my fridge, feel like I need to give my body a reset, or just want to make something warm and cozy for the family.

Eating soup is also a great way to shed inflammation and water weight if you’ve had a weekend of heavy meals, or strayed from your Clean Eating plan.

Soups can be very nutrient-dense, especially if we make our own bone-broth for the base, while also being very satisfying.

Save Time: Because soup ingredients can easily be thrown together it’s one of the quickest and easiest meals you can make! Usually, it’s more about letting it simmer so it’s pretty hands-off.

It’s an amazing meal prep option:

I ALWAYS have a big pot of homemade soup in the fridge because I double or triple recipes so that we can have lunches and a few easier meals over the following days. Soup always tastes better the next day when the flavors have had time to develop.

Most soups can be frozen for a month or two, so ALWAYS make extra.

Save money: I try to buy the on-sale and in-season produce because soup is AWESOME with very inexpensive ingredients that go a long way in the amount of soup you can make! Also, if you have an outdoor or indoor vegetable or herb garden, soup is the PERFECT way to enjoy your homegrown green goodies.

Perfect use of leftovers: soup is a fantastic way to use up ripe produce and leftovers in your fridge, or stuff you already have on hand in the pantry. This saves you extra trips out to the store and additional costs. Some of the best meals are ones with ingredients you already have on hand.

Food is fuel, but it’s also a connection piece within a family. I love creating beautiful, clean meals for the people who mean the most to me. But we have a BIG family, and life gets crazy-busy, so I’m always creating new ways to nourish my people without having to skip out on my own self-care to make it happen.

Soup checks all of the boxes for the things that are important:

• Nourishing and Clean Eating Approved

• Delicious

• Affordable

• Versatile (never boring!)

• Meal Prep Friendly

• Satisfying

There’s something special about having a warm pot of soup in the house that makes it feel like a home.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do!

Which do you like better, regular potatoes or sweet potatoes!?

While both offer nutritional benefits, sweet potatoes are considered a “superfood” because of all the vitamins and minerals they contain.

Just as an example, 1 sweet potato contains almost 400% of your daily vitamin A requirements! They also contain vitamins B, C, and D as well as a wide range of minerals.

They can help boost your immune system, protect your vision and reproductive health, and even help lower your risk of cancer.

Plus, they appear to help improve blood sugar control and cholesterol levels … and might even help keep fat cells from growing.

They are also delicious mashed or roasted in the oven. Use them in soups like this, stews, chilis, or in any way you would use other potatoes.

REFERENCE:

• WebMD
• Healthline

Servings 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsps olive oil, avocado oil, or ghee/grass-fed butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 2 tsps smoked paprika
• sea salt and pepper
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or bone broth
• 3 cups sweet potato or yam, cubed
• 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsps pure maple syrup

For serving:

• toasted pepitas, fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:

Heat your oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add in onion, and cook 2-3 minutes until tender. Add minced garlic, paprika, sea salt, and pepper to taste, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add in sweet potato cubes, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Simmer for another 5 minutes and add a little water if needed to prevent sticking.

Add in your rinsed lentils, bay leaf, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until sweet potato and lentils are tender.

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then add in your maple syrup and stir well. Remove bay leaf and discard.

Serve hot with toasted pepitas and chopped cilantro.

Leftovers will keep 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer. Reheat in a saucepan.

Enjoy!

Rachel

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