Healthy Lentil Dishes You’ll Want To Add To Your Menu

Getting in shape, eating right, and losing weight, it is all extremely difficult. This is probably even so more true now that COVID has most of the gyms on lockdown. Sure, you always have the option of building a home gym or working out outside, but once again, these situations pose their own set of unique problems. Whatever the situation is, the key to a healthier, fitter life starts in the kitchen, which is also, unfortunately, one of the hardest places to make changes. That was until you discovered these healthy lentil dishes. Whether you are trying to lose weight, add lean muscle mass, or just stay your current size, you’ll instantly fall in love with these decadent lentil dishes, and they’ll do wonders for the waistline.

A Bit On Lentils

For those that aren’t really familiar with lentils, here is some pertinent information. Maybe you’ve heard of lentils and lentil dishes before, but are just unsure what they are. Lentils are a food item that belongs to the legume family. Big and confusing words, yes! Think beans! While they exist in many varieties, you’ll find that it are the browns and greens that are amongst the most common. Beans can be enjoyed alone, they can be enjoyed with a variety of other ingredients, or they can be delicious with just different sauces. Along with this, they are nutritious, low in fat, and full of that protein that is needed for sustaining a healthy diet. Oh, don’t forget, they are economical. This is perhaps the best part.

GOLDEN COCONUT CHICKEN LENTIL SOUP

This is a favorite among many for several reasons. First, it only takes an hour to cook. That’s a total hour. Just 15 minutes on the prep and 45 minutes on the oven. One serving offers up a powerful 28 grams of protein with on 11.5 grams of saturated fats. 10.4 grams of fiber to make a total of 293 calories for a serving. Not bad at all. This is more like a chicken bean soup that utilizes the power of light coconut milk and a variety of delicious spices. Just remember that there are a variety of ways that you can prepare this dish. You can even make use of your instant pot with this one. You can get the recipe and other instant pot lentils on Corrie Cooks.

SLOW COOKER TACO LENTIL SOUP

Here is another that makes use of all the essentials. You’ve got the slow cooker or instant pot, the lentils, and the soup-based style dish. This one is both gluten-free and vegan so you are already starting out on the right foot. Throw in the fact that one serving offers nearly 38 grams of protein with only 5 grams of fat and 1.9 grams of saturated fat, and you are looking at your new favorite Mexican dish. Heck, you can use this taco-style bowl to replace those high-calorie taco Tuesdays. Get the entire family fit with this dish, and they won’t complain about the dish. It’ll be so good that they won’t even know they are eating healthy.