Eat: Curried Lentils, Sweet Potatoes & Chard

Experimenting in the kitchen, with a goal of finding ways to eat more veggies, more whole foods, make healthier food choices in general, and find new favorites has been an important part of my weight loss success - particularly in the last 6 months. Here's a new combination I came up with tonight. I'm trying to boost my iron intake, without eating more red meat, and my nutritionist suggested lentils. Also high in iron: dark, leafy greens and raisins. This recipe was my starting point but I ended up changing ingredients, quantities and well - the whole flavour profile. The final product is a delicious, wholesome redefinition of comfort food. I think this would also be great with some toasted almonds and/or a bit of shredded coconut sprinkled on top.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
4 big stalks of rainbow chard, tough stems removed, leaves chopped
1 cup green lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins


Heat oil in a medium-large pot. Add onion, carrots, celery & sweet potatoes - adding to pot as you chop. Saute about 6 minutes after the last of the veggies hit the pot. Add garlic & chard and stir until the chard begins to wilt. Add lentils & broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes. Add curry powder, salt & raisins. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then dig in.

Serves 4.

I plugged my ingredients in to LiveStrong and come out at 394 calories per bowl but I encourage you to calculate your own version based on the brands & quantities you use.