The first post in my stop hunger series! My goals are to share smarter picks for food donation and recipes that are cheap, healthy and tasty! Here’s my kick off post.
Lentils. I first learned about lentils from my friend Kelsey during a trip to England in 2016. Lentils are a legume and are very high in protein; they kick white rice’s ass!
Lentils come in many colors and split or whole; my favorite are red split. The split cook much faster and work better in recipes. Color wise it kind of matters here what you’re making; red get more mushy (which works well in my preferred way to make them, below) vs. green or brown which hold their shape more making them ideal for soups, salads, etc. Taste wise I find the red the mildest.
There’s a lot of recipes that use lentils, but my favorite way is much simpler. In a pot on the stove combine lentils and some broth. Cook on low-ish heat, stirring, and continuously adding more broth. The lentils will eventually break down and you’ll have a nice creamy side that’s delicious and healthy! This easily pairs with a piece of meat and a cooked vegetable.
There’s a ton of options on Amazon that are $0.19-0.22 an ounce; white rice is much cheaper at $0.06 an ounce but lentils also have much more fiber and potassium. I totally understand how it’s more bang for your buck to buy white rice for food donation. Consider though a bag of lentils too; my favorite are from Trader Joe’s and are like $3.
