Carrot, Beetroot and Lentil Soup

During the autumn and winter months, you will find me making soup at least a couple of times a month. It is one of the easiest things in the world to make and if you are on a budget, it is cheap, wholesome and a filling meal.

The pre-made soup market is booming, but unfortunately many of our favourite brands are chock-full of salt, sugar, fillers and preservatives that are not required by our bodies. They are also expensive. but not as expensive as buying soups from the plethora of sandwich chains that provide a large majority of the working population with our lunch.

Homemade soups are, in my opinion, much tastier and higher in nutritional value. Not only are they significantly cheaper, the other bonus is that you can include whatever ingredients you like as well as make it the consistency you like. Take me, I’m not a lover of liquidised soups, preferring chunky soups that are filling. I prefer to have something that fills my soul rather than leave me hungry. The added bonus being that I avoid the de rigueur slab of bread as I don’t need anything else to fill me up.

Transportation and storage:

• Soup can keep in a saucepan on the hob for a few days, without needing refrigeration (assuming you live in a colder climate such as the UK)
• Re-heating: warm soup in a smaller saucepan rather than re-heating the whole thing. This preserves the nutrients in the soup and also helps with your energy bills.
• Avoid boiling soup as this damages the nutrients and microwaving; nuking soup renders it unrecognisable as food by the body.
• Use a thermos to transport soup – it keeps it warm for hours and removes the re-heating requirement or the need for a bowl if you’re caught short.

Last week, I made a delicious carrot, beetroot & lentil soup which came about from the basic need to use up these root vegetables that were left over from the previous week. I wanted to share it with you all as not only is it super-filling, it is ridiculously easy to make.

1 bunch of carrots (about 8 medium)

1 bunch of beetroot (about 6)

1 cup puy green or red lentils

1 onion

1 litre of chicken stock – either fresh or marigold stock cube

Method:

Chop the onions and gently cook in some olive oil.

Scrub, top and tail and chop carrots and beetroot; add to the onions.

Cook at a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly

Add lentils to the vegetables and pour the stock over the vegetables. The stock ought to reach a third higher than the vegetables. If not, then just add some more water.

Bring the soup to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Check the vegetables, if they are soft then the soup is ready, if not simmer for 10 minutes longer or until soft to the touch. If you are not eating immediately, you can always turn the heat off and leave the vegetables to cook in the hot liquor without heat.

This bit is up to you – you can either liquidise the soup, mash it to squish the vegetables but retain the lentils or leave as is, like I have.

If the lentils soak up the liquid exponentially, then just add some more water.

Key Nutritional Benefits:

• Carrot and beetroot are abundant in beta-carotenes, the red/yellow/orange anti-oxidants tha are especially good in helping ward off colds.
• Lentils provide B vitamins that are fantastic for energy, immune health and mental clarity. They contain fibre to help keep you regular and bind with toxins and waste products from the body for elimination. Lentils also contain amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, a source of which is very important for those following a vegetarian and vegan diet.

Image by Nick Saltmarsh

Make Your Own Lunch: Financial and Health Benefits

I find that lunch can be a right old pain in the backside when you’re working full-time. I work in central London, which like any city may have lots of variety, but if you want quality and healthy food you often need a small mortgage to fund it. The cheapest ‘buy out’ option is the sandwich from chains that won’t be named, chock-full of mayonnaise, salt and often questionable ingredients, not matter how ‘freshly prepared’ they claim to be. Or from the canteen, if you are lucky enough to have one and it be subsidised but then knowing what I know about large-scale catering, the quality of the ingredients is not going to be as high up the priority list as profits.

This brings me to the make-your-own point. I’m a huge fan of packed lunches. Once I got over the stigma of it, that is. It was only when I was working full-time in the music industry for minus £3 per hour that I realised that the only way to remove myself from sliding deeper into the red and drowning in my overdraft was to think about ways to keep my money in my pocket for longer than five seconds. The result was the packed lunch.

Your Challenge:

• Take a note of everything you buy in a working day from the minute you step out of the door until you walk back in.
• How could you make alterations to your current habits that could curtail some of that spending?

If you think more smartly about your eating habits and options then you can save loads and for some it can be a lifeline, where you were in the red two weeks into the month, you may be able to keep yourself happily in the black until pay-day and sshhh, don’t say it too loudly, but you might even be able to save a little.

some ideas to get you going:

• Bagged salad: buy it and keep in the fridge, or bring in a small bag every day from home
• Tinned fish: cheap, cheerful and super healthy. Choose mackerel, salmon and sardines for good fats – tuna has all it’s oil removed and has lashing of mercury so best avoided if possible.
• Seeds – add to your salads for that extra crunch and nutrition
• Balsamic, olive oil and lemons – perfect for dressings, they can be kept in the fridge or buy your desk.
• Leftovers – a brilliant way to keep abreast of your portion sizes at home and have lunch for the next day as well.
• Soups/stews/casseroles – ideally homemade – bring in a thermos which keeps contents warm for most of the day

Essentials:

• Tupperware – let it be your friend. The clickable ones are the best and come in different sizes.
• Fresh black pepper and herb grinders – you can get all sorts of condiment flavourings these days, keep one on your desk or in your draw for that extra seasoning.
• Plate, knife and fork: if you don’t have basic cutlery and crockery at work, get some cheap stuff, it’s amazing how different your meal tastes when eaten in china with a real knife and fork rather than a plastic one.
• Thermos flask – no longer the size of a tank, these sleek beauties keep anything vaguely liquid hot for eight hours.

Watch your bank balance swell:

• Get a money-box: Every time you bring your lunch in, put the equivalent money into a money-box.
• Open a savings account: set-up a standing order with the equivalent of the amount you spend monthly the day after you get paid.
• Give yourself a financial goal: make what you spend your savings on matter – whether it’s a holiday, a new coat or a contribution to the mortgage. Make it something to be proud of.

Remember – if you are in control of what you put in your mouth then you are more likely to eat well. Cheap eats do not have to be bland and unhealthy – quite the contrary, they can be super tasty.

Image by RambergMediaImages