Fiber rich Kaiser Permanente Turkey Lentil Soup

I heard this amazing podcast the other day about how fiber helps to decrease your risk of diabetes, colon cancer, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes!

Do you know how much fiber lentils have in them?  They are packed! 1 cup of lentils has 16 grams of fiber - that is more than half our daily recommended!   Look at these beauties:

If we eat 25-30 grams of fiber daily, we protect ourself from cancer.  Yes please. This soup does the job - and is delicious to boot!

I saw this recipe in a Kaiser pamphlet while I was waiting for a patient to come back into my treatment room.

This recipe was absolutely delicious.  I wanted fiber (lentils, kale, sweet potatoes) but also protein, so I added in some ground turkey.

So I hope you enjoy this:

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stick chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 cups of green lentils
• 8 cups of broth of your choice (I used chicken)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• a large pile of kale, shredded
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Melt the butter in a dutch oven or other sturdy soup pot over medium heat

2) sautée onions for a while until brown over medium low heat

3) throw in the garlic for about another minute

4) toss in the carrots, celery and sweet potato and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until soft

5) throw in the turkey, and cook until it is no longer pink

6) add the lentils, broth and water

7) bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes, until lentils are done

8) taste to make sure salt and pepper are good

9) serve with kale and add your favorite hot sauce or salsa

Enjoy! Thanks Kaiser Permanente.