Bacon and Lentil Soup | Slimming Eats Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do I have to cook lentils before adding to soup? ›

Do you cook lentils before adding to soup? Nope! Dried lentils cook in 35 minutes in the soup, and there's no need to soak them either!

Here are some of the reasons why you should include lentil soup in your diet. Lentils are high in protein, which is essential for building and maintaining your muscles, bones, and skin. Protein also helps you feel full and satisfied, which can support weight loss and appetite control.

Go easy—if you purée the soup too much, it will get too thick and you'll lose the integrity of the lentils. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer a few cups of the soup to a standard blender and purée, then return the blended soup to the pot.

It'll be fine. The reason you rinse lentils is to remove any small rocks, husks, and rodent droppings that might have gotten in there.

Support your digestive system

Lentils are rich in a type of fiber that helps your digestive system work as it should and fuels good bacteria in your gut. Fiber may also help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. “Fiber plays an important role in regulating our bowels and protecting the immune system,” says Homan.

Lentils and beans are rich in soluble fiber, which is the single best carbohydrate to help you burn belly fat. "Soluble fiber forms a thick gel when it binds with water in the body," Tracy said. "This gel that forms therefore slows digestion in the body, which keeps you feeling full for longer!

Eating half a cup of cooked lentils gives you lots of essential nutrients and their high fiber content makes you feel full. However, the fiber in lentils can be hard for your body to break down. Eating too many lentils can cause gas, bloating, and cramping.

Eating about 3/4 cup (130 grams) each day of these foods known as pulses led to a weight loss of 0.34 kilograms (just over half a pound), in a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available clinical trials on the effects of eating pulses.

Not adding any aromatics to the pot.

Add aromatics to the water or, even better, use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water. Follow this tip: Add a few cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, a spring of rosemary, half of an onion, or a combination of these aromatics to the cooking water or stock to help flavor the lentils.

What is the white stuff in lentil soup? ›

Those look to be radicles (embryonic stems, the part the root grows from) that have separated from the lentils. If you look closely at the less squished lentils in your soup, you'll probably see some with the radicles still attached.

Calories And Nutrition Facts For Lentil Soup

One and 1/3 cup of this hearty lentil soup provides 320 calories, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of fiber, 18 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol and 650 milligrams of sodium.

Due to their high carb content, legumes are generally avoided on a strict keto diet. In fact, 1 cup (180 grams) of cooked lentils provides 36 grams of carbs. Even when you subtract the 14 grams of fiber, it yields 22 grams of net carbs ( 7 ).

Split peas have 17 grams of protein, compared to lentils' 19 grams of protein. Both of these foods are high in fiber, which promotes good digestive health and cholesterol control. Peas have 6 grams of fiber, less than the almost 9 grams provided by lentils.

Nope! Unlike lots of other dried pulses (such as some dried beans), lentils don't need to be soaked before cooking. This means they're really quick and easy to use – you can decide you want to cook lentils when you're already ready to start cooking, and they can be ready to eat not long after.

Lentils do not require it but can be soaked in order to reduce cooking time by about half. Before cooking, rinse lentils in cold water, pick over to remove debris or shrivelled lentils, then drain.

Honestly, the best way to tell if lentils are done are to taste them. They should be tender to the bite, with some varieties of lentils being a bit more firm and others more soft. That said, if you would like your lentils to be softer, just simmer them a few minutes longer until they reaches your desired consistency.

Here's why soaking lentils is important

Fact 1: Soaking lentils improves digestion and nutrition absorption as it can neutralise lectins and phytates present that may cause gas and bloating. Fact 2: Soaking lentils also reduces its cooking time. It also brings prana (life) into the legume.