Kale and Lentil Veggie Broth Bowls
My favorite thing for dinner in January: SOUP!
And not just any soup... moderately healthy soup! Who am I kidding... this is actually healthy soup! It is vegetable base and I didn't even add in any cream or butter.
While I love salad like 7 days a week (usually with way too many blue cheese crumbles) it's hard for me to get down with a cold bowl of kale when I've got my warmest sweater on.
But truth to be told I've still got my holiday bloat on so I need to keep the calories on the lighter side but the warm and wholesome flavors still turned way up! I've spent one too many trips to Panera and Whole Foods for dinner this last month and I realized... I need to just make this at home. If you have ever tried the "broth bowls" at Panera then you know what I'm talking about. They taste as good and as sinful as bowl of cup of noodles... but are actually healthy for you.
I don't know about you but those are my FAVORITE kind of week night dinners!
Which brings me to these asian inspired broth bowls! That are 100% vegetarian too!
They are seriously packed with so much healthy, wholesome flavor I even surprised myself.
Also... a one pot wonder so I've got that working too.
This is the type of food that you can prepare on a Sunday night for a wholesome meal and still have enough leftover for a few weeknight dinners. Which is exactly what we did in this house. A lot of people ask me... what the heck do you eat for dinner? Well my friends we eat at whole foods salad bar waaaay too much on busy days but when we're at home it's usually something along these lines. Part of my blog goals for 2017 were to bring you more practical dishes that are easy for the whole family and healthy for you too!
KALE & LENTIL BROTH BOWLS
2 Quarts of vegetable stock
2 Cups of water
1/4 Cup of soy sauce (low sodium)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of freshly grated ginger
1/2 Teaspoon of pepper
1 Teaspoon of dried chili flakes
1 Cup of red quinoa
1 1/2 Cups of green lentils
1 Cup of diced white onion
4 Carrots diced
8 Mushrooms cubed
3 Cups of chopped italian kale (remove ribs from center)
1 Small bunch of bok choy
for garnishing- 1/2 Cup of chopped green onions + sesame seeds + limes + chopped cilantro
In a large stock pot heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in onions and carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Stir in mushrooms, garlic, ginger, pepper, and chili flakes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in vegetable stock, water, and soy sauce. Bring soup to a boil on medium - high heat. Once boiling add in lentils and quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.
Add in kale and bok choy and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until kale is tender. Serve in a large soup bowl and top with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, limes and chopped cilantro.
