Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup (a la Weight Watchers)

The Story

I've been planning to add this recipe to my blog for a week or so, but I was finally motivated when my Aunt Mary sent me an email for a recipe exchange--in which I am asked to type up a recipe, email it to a friend of hers, and then forward the same email (this time with her name as the recipient) to 20 of my friends. In theory, the email says that I may get up to 36 recipes in return, although I haven't done the math there. A month or two ago, I may have simply deleted this request, but there are new reasons for me to participate: the creation of this blog, the fact that my Aunt Mary used a recipe from it recently and it gave us a chance to correspond, and my desire to get a few new recipes.

I'm not really one who checks out recipes very often. In fact, as those of you who know me are well aware, I'm historically not one to cook very often either. Eddie has always been the main cook in our household, with me pitching in when we have dinner guests or throw a large party. That has changed a bit in recent months, though, due to my return to Weight Watchers in August. I've been a WW member before--many times before, in truth--and I've always known it's a healthy weight-loss program. I've successfully lost weight with WW in the past, but I've never been motivated enough to stick with it and reach my goal weight--consequentially rebounding down the road and putting on even more weight. However, each time I go back to WW, the program is even easier and smarter than the time I last joined. And, after five months and 35 pounds, I am feeling confident that this time around both the plan and the timing are right for me.

I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that we've been making some changes in our eating habits at home. Not only are we eating healthier things--more fruits and vegetables, for one--but I'm also participating in the process of meal preparation, and particularly in the planning. While Eddie used to do all the grocery shopping, I am frequently the shopper now. When he used to ask me what I wanted for dinner, I would often shrug my shoulders or snap at him; now, I put out the ingredients for each meal and he does the cooking. It's a nice symbiosis and better for both our health and our marriage. Despite these positive changes, our repertoire of healthy and tasty meals has been growing a bit repetitive in the past month, since the novelty has worn off, so I had been thinking about trying something new. Thinking is as far as it got until this recipe caught my eye when I signed on to WW eTools (one of the new options available since the last time I joined and also a big reason for my success) to track my food one rainy day. Weatherwise, soup sounded appealing, but I thought that this recipe also looked incredibly easy to make and might serve as a good alternative to the eternal pot of Variable Chili which had been serving as a staple.  So, I decided to give it a try, and it was such a smashing success that I made a second batch as soon as we finished the first. I've made a few alterations to the original, and I encourage you to see what choices you can make that will make the recipe your own.

What You'll Need

• 1 bag dry lentils, picked over
• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock 
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms, cut in thin strips (I reconstitute dry ones. Note that this is an alternative suggested by WW, as the original recipe called for 4-5 pieces of Canadian bacon, chopped and added 30 minutes prior to serving. We like the mushrooms, though, so we're sticking with them.)
• 2 large carrots, chopped into chunks
• 4-5 stalks celery, chopped into chunks
• 1 onion, chopped into chunks
• 3-4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tsp sage (the original recipe calls for 1/2)
• cumin (not in the original recipe, but my favorite spice)
• 3-4 bay leaves
• cayenne pepper (also not in the original, but I thought it could use a bit of kick)
• salt and pepper to taste (remember to salt at the end, so as to prevent hardening the lentils)
• NOTE: The vegetables above are pretty standard. However, over time I have started throwing in whatever veggies I have left at the bottom of the week. Beets, green beans, fennel, bell peppers--even tomatillos: every combination has resulted in a tasty product.

Preparation

• Chop the vegetables into large chunks and distribute them evenly over the bottom of your slow cooker
• Throw in the herbs and spices (sans salt)
• Spread lentils evenly over surface
• Add stock
• Cook on low for 6-8 hours. There is no need to stir.
• To thicken before serving, I get out the handblender and run it for a couple minutes in the pot. Alternatively, pull out a cup or two of the lentils and veggies and puree them in your food processor.

Serving

I divide this into 6-7 healthy-sized servings (each 5-6 points, for you Weight Watchers out there) which make a fine main course, and the recipe could easily serve 8-10 with an accompanying salad and/or bread. It's tasty as soon as it's ready, but it also keeps for several days (likely even longer, but that's as long as it lasted at our house!) and microwaves nicely. The original recipe suggested adding a dash of white vinegar to the top for added flavor, but the cayenne pepper I added seems to do the job fine. If you want to leave flavoring up to the eater, hot sauce and/or sour cream might be tasty as well.