lentils

In my opinion, dried beans are totally underrated in America. I rarely ate them growing up and cook them only when I remember to soak them overnight. However, lentils — one of my favorite types of beans — don't require overnight soaking. They're incredibly flavorful and filling, but they do need at least a half an hour on the stove, so set aside time to make this meal. Paired with flaky, melt in your mouth salmon, juicy beets, and an orange mustard sauce, these lentils make for a hearty, delectable Sunday dinner. For the recipe, read more

Just because you don't eat meat, doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy Thanksgiving! There are so many delicious vegetables in season, that putting together a bountiful, hearty, meat-free meal is completely feasible. To help you out, I'm planning a vegetarian friendly Thanksgiving menu.

When guests arrive have a cheese plate complete with olives, nuts, crackers, and a homemade lentil spread ready and waiting. Get the dinner started with a soothing soup first course. A creamy chestnut celeriac soup is elegant and festive. For the main course serve pumpkin lasagna in individual sugar pumpkins. To look at these recipes — we'll address side dishes later — read more

Leftover fish is one of those dishes that just doesn't re-heat well. It becomes overcooked, rubbery and the smell lingers for far too long. Yet, if you have any of last night's Lemon Butter Baked Salmon left, it would be a shame to just toss it out. This is why I've hunted down the perfect recipe. A lemony lentil salad that will work perfectly with the rest of the salmon. To check out the recipe read more

Contrary to popular belief, just being a vegetarian does not mean you're automatically going to be skinny -- Far from it actually. In fact, some vegetarians smother their food with cheese, which happens to be a big ticket item when it comes to calories.

To give those vegetarians an edge on weight loss, CalorieLab.com has come up with a few great tips on eating without the meat and the extra pounds:

• Embrace tofu. A longtime vegetarian staple, tofu makes a great low-calorie alternative to meat. Try Nasoya Lite Tofu for even more calorie savings. Each 3-ounce serving contains 7 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fat, all for a mere 40 calories. Add it to stir-fry, wrap it up in a tortilla with some veggies, or mix it with pasta and marinara.
• Make a meal of veggies. All-vegetable meals don’t have to be rabbit food — there’s so much more than celery and carrot sticks. Ratatouille, a French dish of stewed vegetables, makes eating your veggies anything but boring. Chop up some fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, zucchini, or whatever vegetables you have on hand. Fresh not available? Canned can be just as good, and the myriad frozen vegetable blends available make the possibilities endless. Other meal options include easy pasta primavera or supermarket vegetable sushi.

There are three more great calorie cutting ideas, so just read more

Lentils are my favorite legume by far -- I just love their creamy taste. So you can imagine I was more than thrilled when I read the good news on lentils.

An Australian review reports that eating foods like lentils with a long, gentle release of sugar -- a low-glycemic index -- may help people lose weight. So fire up the stove and cook up some yummy lentil soup.

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Dried beans might not come to mind when you are looking for an easy meal to feed your family, however lentils are a great source of protein and cook in under a half an hour. During the warmer months I often make large dinner salads because they are crisp, healthy, and can be thrown together in a short amount of time. For tonight's dinner make this lentil salad with bacon, sauteed onions and carrots, and a red wine mustard vinaigrette. Sound good? Want the recipe? Well, read more