Soothing Red Lentil Soup

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2 to 3T extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
 2t grated fresh ginger
2t mild curry powder (I used 1/2 t hot curry and 1t reg. curry))
2 cups red lentils, rinsed well
8 cups water or veggie stock (or a mixture of both)
4-6 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cups thinly sliced chard (or kale, spinach, collards)
2 to 3T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2t sea salt   

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot. Saute onions for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry powder and saute for a minute or so.   

Add the red lentils and water or stock. Add the carrots, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour.   

Turn off heat, add greens, lemon, and salt. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to let the greens to soften. 

In spite of W's awful bout with food poisoning, our Christmas celebration turned out to be pretty wonderful. Christmas Eve was not so great and I was up with him in the middle of the night, but discovered that 2T of apple cider vinegar in water does wonders for the cramping and other side effects of food poisoning.

By Christmas morning, he was feeling much better and we packed up the car and drove 2 hours in the rain to spend time with my kids. Everyone loved their gifts, especially my lil Charli! She was running all over with her pretty baby pram that we ordered from Pottery Barn Kids. Okay, so it was a little over the top! But hey, I am a Grandmother and it's my prerogative!

I ate pretty well with only a couple of cheats here and there. I did eat 1/2 of a bagel and creamed cheese, with a little lox. (Hey, I am a Jewish girl, celebrating Christmas). I have to stick with tradition, ya know! Later in the day we visited with friends and I did taste 1/2 of a crab cake. But I brought my own soup and food that I had prepared the day before, and I did eat that for the most part.

So today, after all of the festivities, we hunkered in to read, and watch TV. I was feeling the urge for something really warm and comforting. I had a bunch of red lentils and I slightly modified a recipe for Soothing Red Lentil Soup from The Whole Food Nutrition Kitchen . It was very tasty, warm and creamy. I didn't have any fresh kale or spinach, so I resorted to frozen. I think next time, I would leave out the kale and use only spinach. If you like creamed spinach, it has a similar consistency. It was very filling and it tasted even better the next day.

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