Kids Dish

By request, this week’s “L” food is lentils, a quick cooking legume. Lentils come in several different varieties and are generally sold dried in bags. Unlike other dried beans lentils don’t need to be pre-soaked and cook pretty quickly. The brown and green colored lentils tend to hold their shape the best after cooking and the red and yellow varieties cook down to what’s almost a puree. No matter what color you choose, lentils are non-fat, low calorie, and full of fiber and iron.

The iron portion is key for me. When his iron was tested at his one year appointment we learned that Sam was slightly anemic. We had to give him iron supplements twice a day for three months which tasted just like iron. He fought the supplements so I tried to slip iron into his self-imposed vegetarian diet as often as I could. He resisted most of my efforts, but every so often he’d forget to be ornery and eat something full of naturally occurring iron. I won’t lie. He didn’t eat lentils. But I’ve heard from other moms that their kids love them so it’s worth a try. I haven’t given up yet.

I’ve only ever cooked green lentils, but I’d love to try this red lentil soup recipe or this red lentil and sweet potato curry. Since I’m familiar with them, here’s a quick prep (15 minutes prep, 75 minutes total) recipe from cookthink.com that uses green lentils and chard since it’s in season.

Chicken, Lentil and Chard Soup
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 whole breast), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup green lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 bunch chard, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. Prep all the ingredients. Season the chicken cubes with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the onion, carrot and thyme, and sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir 30 seconds.

3. Add the broth, bay leaf and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the lentils are almost done, 20-30 minutes.

4. Stir in the chicken and chard, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 10-15 minutes.

5. Take the pan off the heat, discard the bay leaf and stir in the lemon juice.

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