Lentil and Kale Stew

Amidst all of the excitement that was studying abroad this summer, I don't think I ever mentioned that my family and I went to Disney World this summer! I'll do a post on it at some point in the future (the photos are fun!), but first I need to mention the food.

When my family travels we figure out 1. Where we're going 2. When we're going 3. Where we're staying and 4. What we are going to eat. Usually we like to have reservations or at least plans of where we're going to eat when we vacation, because it's such a fun and important part about vacations. Plus, it's no fun to search for a place to eat when you're starving.

The same was true for Disney World. Their website is amazing: you plug in what day, restaurant, and meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) you would like, and they give you a list of available reservation times. You add all of these to your "cart" and then finalize it all, and you're set! Within half an hour all of our meals were planned for our trip. Score!

All of the food was incredible. I honestly cannot remember a meal I didn't thoroughly enjoy! I was so impressed, in fact, that I shelled out forty bucks for the Delicious Disney Cookbook.

This is the first recipe I have tried from it, and I like it a lot! You definitely need to like lentils, kale, and veggies (which I do!) to enjoy it!

One thing about this cookbook is that it definitely is written for a more experienced cook. It tells you the order in which to add ingredients, but not always the temperature, timing, or how-to's (how to peel a tomato, for example!).

After peeling and chopping the tomatoes:

Lentil and Kale Stew
From Delicious Disney
serves 8

 1 pound petite French lentils (I used green lentils that I had from the Co-op, and about 2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp sea salt, divided
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped onion (I used one huge onion from the farmer's market)
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, mashed (this is super fun- use the flat blade of your chef's knife and pound the garlic down!)
6 ounces kale, washed and thinly sliced
5 tomatoes peeled and chopped
3 14.5 ounce cans fat-free chicken broth
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese
olive oil (optional)

1. Rinse the lentils while sorting through to check for rocks, hulls, or any other non-consumables.

2. In a large soup pot, add the lentils, enough water to cover by a few inches, and 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes (maybe just a hair longer), then drain, rinse, and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil with the bay leaf, onion, celery, carrots and garlic cloves in the same large soup pot at about a medium heat. Add the kale, stir, and allow to simmer together for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes.

4. Next add the lentils, chicken broth and remaining salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and allow to simmer partially covered for about 15 minutes.

5. Add parsley and pepper, and season to taste. Top with parmesan to serve.

The cookbook says that it is best eaten the day after it's made, which is what I did, sprinkled with a touch of nice parmesan. You can also drizzle olive oil over the top, but I skipped this. I also enjoyed a side of whole-wheat sourdough bread from the Co-op.

Not only was this really tasty (especially with the parmesan- don't skip this!), it is incredibly healthy. I plugged it into a nutrition and calorie facts calculator out of curiosity and was floored by the results. Check them out! The only "missing ingredient" it couldn't figure out was the bay leaf, which I'm sure doesn't add any calories ;)

Look at the amount of fiber! I feel so healthy today!