Meal planning with Rainbow Foods’ health key system™ plus a healthy lentil soup recipe

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  I’ve been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

We have been focusing on meal planning for a few weeks now. We find that we waste a lot of produce and we’re often unsure of what to make each evening without a plan. Using Rainbow Foods’ health key™ system, I recently had the opportunity to shop for healthy ingredients for a recipe for my little family. And I made the soup today which was perfect for the 16 degrees below zero (and 40 below zero with wind chill) day we’re experiencing. 

We’re vegetarian and try hard to buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. The health key™ system is awesome for us. I just looked for the “organic” label throughout the store and found what I needed.

Some stores also offer the “vegan” label which would be interesting and helpful. I noticed many “gluten-free” labels throughout the store which I know would be helpful for many of our friends. Other labels that are helpful for us include “no added sugars,” “heart healthy,” and “whole grain.”

These labels can take some of the stress out of shopping. I know how hard it is for my gluten-free friends to read the labels of every single thing and then still wonder if the item is truly gluten-free. The system in the store immediately brings your eye to the label which makes it much easier to find options.

Today I purchased ingredients for a healthy and nutritious lentil vegetable soup recipe that is also quite kid friendly and a great way to sneak in the veggies with picky kids. Bodhi LOVED the soup.

Curry lentil vegetable soup recipe (inspired by my mother-in-law’s Sri Lankan lentils recipe)

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 T canola or olive oil
• 1.5 cups lentils
• 1/4 cup spinach chopped
• 1-2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 2 T cumin
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 T pepper
• 2 t turmeric
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 cup of water
• 2-3 cups of vegetable broth (depending on your desired consistency)
• Nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions

1. Lightly saute onion and garlic in oil on medium low heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Wash lentils in a bowl and strainer until water runs clear.
3. Add water, vegetable broth and lentils to the onion and garlic mix.
4. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Add in spinach and tomatoes.
6. Add salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, curry powder and the optional nutritional yeast. Stir.
7. Cover and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes on low heat.
8. Check to be sure lentils are soft and cooked thoroughly.
9. Pulse in food processor until you reach the desired consistency.

Tip: I like my soups a bit chunkier so I saved some whole lentils and added them in after the food processor.

What do you think? Would this system be helpful to you? I love it!