Whether you’re giving Meatless Mondays a try this year or just trying to include more plants in your diet, these tips will serve you well.
Lentils can seem intimidating if you’ve never cooked with them before, but once you know how, they can become a nutritious part of a plant-based diet. One cup of lentils is packed with 15 grams of fiber, 18 grams of protein, 90% of your daily folate needs, along with potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and other micronutrients. There are several different kinds of lentils and many ways to cook them. Some of the most common are listed below:
Yellow and Red – Split lentils that cook quickly but become soft when cooked.
Brown – The most common type with an earthy flavor; maintain their shape well when cooked.
Green – Have a peppery taste and take the longest to cook but hold their shape well.
Beluga – Small black lentils that look similar to caviar.
Puy – Similar to green lentils but about one-third of the size; from the French region Le Puy.
Lentils can be purchased dry or canned, and some varieties can even be found in quick-cook pouches. Cooking dry lentils can be time consuming, but modern-day kitchen gadgets, like instant pots, make the process much faster if you have access to one. Try red lentils as a mash for tacos, similar to refried beans, or get creative and try the brown variety as a beef substitute in sloppy joes. Another popular way to incorporate lentils is in a Bolognese like this one. Experiment with all of the different varieties to find your favorite kind, and try to make them a regular part of your diet – whether you’re a meat-eater or not!