Healing Lentil Soup - Bone Broth

I am very much of a meat eater, but sometimes life gets in the way of getting those groceries or the meat has not thawed in time and I am left with a challenge of creating dinner with what's in my pantry. I suppose this never happens to anyone, but me? In this case, I found lentils in my pantry. We haven't had lentil soup in a long time and I thought it would be a nice change. 

This lentil soup made with marrow/bone broth is simple, but wonderfully nutritious. I try to keep marrow/bone broth in my freezer to use in my cooking since my naturopathic physician strongly recommended it for me.  I love the depth of flavor it adds to our food, but even more to love is the nutrition and healing properties.  When you understand why it is important to your health, it is a simple process to include in your meal preparation. For more information about the benefits of bone broth please follow these links. 

Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health & Disease
Sally Fallon's : Broth is Beautiful 
Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Part 1: Health Benefits of Bone Broth/Homemade Stock
Jenny's Nourished Kitchen: Benefits of Bone Broth
The Jade Institute: Bone Broth for Health Building: Nourishing the Liver & Kidneys 

If you frequently cook meals in a crock pot and If you are seriously considering making broth I've found that an extra crock pot is a great help.  I believe the benefits far outweigh the expense. 

There are many versions of bone broth that may be found in the links I have listed.  I prefer to keep mine simple for now.
 

Simple Bone Broth

 Ingredients:
organic, pasture-raised or at least no antibiotics/carcass of a chicken or turkey, or beef marrow or knuckle bones
organic apple cider vinegar
filtered water

Instructions:

1. Place bones in the crock pot with enough filtered water to cover approximately 2 inches above the bones
2. Add a splash of organic apple cider vinegar to assist in removing minerals from the bones.
3. Turn the crock pot on high and bring to a boil.
4. Turn the crock pot to low and cook for 24 hours for chicken broth or 24-72 hours for beef bone broth.  The bones should be soft; use a slotted spoon to remove the bones.
5. Strain the broth using a fine mesh strainer.
6. Refrigerate in glass for several hours to cool. This also helps with skimming off fat in the last step.
7. Skim the fat off the top and refrigerate the broth for several days or freeze for several months.  I like to use glass storage in sizes that are right for the recipes that I like to make.  Sometimes I have used ice cube trays and then when frozen pop the broth cubes out and store.

Healing Lentil Soup

1 cup dried organic green lentils, washed

2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil

1 organic onion, chopped

2 organic garlic cloves, chopped

2 organic carrots, chopped

3 ribs of organic celery, chopped

1 teaspoon basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon coriander

pinch of cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

pinch of ground ginger

2 cups of bone broth (recipe above)

4 cups of filtered water

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil or coconut oil over medium heat.  

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and saute for about 5-7 minutes.  

Add the basil, bay leaf, coriander, cardamom, sea salt, ginger and stir for a minute.

Add the dried green lentils (washed several times), stir together, and heat for a minute.

Pour in the bone broth and water and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Remove the bay leaf before serving. 

Enjoy!