Curried Lentils - Healthy Food Tip and Recipe

Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
This great-tasting meat-free dish tastes even better the second day! Kale is an unusual ingredient in this type of recipe, but not only does it add extra flavor, it also provides extra health benefits.
Curried Lentils
Prep and Cook Time: prep time: 15 minutes; cooking time: 30 minute
Ingredients:

• 1 cup orange lentils, washed
• 4 cups + 1 TBS vegetable broth
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 medium celery stalks,diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 cups finely chopped kale
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse lentils in strainer and sort through, removing debris.
2. Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
3. Heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent.
4. Add garlic, carrots, and celery. Continue to sauté for another couple of minutes. Add curry powder and mix to bring out its flavor.
5. Add rinsed and drained lentils, 4 cups broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer uncovered until lentils and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add kale and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4 Printer Friendly Version of Curried Lentils
In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Curried Lentils
Healthy Food Tip

Why do overcooked vegetables lose their bright green color?

One of the primary reasons for the change in color when green vegetables are cooked is the change in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has a chemical structure that is quite similar to hemoglobin, which is found within our red blood cells. A basic difference is that chlorophyll contains magnesium at its center, while hemoglobin contains iron. When plants (e.g., green vegetables) are heated and/or exposed to acid, the magnesium gets removed from the center of this ring structure and replaced by an atom of hydrogen.
In biochemical terms, the chlorophyll a gets turned into a molecule called pheophytin a, and the chlorophyll b gets turned into pheophytin b. With this one simple change, the color of the vegetable changes from bright green to olive-gray as the pheophytin a provides a green-gray color, and the pheophytin b provides an olive-green color. This color change is one of the reasons I have established the relatively short cooking times for green vegetables in the "Healthiest Way of Cooking" methods. These cooking methods are designed to preserve the unique concentrations of chlorophyll found in these vegetables.