Lentil Soup -Great for the budget and the taste buds!

As a larger family, I understand the value of a dollar and how expensive food has become. However, I don’t let this stand in the way of preparing and serving healthy food. With a little effort, I manage to stay on budget while not sacrificing nutrition and flavor. Here are a few tips I find helpful:

-Read the flyers to find out what’s on sale. Make sure you know if it really is a good deal or just advertising the regular price.

-Plan your meals ahead of time, so you only buy what you need.

-Try a vegetarian meal, like the recipe below, once a week as meat is often one of the most expensive grocery items.

-Buy foods that are in season; they are usually cheaper and tastier!

-Make a grocery list and bring it to the store with you (I usually forget mine on the counter!), to prevent impulse buying.

-Buy only what you need. If you are a small family, the huge bag of potatoes really isn’t a deal if you throw out half.

Try this family favourite: my kids loves this thick smooth soup with crackers or a homemade biscuit. This soup is budget friendly with a per pot cost of about $2.24 or per serving cost of $0.22.

Food Fact: Lentils come in red, green and brown; they are easy to use as they don’t require pre-soaking. Lentils are an excellent source of fibre and a good source of protein, magnesium, potassium and folate.

Lentil Soup (Makes 10 1-cup servings)

2 cups dry lentils

10 cups of water

1 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 bay leaf

2 whole cloves

dash cayenne

1 large carrot

1 large onion

¾ cup celery

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine

In a large pot combine lentils, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf, cloves and cayenne. Bring to a simmer. Cut up carrot, onion and celery into small pieces. Combine the vegetables, with the garlic and butter/margarine in a small pan and cook for 10 minutes; add to lentils. Simmer everything for 2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and cloves. Put soup through a blender or use a hand blender to puree. Enjoy!

*If you want to change this recipe from vegetarian/vegan, you can cook it with a ham bone and add cut up ham to the soup.

What are some of your great and affordable meal ideas?