Lentils are a surprisingly nutritious food which are excellent for your healthy eating and weight loss plan – plus they are good for your pocket, too – they’re very cheap. They are full of B vitamins, which are essential for a health body and digestive system – and if your digestive system is healthy, you will digest food much more easily.
They are also full of fibre, meaning they will keep you fuller for longer. Because they’re high in iron, zinc and calcium, they are an excellent replacement for red meat, and they are also pretty low in calories too – just 230 calories for a full cup of cooked lentils. Here’s 5 weight loss recipes with lentils for you to try.
Smoked Ham Lentils with Cod
Ingredients:
- 4 x 100g cod fillets, boned
- 4 x extra lean smoked ham slices
- 2 x 400g tin lentils, drained
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- Good handful fresh parsley, chopped
- Few sprigs of mint leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Oil spray
Method of Preparation:
- Slice the ham into cubes. Fry in a little oil spray until browned and crispy, then add the lentils and stir, cooking until heated through. Mince the garlic clove and add this, cooking for a minute or so.
- Stir the lemon juice and zest through the lentils, season to taste and then stir the chopped herbs through before serving.
- Cook the cod by spraying a pan with oil spray. Season the fillets then lay them skin side down in the frying pan. Cook them on a medium heat for about four minutes, then turn them over and cook them for one more minute then serve on top of the lentils.
Recipe serves 4, calories per serving: 237. Add chorizo for a punch of flavour, or try cooking chicken and serving it instead of the cod.
Curried Lentils
Ingredients:
- 250g split lentils
- 1 small onion
- 1 tsp. minced garlic and 1 tsp. minced ginger
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric and 1 tsp. garam masala
- 1 tomato
- 1 red chilli
- 1 small handful coriander, finely chopped
- Oil spray
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method of Preparation:
- Put the lentils into a saucepan and add water to cover, about three-quarters of the way up the pan. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, add turmeric, salt and pepper and simmer for about half an hour until tender, skimming any scummy bits off the surface of the water.
- Finely chop the onion. Remove the skin from the tomato and dice, then slice the chilli in half and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop. Heat oil spray in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft and sweet, then add the garlic, ginger, chilli, garam masala and tomato. Cook together for about 5 minutes.
- When the lentils are cooked, mix with the onion mixture and serve with the coriander sprinkled on top.
This recipe serves 4, calories per serving: 247.
Asian Lentils
Ingredients:
- 2 x 400g tins puy lentils, drained
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. runny honey
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red chilli
- Oil spray
- Salt and pepper
Method of Preparation:
- Mince the garlic clove. Slice the chilli in half and remove the seeds with the back of your knife, then finely chop. Combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic and chilli in a small pan and heat through.
- Heat oil spray in a frying pan and cook until the lentils are warmed all the way through. Pour the soy sauce dressing over the lentils and then cook for one minute. Tip into a bowl and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
You can eat these as a side dish, or you can serve them with a bit of soy marinated chicken or fish, or you can eat them on their own with some flat bread. Recipe serves 4, calories per serving: 251.
Lentil-stuffed Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
- 2 butternut squashes, sliced in half length ways with the seeds and any stringy bits removed
- 2 small onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100g puy lentils
- 150g low fat feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tsp. each paprika, ground cumin, ground cinnamon
- Pinch each salt and pepper
- Small handful each freshly chopped parsley and mint
- 2 tbsp. pine nuts
- Oil spray
Method of Preparation:
- Finely chop the onions and mince the garlic cloves. Put the squash halves on a baking tray, spray with oil spray and season well. Cook for about 40 minutes in an 180C oven until tender.
- Meanwhile, simmer the lentils for about half an hour in boiling salted water until tender and then drain. Cook the onions until soft then add the garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and salt and pepper.
- When the lentils are cooked, add them to the pan with the onion mixture and toss to combine. Add the parsley and mint, and put the lentil mixture into the cavity of the squash and up towards the thinner end of the squash, then sprinkle with the feta cheese and pine nuts.
- Put back into the oven for about 5 minutes just to melt the cheese and toast the pine nuts, then serve.
Although this recipe might look lengthy, the whole process takes about 40 minutes and it’s really just a case of putting everything together. Recipe serves 4, calories per serving: 316.
Chicken with Herby Lemon Lentils
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
- 100g puy lentils
- 500ml chicken stock, from a cube is fine
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 2 garlic cloves
- Handful fresh parsley
- Oil spray
- Salt and pepper
Method of Preparation:
- Heat stock in a saucepan and add the lentils. Simmer for half an hour until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat oil spray in a frying pan. Season the chicken and cook for five minutes or so, then turn over and cook for another 8-10 minutes until cooked all the way through.
- Take the chicken out of the frying pan and leave to rest. Heat the garlic, lemon zest, juice and parsley together for a couple of minutes. Put the lentils into the pan with the garlic and lemon juice, toss to combine and then spoon onto a plate. Serve the chicken on top of the lentils.
Use coriander and lime to give this meal an Asian twist. This recipe serves 2, calories per serving: 356.
For more recipes visit our weight loss recipes page or start our 28 Day Diet & Exercise Plan which has a daily food guide and recipes
