The Mystery that is Lentils.

     Few things in this health nutty little world of mine have plagued me with curiosity and frustration more than lentils. Red, black, split, white, French, a crazy number of varieties, all with these amazing health benefits. It is just like eating your vitamins! Here in the Texas Panhandle, we southwest, southern girls have never even heard of such a crazy thing as lentils! The problem occurred when I bought a bag of them, organic red ones (which are more of an orange in color), in the Natural Grocers bulk isle, of course. I followed a complicated recipe in that month's Natural Health Magazine. It was extremely spicy and almost had a licorice undertone in the flavor. Epic fail. I didn't like it, so I decided not to torture my family with it. The worst part was, the lentils turned to mush. When I started with them, they were these adorable, little, round, firm discs of healthy goodness. After cooked, they were mush. Gross. I made one more attempt with white lentils, with the same outcome. Mush. My fam doesn't go for mush. No way. No how.

     So I pressed on in my pursuit of how to cook and eat tasty cancer murdering lentils. The part about lentils that gets me the most is that the societies of this Earth who have diets heavy in lentils, like Indian, and French, have little or no instances of heart disease, certain cancers-like pancreatic, or type 2 diabetes. These happen to be health ailments that are plaguing modern America and my generation in particular. I'm not necessarily saying that lentils are the little magic bullets, but they sure are something to work into the health promoting arsenal that is my kitchen, most of the time. 

Here are some facts I copy and pasted from www.healthdiaries.com :

Heart Health
Studies have found that people who eat high fiber legumes like lentils have a much reduced risk of heart disease. The high levels of folate and magnesium in lentils also go a long way in protecting the heart.
Stabilize Blood Sugar
Due to their high fiber content, lentils help in regulating blood sugar by providing steady, slow-burning energy and balancing blood sugar levels.

High in Iron Lentils are loaded with iron and are a great way to replenish the body's iron stores, especially for people who don't eat red meat like vegans and vegetarians. B Vitamins
Lentils are a great source of B vitamins, most notably folate and niacin (B3). B vitamins are important for the healthy functioning of the nervous, digestive, and immune systems.
Lower Cholesterol
Lentils are a great cholesterol lowering food due to their high levels of fiber.
Protein Packed
Protein makes up 26% of the calories in lentils and they have the third highest level of protein than any other plant food. It's no wonder that they're a staple in many parts of the world.

   So, I am happy to announce that I have possibly cracked the code of how to work lentils into the menu of the discriminating pallets of my loveys. Like I do in the most extreme of cases, I sneak it. I, by total accident, have discovered a fabulous recipe for cooking lentils and for mixing them with canned re-fried black beans to create faux re-fried pinto beans. This recipe works perfectly in place of re-fried beans.  So here goes:

Crockpot Lentils, Any Variety
 
 2 cups lentils, any color.
1/2 diced yellow onion.
1 garlic clove, pressed.
3 cerrano peppers 1/2 inch sliced.
3 tbsp. Bacon Drippings. (I know, we've go to have some evil somewhere.)
1 can re-fried black beans

Saute onions, garlic, and peppers in bacon drippings until translucent, about 7 minutes. Fill crock pot about half full of water and turn on LOW.  Rinse dry lentils and place them in the crock pot. Place sauteed veggies in crock as well. Cover and cook on low overnight, 8-10 hours. Do not remove lid. Once cooked, stir.  Don't panic, we are only half done.

     You will see that they cook up to a nice mush. This is the point where if you have an surplus, spoon into glass jars and freeze. Now, here comes the brilliance.....Mix hot lentils equal parts with canned re-fried black beans, about 2 cups of cooked lentils per can of black beans. Black beans are no strangers to the spotlight when it comes to anti-oxidant, cancer fighting powers. So mixing these two superstars is sure to create a super-food staple for every southwest, tex-mex based menu in every kitchen in the land. The lentils will lighten the color of the black beans and loosen the consistency. Add a tsp. garlic salt and a tbsp. Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning. (Described in an earlier post.) Mix well. Use in place of re-fried beans in any recipe like, burritos, chalupas, along side enchiladas, and my family's personal favorite, Bean Bread. I might explain bean bread at a later date, but no promises;)

Happy sneaking;)