Organic Runner Mom

Happiness . . .

Happiness is . . . when a new recipe turns out to be as delicious as you had imagined it would be . . . #OrganicHolidayHappiness

Cold weather runs crank my appetite into full gear. As if my metabolism weren’t fast enough when I run in the cold weather I become extra hungry. The kind of hungry where if I wait to long to eat I become silent, stone-faced, “hangry” . . .

Definition: HANGRY (according to the Urban Dictionary:

In order to combat this feeling post winter run I always crave hearty, comfort foods such as lentil soup. Recently I decided it was time to try making my first lentil soup. I was craving the rich taste of the lentils and dreaming of smoky bacon flavor with parmesan cheese on top. I didn’t have a good recipe for lentil soup so I went to Pinterest and searched for lentil soup to find the perfect recipe.  I ended up choosing about four different recipes and mixed and matched the ingredients to come up with the flavor that I was craving. The recipe that I used as my jumping off point was Lentil Barley-Soup from myrecipes.com.

Here is the ingredient list with my changes:

• 2 teaspoons canola oil  Olive Oil
• 1 cup sliced leek
• 3 cups organic vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup beer (I used Long Trail Harvest Ale)
• 1 cup chopped organic carrot
• 1 cup chopped organic celery
• 1/2 cup chopped organic parsnip
• 1/4 cup chopped organic celery leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill pearl barley
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Petitie Green lentils
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Can Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes (to add some acid to tie the flavors together)
• 5 Slices of VT Smoke and Cure Natural Thick Sliced Bacon (because who doesn’t love bacon!)

Leeks

carrots and celery

parsnips and bacon

Lentil Barley Soup to Warm Your Soul

Have you tried a new recipe lately? What is your favorite comfort food to make to refuel after a winter run?

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