My Lucky Lentil, Courgette and Ham Soup!

Diary of a Pilates Instructor...what I had for lunch yesterday!

So, with the arrival of a New Year and January, so besets the need to cut back on those December over-indulgences, which we all deserve and need.

It’s important to not cut out sugar or banish carbohydrates completely but remember to enjoy a balanced diet. Aim to reduce or half your usual intake.

Just a little bit of preparation and forward planning means that you can cook from scratch more and rely less on processed and quick meals.

Takeaways and short cut meals are of course to be enjoyed but not to be relied upon. Home cooking is wonderful for beating stress, knowing what goes in your food and helping you enjoy real, wholesome food.

So, to perhaps inspire you, I want to share what I fervently enjoyed for lunch this Monday! ...Soup left over from my Sunday lunch and it’s utterly delicious! For the veggie option, just ditch the ham and corned beef, swapping the chicken stock cube for a vegetable one; it’s no issue and tastes equally divine!

You can enjoy this as soup, or just some as a cooking sauce, which is fabulous with pasta or coat a fresh piece of fish or chicken fillet, cover with foil and oven bake.

Here’s my recipe for Lentil, Ham and Courgette soup. Full of Vitamin C and packs a protein punch! Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings!

🥒 Chop 1 white onion and pan fry with a little olive or vegetable oil.

🥒 Chop and divide 2 large courgettes as well as 3 garlic cloves and add to the pot. Add 2 kettles of recently boiled water (about 3 litres).

🥒 Peel and chop 1 carrot and 1 large potato, popping both in with a chicken stockcube and stir.

🥒 Allow to simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

🥒 In a separate saucepan, simmer for 4 minutes, a can of pre-soaked lentils in their can water then thouroughly drain and wash through with some boiled water. Add 4/5 of the lentils to the pot and set the remaining 1/5 aside to be added to the soup later whole.

🥒 Throw in a cup full of frozen peas.

🥒 Slice and roughly chop 2 large slices of quality ham and one slice of corned beef (Johnsons of Old Hurst) and stir.

🥒 Then blitz with a handheld mixer until the pot contents are blended smoothly together.

🥒 Add another half kettle of recently boiled water and stir in gently, the set aside lentils, keeping them whole.

🥒 Leave to simmer for another 15 minutes and then serve, with half a slice of fresh bread or half a bread roll.

Enjoy! ✨

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