Carrot Lentil Soup

I'm sure most people have heard that carrots are good for their eyes - that eating them will either improve eyesight of help one see better in the dark, etc. As a child, when my parents told me such things I thought they were just trying to get me to eat my veggies. However, after researching the topic briefly - and by briefly I mean I typed "benefits of eating carrots" into a Google search and read the most legit looking sight - I learned that my parents might have actually been on to something!

According to OrganicFacts.com, carrots are helpful for more than just eyesight. In fact, based upon the high amount of beta carotene and vitamin A, regular carrot consumption can (oh, how I love alliteration!) help reduce the risk of lung cancer by 40% (not smoking helps here too) and reduce the risk of colon cancer by 24%. Along with reducing cancer odds, eating carrots helps lower cholesterol, helps regulate blood sugar in those with diabetes, reduces the risk of stroke by 68% and, of course, improve eyesight in general, as well as eyesight in the dark.

If there are so many health benefits involved with eating carrots - which by the way, taste great and are healthy raw, cooked or juiced - why don't more people eat them!!? Well, I found a good starting place for adding carrots to ones' diet, and I must say, it is quite tasty!

I knew I wanted to make carrot soup, but I wasn't sure what it actually involved. I checked out a few recipes in blogs and in my library of cookbooks and found that its basically mirapoix (the combination of onions, carrots and celery, used in many soup bases) that is heavy on the carrots. I did not use one, single, recipe for this carrot soup, but combined all of my favorite ingredients from the recipes I searched.

Carrot Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, roughly chopped
• 2 cups lentils
• 3 pounds carrots, peeled, roughly chopped into large pieces
• 6 red potatoes, chopped chopped, with skins
• 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped

Instructions:
First, get the veggie broth and additional water boiling in a large pot. In a pan set to medium heat, heat the olive oil then add the onions, garlic and leeks all together and cook until they are soft. Transfer the onion mixture into the pot of broth. Add all of the other ingredients into the pot together. Once the water comes back up to a boil after adding those ingredients, reduce it to a simmer. Cook until all of the veggies are tender. Drain the broth from the soup into a separate bowl and set aside. Puree the veggies in a blender thoroughly and transfer them back into the large pot until all of the veggies have been pureed. Stir in the left over broth, 1 cup at a time, until soup reaches desired thickness or soupiness. Serve with freshly ground pepper and sour cream (if desired).

Notes:
I did not use any spices in this soup aside from the ground pepper on top after it was cooked and in my bowl. Salt could be added but the veggie broth has a pretty salty flavor to begin with, so it may not be necessary.


The final soup was a bit thicker than I would normally like - but the flavor was amazing! The soup is very filling and it was quite comforting on a warm rainy day. The fact that it was providing such lovely benefits to my health is a real bonus as well! :-)