foodperson.com

My sister was asking the other day about quick, easy and healthy recipes. This sister is a competent but largely uninterested cook who has a growing enthusiasm for eating healthful and and healthfully produced food.

About three months of the year, including now, she is the chief cook at her household. The current bee in her toque is to provide a quick, healthy, sustainably produced dinner that the picky-eater babysitter will like (!) at least once a week. Now, in the summertime around here that’s a snap. But this is February, so there will be no sliced tomatoes, cheese and bread for a meal.

My winter favorite, as if anyone couldn’t guess, is soup, and I’ll offer up an easy one at the end of this post, but it isn’t quite as quick as she’d like. So I’ve also investigated some web sites that might be helpful:

World’s healthiest foods recipes. It lets you browse a list of recipes or use their meal tool to winnow the list to only those containing, say, Swiss chard. I can’t say I’ve used their recipes, but it’s a good site, and the recipes I’ve looked at look good.

Allfood Minute Meals, Quick & Healthy category. The Carribean Chicken, for instance, looks like a winner. This site not only gives the recipe but a shopping list and strategy for getting the meal on the table in 20 minutes.

Lancaster, Nebraska, extension office. Some extension recipes seem to use a lot of processed foods, but some of these look good.

The Cleaner Plate Club. Although it’s short on recipes, I think my sis will find a kindred spirit, and an occasional recipe, at this blog. I always enjoy reading it.

OK, now the recipe. This is easy. You could do it on a Sunday and heat it up on Thursday. Freeze it in between if that delay freaks you out. Maybe I’ll see if I can come up with some faster soup recipes and do a post. After all, it’s a long time till spring. Sigh.

Tomato and lentil soup

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 5 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup minced parsley (2 tablespoons parsley flakes)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1. In soup pot, saute garlic and onion in oil over medium heat until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add water and dried lentils; bring to a boil over high, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until tender, about 45 minutes.
2. Add carrots, celery, tomatoes and bay leaf. Add tomato paste, parsley, thyme, dill, tarragon and marjoram. Simmer 1 hour. Remove bay leaf, and serve.

Makes about 8 servings.

Suggestions?

OK, so do you have favorite web sites for quick, easy and healthy recipes? Or a cookbook you especially like that fills that same need? If so, let me (and my sister) know in the comments.