Slow Cooker Red Curry Lentils

Ted has been asking me to make beans or lentils and rice for quite a while now, and today I finally made him some! This is a really easy slow cooker dinner and was absolutely delicious. I have recently discovered how much I love curry, and it gave a really nice flavor to the lentils. The coconut adds a great flavor as well. I made the brown rice in the morning, and then just heated it up at dinner time. This recipe makes a pretty big batch, so I put about half of it into a container to freeze - which I am sure I will be thankful for some day soon when I am busy and need something quick to heat up for dinner!

Slow Cooker Red Curry Lentils

Ingredients

4 cups brown lentils

2 medium yellow onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp ground ginger

5 Tbsp organic red curry paste

1 Tbsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp sugar

2 (29oz) cans organic tomato puree

1 1/2 empty tomato puree cans filled with water

1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

1/2 cup coconut milk

organic cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Rinse lentils and place in slow cooker. Add diced onions, garlic, ginger, curry paste, garam masala, turmeric, sugar. Stir until evenly combined.

2. Pour 2 cans of tomato puree over lentil mixture. Add water. 

3. Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. 

4. When cooking is complete, season with salt to taste. Stir in coconut milk and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

5. Serve over organic brown rice and enjoy!

(Recipe adapted from pinchofyum.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Lentils contain lots of protein and soluble fiber (the kind that is helpful for lowering cholesterol levels) and are high in folate and magnesium.onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Canned tomato products, such as the tomato puree in this recipe, contain more bioavailable lycopene than fresh tomatoes! Coconut milk is abundant in vitamin C and E, as well as several B vitamins.