I am a soup lover, especially in the cold winter months! But my love for soup goes waay beyond that - it is a great lower calorie choice to fill up and it can be really healthy and a complete meal!

I discovered this Red Lentil soup on Oh She Glows, from 101 Cookbooks, and since I read about it, I have made it about 100 times. I have made it for all variety of guests, and everyone has raved about it.

I use almost the exact recipe that Heidi posted and I don't feel comfortable copying it over here {sidenote: I read the other day about recipe copyright infringement, and apparently, most authors hate people modifying their recipes.}


I love any type of recipe I can cook in a Crockpot; it's so nice to come home and have dinner already be ready. So I made this recipe Crockpot and busy person friendly.


I chop my onions and leave out the shallots cause I never buy those things. I learned this great trick for chopping onions somewhere on Food Network, I can't remember. But what you do is cut down half way through the root (leaving it intact) and remove the outer layers. Then you lay the onion flat (easier to chop), and make several cuts perpendicular to the root downward, then you hold it, and carefully cut in sideways. You finish it off cutting downward in the opposite direction so the root will be cut off at the end. Really quick and easy!


I usually begin this recipe at home during lunch, my modification is that I always make in my Crockpot. The hardest and most time consuming part (like 10 minutes) is chopping and browning the onions.


While the onions and spices are browning, I combine all the other ingredients (my favorite kind of rice: Lundberg short grain -so delicious!) in my Crockpot.


I use my favorite vegetable boullion cubes, Rapunzel sea salt w/ herbs. It is so delicious!


I always prefer using cubes (especially when they are healthy) over liquid stock, because it takes up much less packaging, less room in my pantry, less effort carrying it up 3 floors, and usually it is cheaper!


I then add a bunch of water, more than the recipe calls for, like 10 cups.


I add the delicious browned onions,


close the top, set the Crockpot to low, and head back to work!

When I come home much later, I have beautiful, thick soup waiting for me!! The longer you cook it the better, as the lentils and rice really expand and make the soup ultra-thick.


After it is finished, I add a really generous amount of salt. Like A LOT! Otherwise it will be bland, and as Heidi says: add salt until it sings!


I usually makes this big batch for myself and I eat it all week long. I usually find that I have to add more water in each serving to make it not sooo thick, so I add a bit of salt too.


I like to top with some extra red pepper and pine nuts, and serve with a side salad. It's a complete meal too: protein from the lentils, complex cards from the rice, healthy fat from the olive oil and pine nuts (and salad dressing), and veggies from onions and salad!


Perfect lunch and perfect easy soup!