Lentil Soup and Ham

My mom loved lentils. They were gross to me as a kid. Now I really like them! They are so good for you too!

We lost heat in our house and soup was my solution. There is nothing better than soup on a cold day! Even better on a cold day when your house is also cold. Mmmmm good is right!

I love the ham in this soup and the spinich adds some yumminess too. In all honesty, the kids weren't big fans of the soup but I didn't expect them to be. As I said, I wasn't too fond of lentils as a kid either.

Lentil Soup and Ham

Olive oil

1 chopped onion

4 garlic cloves

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup dried lentils

1/2 cup chopped carrot

2 bay leaves

3 cups chopped spinach

1 cup chopped ham

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add broth, lentils, carrots, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach, ham, tomatoes, thyme, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves and enjoy!

We've been eating better lately. Do you feel like you eat better in the fall/winter? I always feel like in the summer we tend to eat poorly because of barbeques and parties, etc. Come winter we tend to get back on track. The kids don't exactly think our healthy eating is good. MiniMe said the other day, "When are we going to start eating good food again?"