Curried Red Lentil Soup

The Dieting Paradox

It’s widely accepted that avoiding carbs, or detoxing, or only eating paleo foods, or other rigid rules and restrictive behaviors isn’t disordered or destructive because so many people around us are doing these things.  These behaviors are actually encouraged and highly praised, because these are the things that people do when they care about their health and their body right??  The answer to that is a hard no.  These “wellness” messages tell us we need to only eat “good” foods and avoid “bad” foods, and become the right size in order to become “good” or “a better version of ourselves.” And these messages are coming at us from so many different angles and are constantly in our faces that we recognize them as completely normal and start at a very young age.  And these normalized behaviors that promote hunger suppression, avoiding food groups/macronutrients, and moralizing foods as good or bad are actually restrictive, harmful and definitely not nourishing.

We continue to search for answers among a shitstorm of dieting information, “wellness” messages, weight loss products and programs.  The problem is notably not a lack of knowledge or information, although that can most certainly be a part of it.  There is an overwhelming amount of dieting information readily available to us through the internet, magazines, social media, books, etc., yet so many continue to struggle to lose weight and keep it off.  While many are looking towards diets to achieve health or to lose weight, the twisted thing is it’s actually causing more harm than good.  

The Cost of Diet Culture

In our weight obsessed culture, it’s no surprise more and more people are seeking out fad diets and products for weight loss or for health reasons.  The diet industry is constantly cranking out new and seemingly more promising products, weight-loss programs, etc., and is raking in at 65+ billion dollars a year.  And this is what we have to show for it:

• According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), from 2013-2016 nearly 50% of U. S. adults tried to lose weight in the last 12 months.   Yet obesity is higher than ever in adults, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reporting nearly 72% of adults as overweight or obese. 
• With the societal pressure to look thin, the constant exposure to the weight loss industry and the increasing amount of time we spend on social media, it’s also no surprise that eating disorders are on the rise.  The National Eating Disorders Association reports that 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting and that 20-25% of those individuals develop eating disorders. Research is showing that dieting is one of the primary predictors of developing an eating disorder.  
• The sociocultural idealization of thinness has played a large role in the discrimination and stereotyping of someone based on their weight.  The blaming, shaming, and “concern trolling” are all too frequent. This weight stigma poses a significant threat to a persons’ psychological and physical health.  It has been documented as a significant risk factor for depression, low self-esteem, and poor body image.  Weight stigma increases body dissatisfaction, a leading risk factor in eating disorder development.  
• Many are turning to plastic surgery for liposuction and tummy tucks, which both fall into the top five category of all cosmetic surgical procedures performed in 2017.
• There is not one single long-term study showing that weight loss dieting is sustainable.
• Not to mention the fact that research is actually showing weight cycling, or yo-yo dieting increases the chances for binge eating, regaining weight and even gaining additional weight. 

The Alternative:

Diet culture tells us we need to be dependent on external sources and rules, such as what to eat, when to eat and how much.  And relying on dieting behaviors has taught us to completely ignore what are bodies are telling us.  It dictates our relationship between food and our bodies and wants us to believe we are powerless over food and that we can’t trust our bodies.  It wants us to trick our hunger and to ignore our body’s cues, signals and intuition.  And with this diet mentality comes stress when trying to stick to the plan, anxiety around food, guilt for not sticking to the plan, fearful of gaining weight, cravings because of deprivation, shame when a diet is failed and so much more.  And ultimately diet mentality takes a distressing toll on our bodies and mental health.

So what’s the alternative?  The alternative is to listen to your body instead of trying to manipulate it through depriving, tricking, and ignoring it, and not buying into the message that your body needs to be a smaller size in order to be worthy or healthy.  

Moving on from diet mentality and making peace with food and your body is an inside job. Each of us has the natural ability to connect ourselves with our ability to respect and take care of our bodies. And there is no external plan or product that is able to tell you how to do that, nor is there any diet that knows your body more than you do. Our bodies are so much more reliable than any diet plan or product.

When you filter out the influence of diet culture, ditch the extremes of dieting, embrace the balance in between the black and white, understand that food and nutrition don’t have to be perfect, you open yourself up to being able to gain trust in your body and you can learn to listen and be mindful of what your body is telling you.

With every diet, detox or set of rules that is followed, every restriction, every deprivation, and every rule of when, what and how much, you only take your body further away from your body’s innate wisdom and natural intuition.  Which is why for people who have dieted for years or who have had a long-standing complicated relationship with food and body image, this concept might seem completely foreign or maybe even bonkers, so the process of unlearning diet culture and learning mindful and intuitive eating could take some time.  But it’s completely worth the process. 

No perfect body shape or perfect diet plan gives greater satisfaction than the feeling of loving and embracing the shape of your body when you know it’s truly being taken care of by restoring the communication between you and your body, making choices based on compassion for your body, listening to your body’s intuition and giving it what really needs.

When you let go of dieting, and the fear, stress and guilt that’s tied to it, you can restore a healthy relationship with food, which allows you to choose foods that are dense in nutrition, foods that fuel and satisfy your body, foods that make you feel good, and also allows you to choose foods that bring you pleasure.  It’s a relationship that brings liberation, empowerment and peace.

I was hoping to get this recipe out when many of us were freezing our buns off during this year’s deep freeze, but between life, some technical issues and getting busy creating an arsenal of recipes, it’s a little later than I would’ve liked. But nonetheless, I’m still excited to share this recipe.

In the past, swiss chard had always been a veggie that intimidated me, but I’ve always found the beauty of it to be very alluring. Fast forward to today and after some experimentation in the kitchen, I’ve definitely fallen in love with this amazing vegetable and have found so many ways to enjoy it. One of the easiest ways is to toss it in a soup or stew, such as this drool worthy Curried Lentil Soup.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

• Author: Dana King
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: about 4 servings 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Indian Inspired

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Description

Big flavor in this hearty and satisfying curried soup.  Get warm and cozy with this lentil and veggie packed bowl of deliciousness.  It comes together in less than 35 minutes and is perfect for a cold weeknight evening.  

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1/2 large yellow ion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large bunch swiss chard, stems removed and diced, leaves roughly chopped

1 roasted red bell pepper, diced

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. tumeric powder

2 Tbsp. curry powder

2 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tsp. smoked paprika

5 c. low sodium vegetable broth

1 1/2 c. red lentils

1 can coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Serve with:

Greek yogurt

Cilantro

Naan, toasted

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Instructions

Heat EVOO in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and carrots and saute until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add diced swiss chard stems and saute another 3 minutes until softened.  Add the garlic and sauce another minute.  Add the diced red bell pepper, ginger, curry powder, mustard seeds, paprika and cook for two minutes. Add the broth and lentils and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk and chopped swiss chard leaves.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes until greens are wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with greek yogurt, chopped cilantro and toasted naan.

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Notes

I would not recommend substituting other lentil varieties, which would change the cooking time. Also, red lentils break down and turn mushy pretty quickly, so I would be careful not to overcook.

Knife skillz: Whenever you have a round vegetable rolling around on your cutting board, there’s always the risk of losing a finger. So, a solution to this is to create a flat surface that the veggie can rest on. To do this, start by cutting your carrot into a manageable size, about 3-4 inches in length. Trim a small slice off one vertical side of the carrot to create a much more stable and flat surface. Once you have your carrot resting on it’s flat surface, create vertical carrot planks, then vertical carrot sticks. An example of the planks and sticks are shown above. This allows you to efficiently create a uniform dice out of an awkwardly shaped vegetable without losing a finger.

Keywords: soup, lentil soup, curried red lentil soup, curry, swiss chard, curry, curried soup, naan

Sources:

Golden, N. H., Schneider, M., & Wood, C. (2016). Preventing Obesity and Eating Disorders in Adolescents. Pediatrics, 138(3). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1649 

Andreyeva, T., Puhl, R. M. and Brownell, K. D. (2008), Changes in Perceived Weight Discrimination Among Americans, 1995–1996 Through 2004–2006. Obesity, 16: 1129–1134. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.35

Shisslak, C.M., Crago, M., & Estes, L.S. (1995). The spectrum of eating disturbances. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18 (3), 209–219.

Andreyeva, T., Puhl, R. M. and Brownell, K. D. (2008), Changes in Perceived Weight Discrimination Among Americans, 1995–1996 Through 2004–2006. Obesity, 16: 1129–1134. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.35