How to Beat the Dry Cold with French Lentil Soup

One thing I really love about this time of year is how clear the days start to become. It's been in the 20's for a week now, with no precipitation in the air. The sun rises earlier every day, the skies are blue, and it looks like Spring, until you set foot outside that is.

It's taken some extra work to stay hydrated in this dry cold. Some things that I've been doing are:

Ways To Beat The Dry Cold

• when you wake, before you do anything else, drink a tall glass of warm water (add lemon if you wish) 
• drink warm water or tea throughout the day instead of cold water
• eat foods that are water-filled, such as fruits and vegetables, and tons of soups!
• lather your entire body with coconut oil right after a shower

Doing these things has made February much more enjoyable. I just came off of a 3 day fruit cleanse (check out my post and learning from last year's Fruit Feast here) as part of Baron Baptiste's 40 Days to Personal Revolution. I love this feast because it cleanses your body from the inside out, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Eating so much water-filled food cleans out your colon, without complex carbohydrates or proteins to keep the train from moving. Also, fruit takes minimal effort for your digestive system to work through, so this gives your metabolic organs an opportunity to restore themselves. By day three, I was feeling on top of the world, energized, light, clear, and clean.

One thing that really stuck with me this year was how to intelligently come off of the feast.
Baron says,

"any fool can fast, but only a wise person can come off of it intelligently"

I took these words to heart, knowing full well that even though I could have eaten everything under the sun on Day 4, it would be best to ease back in. So I started Day 4 with an all fruit smoothie and plain oatmeal. I snacked on fruit throughout the day, then had my tomato & avocado salad with a simple addition of spinach and chickpeas. I was telling a friend about my meal plan for Day 4 and he goes, "Come on! Treat yourself!". I had to laugh and explain to him what a shock it would be to my system to start eating foods that take a lot of effort to digest, such as breads, meats, dairy, etc.

I experimented with a piece of sourdough toast that evening, and it sent my stomach in circles. It was clearly not what my body had been used to and I could feel the effort that it took to digest. Within an hour my stomach was totally fine. I taught Body Combat last night, and had ample energy for class regardless. It always amazes me, the power of our bodies to cleanse and detoxify themselves, as well as work with the food we're given to build strong bones and muscles.

This 3 days during the Fruit Feast is filled with what Baron calls, 'cleansing' foods. Cleansing foods are lighter by nature, and help to clean out the body. In the days post-Feast, we are in a 'building' period. Building foods are heavier by nature. This includes high mineral foods, like fish, beans, legumes, meats, dairy. They are foods that help you to build up your body whereas cleansing foods are those that help you clean out and detoxify your body.

I ate this soup, from Andrea Bemis at Dishing Up the Dirt, throughout the remainder of the week to ease back into processing complex carbohydrates and proteins. This soup freezes well, to be reheated in later weeks for dinner on the fly.
The French influence comes from leeks and fennel, which are also cleansing to the palate.

French Lentil Soup serves 4-6

leeks, fennel, star anise

• 1 cup French green lentils, rinsed
• 5 cups filtered water
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 Tbsp ghee or olive oil if dairy-free
• 2 large leeks, sliced up the the light green part
• 1 large bulb of fennel, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
•  3/4-1 tsp sea salt

Method

In a large saucepan, combine lentils, water, and star anise. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

In a separate large saucepan, heat ghee over medium-high heat. Add leeks, fennel, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring often, until vegetables are soft and begin to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Reduce heat.

Remove star anise from the pot of lentils, pour water and lentils into the sauce pan with leeks and fennel. Season with sea salt and let simmer over low heat for another 15 minutes. 

Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to pulse the soup, careful to maintain some texture. Serve with seedy crackers or crusty bread and plenty of red pepper flakes, and ghee. 


enjoy!