Mashed potatoes. Ice cream. Pizza. Mac & cheese.

We tend to crave these foods. They comfort us. We have really great memories of them from a young age.

Broccoli. Brussels sprouts. Carrots. Spinach. Butternut squash. Collard greens. 

Not exactly the same effect, right?

Many of us grew up thinking that only the foods in the first group can taste good and make us feel good.

What if the same foods that “comforted” us also nourished us? It’s possible!

curry

Our body has an amazing ability to adapt our taste buds and preferences, even for those of us who consider ourselves picky eaters.

Trust me. I get it. For most of my life, I was one of the pickiest eaters you would ever meet! I was loyal to my egg noodles, parmesan cheese, chicken fingers, and broccoli. Sauces / soups / salads / seafood / sandwiches / dips / dressing / ethnic food?…no thanks!

I didn’t eat any of it.

Now, Bill and I eat lots of foods that not only make us feel good but also nourish our bodies.

I’m excited to share one of my NEW favorite, Indian-inspired recipes with you! I just made it for the first time last week, and Bill and I loved it. It’s one of the tastiest, most warming and wonderful meals we’ve ever made. We had it for a week and never got sick of it. You have to try it!

Keep in mind…

  • You will do very little cooking. The only thing you actually take time to cook in this recipe are the onions (mixed with spices).
  • The rest of the meal is “set it and forget it.” Once you’ve cooked the onions, you pretty much dump them and all of the other uncooked ingredients into a casserole dish and leave it alone in your oven until it’s finished cooking. It’s almost impossible to mess this one up!
  • This recipe makes A LOT of food. Perfect if you’re having lots of friends over for dinner or want a meal you can cook once and eat about 4-5 times. I cooked it in a deep lasagna pan.
  • Don’t be intimidated by longer ingredient lists. Just because an ingredient list looks longer than you’re used to doesn’t mean it’s more difficult to make. A lot of the time, our ingredient lists may appear longer because half of the ingredients are herbs and spices. Fortunately, they don’t make the recipe take any longer to prepare but do add tons of flavor! Just make a list and pick them up on your next shopping trip.

casserole bannerIngredients

a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil OR coconut oil (we used coconut oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh turmeric, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cups french lentils or green lentils
1 cup long grain brown rice
5 cups water
1 can coconut milk (full fat)

Click here for the full recipe from Nourishing Meals!