Save Time, Save Money, and Eat Healthy with Comfort Foods

By Lisbeth Irish, RDN, CDN, CDCES

January can be a very cold month in New York and many of us turn to “comfort” foods on those cold days. Comfort can mean many things but often it means something warm and tasty during the winter. Soups, chili, and stews can be very satisfying on a frigid day. They can also be economical, easy to prepare, and nutritious. Recipes that “check all the boxes” can be found at https://snapedny.org.

Below is a SNAP-Ed recipe from the snapedny.org website that you might want to try. It’s economical and provides a great source of plant-based protein. It also provides a variety of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, and iron as well as an impressive amount of fiber. It’s a fairly simple recipe and it doesn’t require much cooking experience. You can freeze the leftovers to defrost and heat on a day you just don’t feel like cooking or don’t have time to cook.

https://snapedny.org/2020/08/barley-lentil-soup/

Tips:

• If fresh spinach is too expensive or not available, try adding frozen spinach.
• If cutting carrots is difficult for you, try adding frozen or canned carrots that are low in sodium or rinsed well. Frozen diced onions can also be substituted for fresh onions.
• You can substitute brown rice or quinoa for the barley and any type of bean can be substituted for the lentils (cooking times may vary). Canned, rinsed beans instead of “dried” can be used to reduce cooking time.
• You can add more or less of the spices, such as the cayenne pepper.

Enjoy!

This recipe and many others on the snapedny.org website are great ways to Save Time, Save Money, and Eat Healthy!

Lisbeth Irish RDN, CDN, CDCES is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist with the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA). She has over 25 years of experience working as a Registered Dietitian in a variety of settings and currently oversees the NYSOFA SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education program for older adults in New York State. Lisbeth is also a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She attended NY Medical College and has a degree in Nutrition from SUNY Oneonta. Lisbeth enjoys reading, nature, and traveling. Lisbeth says she feels very fortunate to be working with such a dedicated group of professionals at NYSOFA.