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LunchSpanish · 35 min · 4 servingsLentejas estofadas con verduras

Stewed lentils with vegetables

Each serving has 248 kcal, 15.7 g of protein, and 14.8 g of fiber, or 6.3 g of protein per 100 kcal. Ready in 35 minutes; makes 4 servings.

  • High in protein
  • High in fiber
  • Low energy density
  • Hydrating
  • May cause bloating

Per serving

  • 248 kcalCalories
  • 15.7 gProtein
  • 14.8 gFiber

Calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central. 6.3 g of protein per 100 kcal.

Stewed lentils with vegetables, seen from above
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Sources
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Ingredients

4 servings

Plus, with no meaningful nutrition (not counted in the table):

  • Sweet paprika (1 teaspoon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Cumin, salt, and pepper to taste

Weights are for each food as described on its page: raw, cooked, or drained, as noted. Grams are the reference used for the math; ounces and cups are rounded US equivalents.

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and cook the onion, green bell pepper, and garlic for 5 minutes, until soft.
  2. Add the carrots and zucchini and cook 3 minutes more.
  3. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the paprika for a few seconds so it does not burn, then add the tomato right away and cook 5 minutes.
  4. Add the lentils, broth, bay leaf, and cumin and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the broth thickens a little.
  5. For a thicker stew, mash a few spoonfuls of lentils against the side of the pot and stir.
  6. Season with salt, remove the bay leaf, and serve.

Why it is filling

Lentils bring plant protein and plenty of fiber, and the broth and vegetables make a spoon-and-bowl dish with a lot of volume for its calories. With precooked lentils and no chorizo or blood sausage, this stew is lighter than the traditional Spanish version and ready in half an hour. Like any legume, lentils can cause gas: rinsing canned lentils well and starting with small servings helps.

In numbers, each serving has 15.7 g of protein and 14.8 g of fiber, with an energy density of 54 kcal per 100 g of the dish. In the satiety index by Holt and colleagues (1995), the foods that were most filling per calorie were those with more protein, fiber, and water and less fat.

High in protein
At least 15 g of protein per serving and 6 g per 100 kcal.
High in fiber
At least 5 g of fiber per serving, a fifth of EFSA’s 25 g daily reference.
Low energy density
100 kcal or less per 100 g of the dish: plenty of volume for few calories.
Hydrating
At least 85 g of water per 100 g of the dish, not counting cooking water.
May cause bloating
It has at least 30 g per serving of beans, cruciferous vegetables, or other ingredients that give some people gas.

If your appetite is small

  • Start with half a serving: this stew is very filling, and the rest keeps for 3 days in the fridge.
  • It freezes well in single servings for up to 3 months; thaw it in the fridge the night before.
  • If a lot of liquid is hard to get down, serve the lentils with little broth and sip the rest separately later.

Nutrition facts

Values per serving and for the whole recipe (4 servings), calculated from the ingredients. Protein per 100 kcal: 6.3 g.
NutrientPer servingWhole recipe
Calories248 kcal993 kcal
Protein15.7 g62.6 g
Carbohydrates41.4 g165.7 g
Fiber14.8 g59.1 g
Fat3.6 g14.3 g
Approximate weight460 g (16 oz)1,840 g (65 oz)

How it is calculated

Each ingredient contributes its per-100 g values from the site’s food database, multiplied by the amount in the recipe. Seasonings, water, and lemon or lime juice are not counted. It is an approximation: the actual size of the foods and how you cook them shift the result a little.

What each ingredient contributes to the whole recipe.
IngredientAmountCaloriesProteinFiber
Cooked lentils600 g696 kcal54.1 g47.4 g
Carrot150 g62 kcal1.4 g4.2 g
Green bell pepper100 g20 kcal0.9 g1.7 g
Onion80 g32 kcal0.9 g1.4 g
Tomato200 g36 kcal1.8 g2.4 g
Zucchini200 g34 kcal2.4 g2 g
Olive oil10 g88 kcal0 g0 g
Vegetable broth500 ml25 kcal1.2 g0 g

To plan your meals

More recipes

See all recipes

Sources

Nutrition values for each ingredient (USDA FoodData Central) and the satiety reference, with the access date.

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC ID 172421).accessed .
  2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Carrots, raw (FDC ID 170393).accessed .
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Peppers, sweet, green, raw (FDC ID 170427).accessed .
  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000).accessed .
  5. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457).accessed .
  6. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, raw (FDC ID 169291).accessed .
  7. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC ID 171413).accessed .
  8. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve (FDC ID 171583).accessed .
  9. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed).Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. A satiety index of common foods. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995;49(9):675-90.accessed .