Lunch
Lentil and vegetable soup
Each serving has 260 kcal, 14 g of protein, and 13.4 g of fiber, or 5.4 g of protein per 100 kcal. Ready in 35 minutes; makes 4 servings.
Per serving
- 260 kcalCalories
- 14 gProtein
- 13.4 gFiber
Calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central. 5.4 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Prepared by
- Alex Gonzalez
- Published
- Sources
- 9 primary
No clinical review. No advertising from drug companies and no affiliate links.How we work
Ingredients
- 500 g18 ozcanned cooked lentils, rinsed and drained (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 120 g4 ozdiced carrots (2 medium)
- 200 g7 ozdiced potato (1 medium)
- 80 g3 ozchopped onion (about 1/2 cup)
- 80 g3 ozchopped red bell pepper (about 1/2 cup)
- 150 g5.5 ozgrated fresh tomato (about 2/3 cup)
- 100 g3.5 ozfresh spinach (about 3 cups)
- 15 golive oil (1 tablespoon)
- Water (about 800 ml, or 3 1/3 cups)
- Sweet paprika, cumin, 1 bay leaf, and salt to taste
Directions
- Cook the onion and bell pepper in the oil for 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, potato, tomato, and paprika and stir for 2 minutes.
- Cover with the water, add the bay leaf, and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Add the lentils and simmer 10 minutes more.
- Stir in the spinach at the end and cook for 2 minutes, until it wilts.
- For a smoother texture, blend part of the soup and stir it back in.
Why it is filling
Lentils bring fiber and plant protein, and the broth and vegetables add a lot of volume for few calories: it is a dish that fills you up slowly. The fiber helps keep you regular, which matters because constipation is common on GLP-1 medications. Legumes give some people gas, which can be more noticeable when the stomach empties slowly.
In numbers, each serving has 14 g of protein and 13.4 g of fiber, with an energy density of 83 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.
If your appetite is small
- It makes four servings: freeze whatever you won’t eat within 3 days in single containers.
- Blended until smooth, it often goes down more easily when you have nausea or little appetite.
- For more protein, top each bowl with a chopped hard-boiled egg or a few cubes of cooked ham.
Nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per serving | Whole recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 260 kcal | 1,039 kcal |
| Protein | 14 g | 55.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 43.5 g | 174 g |
| Fiber | 13.4 g | 53.5 g |
| Fat | 4.6 g | 18.4 g |
| Approximate weight | 311 g (11 oz) | 1,245 g (44 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.
| Ingredient | Amount | Calories | Protein | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooked lentils | 500 g | 580 kcal | 45.1 g | 39.5 g |
| Carrot | 120 g | 49 kcal | 1.1 g | 3.4 g |
| Boiled potato | 200 g | 174 kcal | 3.7 g | 3.6 g |
| Onion | 80 g | 32 kcal | 0.9 g | 1.4 g |
| Red bell pepper | 80 g | 21 kcal | 0.8 g | 1.7 g |
| Tomato | 150 g | 27 kcal | 1.3 g | 1.8 g |
| Spinach | 100 g | 23 kcal | 2.9 g | 2.2 g |
| Olive oil | 15 g | 133 kcal | 0 g | 0 g |
To plan your meals
- Daily protein calculator: an indicative protein range per day and per meal, to see how much of it this recipe covers.
- Weekly menu for small appetites: seven days of small portions with the protein spread across meals, ready to print.
More recipes
432 kcal30.6 grams of protein30 min
324 kcal32.8 grams of protein35 min
269 kcal33.5 grams of protein10 min
Sources
Nutrition values for each ingredient (USDA FoodData Central) and the satiety reference, with the access date.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC ID 172421).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Carrots, raw (FDC ID 170393).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Potatoes, boiled, cooked in skin, flesh, without salt (FDC ID 170438).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Peppers, sweet, red, raw (FDC ID 170108).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Spinach, raw (FDC ID 168462).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC ID 171413).accessed .
- 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 .