This hearty, green lentil soup is super healthy and packed with goodness to boost both you and your partner's fertility. Lentils are part of the legume family, they are easily digested by the body and are a great plant based source of iron, folate and protein. 1 cup of lentils gives your body 90% of the folic acid your body is recommended to have daily. Folic acid is important to have in your system before getting pregnant and during your pregnancy. It plays a key role in healthy reproductive cycles aswell as supporting the growing fetus, helping preventing birth defects and supporting your baby's brain and spinal cord development. it is just as important for male fertility, it has been found that men with a lower intake from their diet have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm.
Lentils are packed in fiber as well which helps keep the digestion move along smoothly and has a hormone balancing effect by stabilising blood sugar levels. It is important especially for women to keep those blood sugar levels stable. When these elevate it can cause your body's insulin to rise and this affects ovulation, not what we want. This recipe packs in the fertility nutrients with tomatoes and spinach too, both are rich in antioxidants and are proven to benefit male and female fertility. Dark green vegetables like spinach are a great way to get in those pre natal vitamins including calcium, iron (especially important when menstruating) and folate. Tomatoes especially when cooked are rich in lycopene which is proven to help boost sperm quality, and are praised as male fertility 'superfood'.
It is super easy to cook this meal and is very easy to source the ingredients for this recipe. Most can easily be stored in a cupboard - chopped tomatoes, lentils, dried herbs, stock and seasoning. Make a big batch and eat the leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner, or freeze to eat at a later date. It is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. I hope you enjoy.
FERTILITY BOOSTING NUTRIENTS
Fiber. Folate. Iron. Lycopene. Protein. Magnesium. Potassium. Zinc.
Vitamins B6, C, D, E and K.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 ppl
500g green lentils
400g chopped tomatoes (1 can)
500ml vegetable stock
50g baby spinach
1 white onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Sea salt and pepper for seasoning
METHOD
1. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, lentils and tomatoes to a deep pan.
2. Season the ingredients with the basil, thyme, oregano and season with sea salt and pepper.
3. Stir in the vegetable stock broth.
4. Bring to the boil over a medium - high heat. Reduce the heat, cover with lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy every spoonful.
