Lentil And Rice Stew

When temps are this low (-12F this morning in Minnesota), a nice, hot bowl of stew helps to keep you warm. There is just something comforting about spooning up that hot stew and tasting all the flavors that come together after cooking for awhile.

While I usually think of stews as having some kind of meat in them, this version is vegan. I do cook a lot of vegan meals because meat tends to be expensive. If you would like to add meat, andouille sausage would be a great addition to this stew. A whole pot of this stew cost me about $1.50 because all the veggies were free.

I had a bunch of veggies that I wanted to use up from last week's load while helping Sister's Camelot and what better to use them in a stew! I just decide to use whatever I had and throw them in the pot. Had two sweet potatoes, carrots, onion and some garlic. A friend of mine had given me some veggie stock last year and I had one more jar so I threw that in. Lentils and rice are always something I have in my pantry. This time, I used some brown lentils, but I also have some green lentils. I wouldn't recommend using red lentils for this stew.



Lentil and Rice Stew

1 cup lentils
1 cup rice (either brown or white)
1 15 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 quart jar of veggie stock
3 cups water
1 large onion
1 or 2 sweet potatoes
2 cups of chopped carrots
5 cloves garlic (or to taste)
cumin to taste
turmeric to taste
pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Dump everything into a stockpot and bring to a boil. Lower temperature and let simmer until rice and lentils are done, adding water if necessary. If you like, you can cook this down until it is thick and use as a filling in a burrito.

Free Food

When you don't have much money to spend and you're on a tight budget, you may not get enough fruits and veggies in your diet. That's one of the issues that I'm facing now as it is less expensive to buy a bag of grains that will last a while rather than veggies you need to eat within a week.

As a veggie lover, I make sure to include them in my diet. However, veggies tend to be the most expensive part of my meal. Looking for creative solutions, I was talking with a friend recently and she suggested that I check out Sisters' Camelot in Minneapolis.

Sisters' Camelot collects organic fruits and veggies from distributors and farmers markets and distributes it for free. Yes, organic veggies for free! After they pick the food up, the group of volunteers decide on a place to park their bus and invites people to take what veggies they need.

I decided to check it out, and ended up with a box of veggies to take home! Kale, avocados, lime, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and green onion and more.

I loved volunteering and it felt good to to help out. I am going to continue to volunteer until I find a full time jobs this will help me to get fresh fruits and veggies.

Beverages In Food Storage

If you had to live off your food storage for a while, it would be a good thing to have beverages included in that food storage, right? Have you ever thought about what beverages would you want to store?

No one wants to just drink water all the time, so it is good to have a variety to drink as well as the variety you store for your food. If I didn't have some of these in storage, I'd mostly be drinking water.

This is what I currently have in my pantry:

Almond Milk: I use this for smoothies, in hot cereal, and "cream" for coffee. I don't generally drink it plain unless I get chocolate flavored.

Coffee: Generally there is not too much coffee in my pantry as I don't want it to get stale. I usually have 2 or 3 cans.

Ginger Soda: I don't drink much soda, but ginger soda is the exception. My favorite is Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost.

Hot Chocolate: Best drink for cold days! Store bought and homemade mix. Also have some "fancy" hot chocolates with flavors, like salted caramel from Starbucks. If it's in my pantry, it will be without marshmallows.

Juices: Mostly organic and in glass. Apple, grape, mango, and more.

Lemonade: In glass. Some Limeade too.

Powdered Milk: Use this in baking and for making my homemade powdered hot chocolate mix.

Tea: I love tea! The more varieties, the better!

Water: Drinking water, distilled, and sparkling water. I used the distilled for use with my neti pot. I use the sparkling water to mix with juice.


What beverages do you have stored in your pantry?