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Canned vs home cooked lentils?


tuc
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The major exporter of lentils is Canada...strange that they don't can them in the USA.

 

How do you guys/gals prepare and cook lentils. Can you be specific..recipes...I'm interested in hearing.

 

I cook them in a pot with a little baking soda (been told it helps remove the phytates? if that is the right term.

 

I love lentils. They are seriously all around a great food. That being said, they give me gas beyond anything I've ever eaten, including before I stopped eating animal products (Vegetarian for over 2 years, vegan for nearly 1). For that reason I haven't been eating them. Aside from the gas they make me feel great.

 

Do any of you have this problem? Or did you, and found a way to solve it? Would really appreciate the help.

 

And to answer your question OP; If the canned lentils are quality and and don't have junk additives, I'd say it's preference. Nothing wrong with good canned food imo.

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I love lentils. They are seriously all around a great food. That being said, they give me gas beyond anything I've ever eaten, including before I stopped eating animal products (Vegetarian for over 2 years, vegan for nearly 1). For that reason I haven't been eating them. Aside from the gas they make me feel great.

 

Do any of you have this problem? Or did you, and found a way to solve it? Would really appreciate the help.

 

And to answer your question OP; If the canned lentils are quality and and don't have junk additives, I'd say it's preference. Nothing wrong with good canned food imo.

My wife and I take this before eating any bean meal we prepare http://veganessentials.com/catalog/peaceful-digestion-enzyme-supplement-by-veglife.htm

and it works great, especially with lentils.

I've never seen just canned lentils here in the US. I've seen lentil soup, but not just the beans in a can like black beans or kidney beans. Every once in a while I want lentils, but I'm not going to pay $2 a can for the soup when I can I buy a 16oz bag for .60 cents and make about 8-10 cups of soup.

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I've never seen canned lentils before either. They must not be very popular here in the states. As far as the dry type, I make them a lot. I've never soaked them before cooking, and I never noticed any negative gastrointestinal effects like i have with some other types of legumes.

 

Generally I put 1 cup dry lentils with 4 cups of water in a pot with a lid and boil them for ~40 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed. Then, I'll put in some tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, kale, broccoli, okra or whatever vegetables and herbs/spices and maybe some green chilies depending what I feel like and some water or stock or tomato sauce to thin it out some and help to cook the vegetables. Usually, I'll eat it with brown rice, quinoa, or something like that. Sometimes I use indian spices, sometimes mexican spices, sometimes italian, really whatever.

 

That's not so much a recipe i guess, but it's at least an idea for a recipe.

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goob, at what temperature/setting do you cook the lentils at for 40 minutes? low/medium/high? gas or electrical stove?

 

I have a gas stove and set it between low and medium. I probably should have said so in my previous post. It's more of a soft boil or simmer till the lentils are tender which takes 35 to 40 minutes usually. Make sure to stir them occasionally so they don't stick.

 

Also, I just checked on google and apparently I use twice as much water as people on the internet suggest. I'm assuming it's because the lid doesn't fit as tightly on my pot as it should. So, your lentils may not absorb most of the water and may need to be drained depending on how you will use them.

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