Low fat Sweet potato, Spinach, and Red lentil

When it comes to weight loss, we all wonder what to eat. By thinking of weight loss and food, the first thing which comes to one’s mind is boring tasteless food. But that’s not all true. There are plenty of dishes which are good in taste and are good for weight loss. They are high protein foods. They are not only low-calorie food but also satisfying one’s hunger and taste.

Let me start with my own story. I want to lose weight but to eat salad daily is a big no-no for me. I mean, who on earth can eat a salad every day or can eat an exact healthy meal every day?

The same goes for my husband being overweight and fond of food from outside; it is very difficult for him to eat healthily. For me to cook healthy is a daunting task, and it’s just not about cooking; it’s the taste of food, which makes me feel frustrated. Being a south Asian, all the food we have is full of oil and fats. When you try to reduce oil or fats, half of the food loses its original taste. Not bad but not equal to store-bought food.

The whole dilemma led me to do internet research and lend me to the BBC food website. They have plenty of dishes and a good thing you can find in the comments which dish works best. I selected different searches to find what exactly I want to prepare and eat and found this delicious recipe.

My version is a bit different as I adjusted the dish according to my taste. I added Garam masala (Indian/Pakistani spice) commonly available in every household. Garam masala is a mixture of different spices and can be synonym with allspices. It gives the dish a particular aroma, taste, and color. You can easily found this on any Indian store or the Asian section of grocery stores. But if you want to make one, I am sharing a quick recipe here. 

In addition to Garam masala, I also changed the preparation method. Instead of adding spinach in the end and serve with spring onion and basil leaves, I added them in between the cooking and cooked them. I also didn’t have basil leaves at home and didn’t find it in a grocery store, so I skip this part. The next thing which I added was chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, but if you are vegan you can stick with vegetable stock. I also substitute sesame oil with olive oil.

I also shared this dish on my Instagram account, and you can check it there also.

The recipe serves four people and has calories of 397 per portion. This high protein low-fat food helps you in losing weight. Preparation time is almost 30 minutes including all cutting and cooking, but this can vary depending on your heat setting and speed of work.  It can be served with Nan or rice, or you can eat it without any additional carbs. It still tastes delicious. A total nutritional breakdown is given in the picture.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture from the plate, so I took it from the storage container once I finished the meal. Every time I reheat this dish, it never loses its taste and aroma.

So here is the complete list of ingredients and Methods to prepare.

Method 

Put oil in a pan and add chopped onion in it. Cook for about 10 minutes until they become soft. Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. Add all spices and cook for another minute. Add sweet potato and mix so it can be coated with spices. After one minute add red lentil and chicken stock. Bring it a boil and then reduce the heat and cover the lid. Cook for another 10 minutes. After that add spinach and cook for another 10 minutes. Depend on your lentil and heat setting; this could take less or more time to cook.  Cook till lentil becomes soft but not dissolve, and sweet potato should retain their shape. Now add spring onion and cook for five minutes with an open lid. You can dry the water completely or can be retained for eating with rice.

Voila! Your dish is ready

This can be packed as a low carb lunch for office or school

Tell me in the comments how it turned out for you and what modification you did to make it for more.