Well, here at the Dry Pea and Lentil Council, we share the First Lady’s passion for getting nutritious foods – like dry peas, lentils and chickpeas – into schools… but we’ve also got a sweet tooth! Luckily, we stay healthy with these five hacks for making healthier versions of all our favorite desserts:

1. Add lentils or lentil puree to cookies, cakes and pies for added protein, fiber and nutrients. Try this recipe for Chocolate Chip Lentil Cookies.
2. Add pea protein to your favorite smoothie or milkshake – find it in the supplements section of your grocery store, and just add a scoop to the mix with your other smoothie ingredients!
3. Use mashed chickpeas to make an extra-moist, delicious cake batter, like this Lemony Chickpea Cake.
4. Use No-Nut Butter to make a lower-sugar, low-allergen frosting base. The frosting from these Maple-Glazed Gingerbread Cupcakes can be used to top any of your favorite cake or cupcake recipes!
5. Add split pea puree to breads and cakes for a boost of iron, folate and antioxidants! Start with this recipe for the Best Ever Nut Bread.

What are your five healthy habits?

Country-Style Split Pea Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup dry USA green or yellow split peas, rinsed
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
Dash freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced celery
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup diced cooked ham
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large, heavy saucepan or dutch oven, cook onion, leek and garlic in oil over medium heat until they are tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add peas, broth, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes, or until peas are tender.
3. Add celery, carrots, potatoes and ham to the soup. Cover and simmer about 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender but retain shape. Add water, if necessary, to thin soup.
4. Remove bay leaf before serving, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ingredients
1 cup dry USA lentils, rinsed
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces lasagna noodles
2 cups chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, combine lentils, water, fennel seeds and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 30-40 minutes, or until lentils are very tender and almost all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
• Mix lentils with tomato sauce, sugar and basil.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook onions and garlic in 1 1/2 tablespoons oil until they are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Turn onions into a bowl and set aside. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and zucchini to skillet and cook, stirring, until zucchini is just tender, about 8 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 13″x9″ baking pan.
• Arrange half the lasagna noodles over bottom of baking pan. Arrange zucchini slices evenly over noodles, then spread half the lentils over the zucchini and half the cheese over the lentils. Top with remaining noodles, then with onions and finally with remaining lentil mixture.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes or until heated through. Five minutes before lasagna is done, uncover it and sprinkle on remaining cheese. Continue baking until cheese melts.

A Few Modifications
I didn’t have fennel seeds on hand so I skipped them. I threw my onions in with my lentil-tomato concoction, and there was plenty of cheese on my lasagna already so I skipped the final cheese addition the recipe called for.

I’m not one to rave over recipes very often. This one? I even had it for breakfast, it was that good.

Like this recipe? It’s in the Pea & Lentil Cookbook along with 150 other great recipes.

Salsa Lentejas

Tired of your same old burrito recipe?   In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo I have found some simple ways to spice up your current Mexican favorites to make them the hit of this upcoming holiday weekend.

As a poor college student and admitted foodie, sometimes I struggle cooking delicious and nutritious dishes for a relatively inexpensive cost.  Lentils make an easy and tasty substitute in any south-of the border dish.  In addition, lentils are great for time constrained, financially strapped or adventurous chefs in the world.

They can be prepared to mix well with any dish.  Throw one cup of lentils into a medium size pan with 2 ½ cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are tender (about 20 minutes).  Feel free to mix in your favorite Mexican spices or substitute beef or chicken broth instead of water for an extra kick of flavor!

Spicy lentils make a great addition to tacos, tamales, enchiladas or any Mexican inspired dish.  Check out the Santa Fe Burritos with Fresh Salsa! You won’t be missing the beef in these burritos.  You can choose to nix the meat, mix the lentils in with your favorite recipe or browse our recipe collection.

I especially love adding red chief lentils into fresh salsa!  It seems like an odd concept, but the red lentils add extra texture and flavor in a way you’d never expect.  Our Salsa Lentejas recipe is excellent as a stand-alone dip and is also a great topping that can transform steak or grilled chicken into a Mexican influenced dish.

Kick your old taco meat recipe to the curb! Adding lentils to your Cinco de Mayo dish this year is a perfect way to impress your neighbors, family, friends or in-laws with your creative culinary talents.

Written by: Amanda Wilder, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council Marketing Intern

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Chickpea salad with roasted peppers and black olives – This looks ridiculously delicious. And simple. The ultimate combination a dish can have.

No-fu Love Loaf – The title drew me in. If you need a vegan version of meatloaf, this recipe is worth a try. Lentils, molasses, bulgur, oats, chia and a host of other ingredients are thrown together in this dish.

How To Make Vegetarian Lentil Burgers – Detailed video walking through a recipe for vegetarian lentil burgers. Lentils. Lime zest. Grated carrots and beets. It’s worth a watch.

Food Pantries to Offer Gluten-free Products – Food pantries in Pittsburgh are stocking shelves with gluten-free products.

Kalyn’s Kitchen: Tuna Pasta Salad with Lemon, Green Olives & Cucumbers – Spring is here, and the pasta salad recipes are popping up like dandelions. Love this fresh twist on pasta salads. Maybe a cup of roasted red lentils thrown in for a little extra crunch?

Green Monster Hummus – This little number pulls a fast one on the traditional hummus recipe. Chickpeas and spinach make a fabulous looking green dip.

Pulses: Healthy potential – but still challenging for the American palate
Pulses – dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans – have gained in popularity, but they’re still not on the radar of many US consumers. Pulses are healthy alternatives and have a lot of potential as ingredients such as flours, flakes and fractionated into protein, fiber and starches.

Apple Cinnamon Swirl Pie {with chickpea flour}
This looks crazy delicious! It’s a clever twist on apple pie packaged in a simple recipe.

Utah is a hub for growing gluten-free industry
The gluten-free section at the grocery store is expanding, and New Grains Gluten-Free Bakery is a part of the growing trend.

Rustic Tuscan Chickpea Soup
It may be summer-type temperatures across the rest of the country, but here in the northwest we’re still in early spring/late winter mode so soup is still on the menu.

Think cooking with lentils requires diving into recipes you’ve never tried before? Wrong! Lentils are an incredibly versatile ingredient if you stop thinking they can only be used in lentil recipes.

The other night I tossed a baked potato into the oven. I don’t know about you, but a baked potato isn’t worth eating if it isn’t smothered in toppings. Whipping up a quick batch of chili lentils proved to be the perfect topping for my supper.

This is a simple dish to make. Baking a potato takes awhile in the oven, and the chili lentils took about 20 minutes to make. You could speed up meal prep by baking your potato in a microwave if you aren’t feeding too many mouths.

My (very) unscientific recipe included:

• Lentils – about a quarter cup dry. Cover with twice the amount of water, bring to a boil and then simmer until tender. Drain completely and then pour a little water back on the lentils; return to burner.
• Onion – sautéed in a separate pan and add to cooked lentils.
• Tomato – chopped and add to cooked lentils.
• Seasonings – Use whatever you like and add to cooked lentils. I’m notorious for foraging through my spice drawer and throwing in whatever sounds good. This means I sometimes have a dish that tastes really great, sometimes a little funky and almost always that I never remember what seasonings I used. Chili powder was on the list, of course.

Stir on low heat, allowing the spices to permeate the lentil, onion and tomato mixture. Add water if necessary. You don’t want this to be too dry, but you also don’t want rivers of chili making mountains out of your baked potato.

Top your baked potato with a generous helping of chili lentils, sour cream, cheese, olives – all the ingredients that make a baked potato into a feast!