Lentil dishes for weight loss - how to cook according to dietary recipes with photos

Is it possible to eat lentils while losing weight?

This type of legume contains dietary fiber, so eating dishes with it will reduce cholesterol levels. In addition, soluble fiber blocks carbohydrates, so blood sugar levels do not fluctuate, which is important for diabetics. Eating lentils is not only possible, but also necessary, because the fiber it contains saturates the body quickly and for a long time. The beneficial substances in the product improve metabolism, which is also important for those who are on a diet.

Calorie content

To speed up the process of losing weight, you need to change your diet - instead of high-calorie foods, take lighter ones, those that contain a minimum of calories. This type of legume is ideal for this. So, the calorie content of lentils is 116 kcal per 100 grams. A special feature of the product is that the finished portion contains a minimum of fat - only about 2 g, carbohydrates 53 g and 35 g of protein.

Dietary recipes

Even a novice housewife can prepare lentil dishes. They contain a minimum of calories, charge you with energy, and most importantly, they are delicious. You can supplement your diet with soups, cereals, purees, vegetable stews, and a variety of salads.

The type of lentils you choose when losing weight depends on personal preference. You can supplement the dish with vegetables, mushrooms, lean meat, cereals, a small amount of vegetable oils, etc.

Lentil dishes are recommended to be boiled, steamed, baked or stewed. You should not fry the ingredients, as the calorie content of such food is high.

Soups

The classic diet soup can be eaten for lunch or dinner. Red cereal is added to the dish, which cooks quickly.

Cooking instructions:

Chop the onion, simmer in a mixture of 1 tbsp. l. olive oil and 2 tbsp. l. water until soft.
Add 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste, simmer for 3 minutes.
Then add 200 grams of red beans and 2 tbsp to boiling water. l. rice, cook over low heat.
After 10 minutes, add the tomato with onion and spices, remove the pan when the soup boils.

Complete the dish with herbs and garlic toast.

Lentil and chicken soup for weight loss will be a salvation for a hungry meat eater. A fragrant, rich dish will quickly satisfy your hunger and give taste pleasure. Use white meat without skin.

Step-by-step instructions for preparing lentil soup with chicken in a slow cooker:

Soak 200 g of brown beans for 60 minutes, then rinse.
Chop the onion, 1 paprika, grind the carrots, crush 3 cloves of garlic.
Place vegetables, cereals, 300 pieces of meat into the multicooker bowl, pour 2 liters of water. Cook on the “Soup” or “Stew” mode for about 40 minutes.
Then add a mixture of chopped herbs, salt, spices (if desired).
After 5 minutes, turn off the multicooker.

Let the dish sit for 10-15 minutes and then serve.

If you follow a strict diet or do not eat meat, then prepare a rich, aromatic cream soup:

Soak 1.5 cups of red lentils for 60-90 minutes, then rinse.
Chop onions and carrots.
Boil 1.5 liters of water, add vegetables and grains, simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Dissolve 3 tbsp in broth. l. tomato paste or add 3-4 chopped tomatoes without skins. Add 2 tsp. olive oil, a little thyme, caraway seeds, a couple of mint leaves.
Separately mix 1 tbsp. l. whole wheat flour with 3 tbsp. l. cold water, make sure there are no lumps. Slowly pour into the hot liquid, stirring constantly.
Bring to a boil, add salt and turn off.
Cover with a lid, leave for 20 minutes, and then beat all the ingredients with a blender.

Serve the dish with a slice of lemon and chopped herbs.

Side dishes

A nutritious second course will help you lose weight without starving. To do this, you can prepare black lentil puree.

Step by step recipe:

Pour 1.5 cups of beans into boiling water, reduce heat, and simmer until soft.
Simmer the chopped onion and grated carrots in a mixture of oil and water for 2 minutes.
Add vegetables to the finished lentils and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Grind the mixture with a blender.

Not everyone who is losing weight knows how to cook brown lentils as a side dish to get a dietary and tasty dish. You can make a stew of cereal with spinach and a mixture of spices. It is rich in protein, and therefore a must for vegetarians.

Steps for making lentil and spinach stew:

Mix ½ tsp in a separate saucer. turmeric, paprika, cumin, as well as 1 tsp. cinnamon and garam oil.
Simmer the chopped onion in a mixture of oil and water in a saucepan.
Add 1.5 cups of brown beans to the onion, add 2.5 cups of water, stir, bring to a boil, then reduce it and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add 200 g of spinach, simmer with lentils.
Complete the dish with spices, salt, pepper.

Serve as a side dish or main dish with whole grain bread.

Lentil cutlets with mushroom sauce are very tasty. And if the conditions for their preparation are observed, it is also useful.

Recipe:

Throw 200 g of red beans into 500 ml of boiling water. After 20 minutes, add salt and remove from heat.
Simmer the chopped onion and grated carrots for 3-4 minutes (as in the previous recipe).
Combine lentils with vegetables and blend with a blender.
Add 1 egg, 2 tbsp. l. whole flour, stir.
You can cook the cutlets in the oven or in a frying pan with a non-stick surface, greased with olive oil.
Separately chop 250 g of champignons, simmer them in a dry frying pan, when the juice has evaporated, add a mixture of olive oil and water, cook for another 2 minutes.
Mix 200 g of sour cream and 50 ml of water, whisk, pour over the mushrooms, add a few crushed garlic cloves.
Simmer mushrooms in sour cream for 5 minutes.

Serve the cutlets with mushroom sauce and garnish the dish with chopped herbs.

Salads

An original hot lentil salad for weight loss will saturate the body with useful substances and will not disrupt the fat burning process. Prepare it according to this plan:

Cook 150 g of lentils in boiling water along with cardamom and bay leaves for about half an hour.
Grind 1 hot pepper, add 50 ml olive oil, spices, 1 tbsp. l. liquid honey, chopped green onions, 1.5 tbsp. l. vinegar.
Divide 220 g of broccoli into florets, add them to the lentils, and cook, covered, until soft.
Place the cabbage and boiled beans in a fine strainer.
Combine beans with spices, sprinkle with 75 g of chopped Feta cheese.

Don't forget to garnish with your favorite greenery.

Lentil salad with dried apricots will help you become slimmer and satisfy your hunger when losing weight. To prepare it, follow this plan:

Cook 200 g of lentils in 500 ml of boiling water for 60 minutes.
Soak 50 g of dried apricots in warm water for 15 minutes. Pass 25 g of walnuts through a meat grinder.
Chop dried apricots and onions and simmer them in a mixture of oil and water.
Then add spices and 25 g of crushed nuts.
Cook for 10-15 minutes.

Serve the dish with chopped herbs.

Rice and lentil salad will perfectly complement lunch when losing weight; after eating it, hunger will go away until dinner. It has a bright appearance, rich taste and aroma.

Cooking steps:

Blanch (short-term treatment with boiling water) 1 carrot for 5 minutes, then rinse it with cold water, cut into thin strips.
Mix carrots with 600 g of boiled green or brown beans, 200 g of rice, a celery branch cut into pieces, chopped green onions, and parsley.
Separately, prepare the dressing from 2 tbsp. l. Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. l. olive oil, lemon juice, liquid honey, soy sauce.
Pour the mixture over the ingredients and stir.

Eat this salad for lunch or dinner.

Why is it useful?

Lentil cereals, found in the human diet in any form, have a beneficial effect on the body. Lentils are good for weight loss because they:

has low calorie content;
rich in protein, due to which the body spends a lot of energy on its absorption;
saturates the body with folic acid, micro- and macroelements, vitamin B6;
There are several varieties, due to which even the dietary menu will always be varied.

Lentils contain soluble and insoluble fiber. Eating soluble fiber will help ensure that, while eating delicious food, you will also strengthen your immune system and normalize digestion. Insoluble fiber also has a beneficial effect when losing weight - it stimulates intestinal motility, promoting the gentle elimination of toxins and even stagnant waste.

What nutritionists say about the product

Qualified nutritionists advise observing moderation in everything. In their opinion, lentils are an excellent product for weight loss, especially if the diet is strict or there is no meat in the diet. It is rich in vegetable protein, B vitamins, iron, boron, iodine, sulfur, zinc, magnesium, etc. Legumes accelerate metabolic processes and fat burning.

But with excessive use of lentils, flatulence and other digestive disorders occur. In addition, the product is forbidden to eat if you have diseases of the genitourinary system, chronic pathologies of the joints, etc.

Kochegura Tatyana, nutritionist

According to a professional nutritionist and therapist, lentil dishes are good for the body when losing weight. They contain little fat, but are rich in vitamins and minerals. This cereal reduces the concentration of glucose in the blood, so it can be eaten by diabetics.

In order for legume dishes to bring only benefits when cooked, it must be combined with vegetables, lean meat and other low-calorie foods. It is better to boil or steam all the ingredients; frying them is prohibited, so as not to increase the calorie content.

Leonid Elkin, nutritionist

According to an experienced doctor, lentil dishes for weight loss will be beneficial only if consumed in moderation and properly prepared. Then low-calorie food will reduce nervous excitability, normalize blood sugar levels, strengthen the immune system, and improve the condition of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, you should not abuse this product.

Tatyana Zaletova, nutritionist

The author of the method of therapeutic and preventive nutrition also advises including lentil dishes in your diet when losing weight. The protein that cereal contains is easily digestible, it speeds up metabolism, removes excess fluid from tissues, and has a mild diuretic and laxative effect.

Important! Soup with beans is especially healthy; it is nutritious, contains few calories and is easy to prepare. If you are on a strict diet, it is better to eat a lean first course, and to stay in shape you can prepare lentil stew with meat (low-fat varieties).

Dishes

There are several varieties of this group of legumes, but for weight loss, many women choose red lentils: they are peeled, boil faster and, compared to other varieties, have a milder taste. Remember that before cooking, the cereal needs to be immersed in cold water for 5 hours to swell - this will speed up the cooking process. Having decided on the variety, reproduce recipes for lentil dishes for weight loss - the result will not only be beautiful shapes, but also tasty and healthy food for the body.

Which lentils are best for weight loss?

There are more than 10 main varieties of lentils, varying in maturity and processing. We present the most popular varieties of this legume used for weight loss.

Green lentils

Green lentils are the unripe fruit of the plant. This is one of the most useful types of this culture. Despite the long cooking time of green lentils, the grains are practically not overcooked and have a slightly astringent, spicy taste.

Red lentils

Red lentils hold the record for iron content among legumes. By including this product in your diet, you can normalize the functioning of the nervous system and increase endurance, which is especially important when combining diet and training.

Black lentils

Black lentils are one of the most expensive varieties of legumes. The pigment contained, which colors the grains dark brown, saturates the body with antioxidants, which helps improve metabolism.

Puree

Cooking time: 50 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 109 kcal.
Purpose: for breakfast.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

To prepare dietary puree, you will need black or red lentils, because these varieties have a more pleasant taste. The bean product must be pre-soaked - this will significantly reduce the cooking time. Lentil puree is very filling and nutritious, so it will help women lose weight and at the same time prevent them from starving.

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Ingredients:

lentils – 1 tbsp.;
onion – 1 pc.;
oil (vegetable) – 1 tbsp. l.;
carrots – 2 pcs.;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Pour water into a saucepan and place on the stove over high heat. When the liquid begins to boil, add a glass of cereal and boil the beans until soft over low heat.
Chop the onion and grate the carrots.
Pour a tablespoon of oil into the pan and sauté the vegetables for 2 minutes.
Add stewed vegetables to the finished porridge, boil everything together for another 5 minutes, add spices, and then stir the mass and turn off the gas.
Place the mixture of cereals and vegetables into a blender and beat until thick.

Lenten cutlets with lentils

Lentils are great for dietary nutrition if you cook them without adding foods containing fats and simple carbohydrates. To prepare lean cutlets you will need the following ingredients:

1 cup lentils;
2 cloves of garlic;
1 small onion;
3 tbsp. spoons of flour;
oatmeal for breading (or breadcrumbs);
1 tbsp. a spoonful of vegetable oil;
fresh greens;
spices, salt to taste.

Wash the lentils, soak in water for 1 hour, and then boil in a fresh portion of water. Cooking time is approximately 20-30 minutes. Red lentils cook for about 30 minutes. At the end of cooking, drain the water and cool the beans.

Peel the onion and garlic and chop. Place boiled lentils, onions and garlic in a blender bowl and puree until coarse puree. The mass should not be uniform in consistency. Add flour, chopped herbs, salt, spices to the puree and mix well. Using hands dipped in water, form balls, lightly squeeze them on both sides, roll each in crushed oatmeal or breadcrumbs.

Fry the cutlets on both sides in a hot frying pan with the addition of vegetable oil. After this, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the dish for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Serve the cutlets hot, accompanied by a vegetable salad or boiled chicken breast. You can complement the dish with boiled broccoli.

Lentil cutlets are an ideal dietary dinner option.

Soup

Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 68 kcal.
Purpose: for lunch.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

When considering lentil recipes for weight loss, you should pay special attention to liquid dishes. Some people prepare this soup with chicken or meat broth, but if you want to get rid of 2-3 extra pounds, use vegetable broth. Dietary lentil soup will have a wonderful smell if you sprinkle it with herbs. To make the dish more satisfying, you can additionally add croutons grated with garlic to the plate.

Ingredients:

allspice – 3 peas;
salt – 1 tsp;
bay leaf – 1 pc.;
onion – 1 pc.;
tomato paste – 1 tbsp. l.;
black pepper - a pinch;
red lentils – 200 g;
olive oil – 1 tsp;
rice – 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

Cut the peeled onion into cubes. In a frying pan with olive oil heated, fry the cubes until golden brown.
Add a spoonful of tomato paste to the onion and simmer for another 3 minutes.
Boil the rice and lentils for 10 minutes, pouring them into boiling water.
Add onions stewed in paste to the prepared cereals, add spices to the future dish, add salt. Having brought to a boil, turn off the gas.
You can pour the soup into a bowl and serve, garnished with a sprig of parsley.

Lentil recipes

It was not for nothing that dietary legumes were considered the basis of the diet in ancient times in Rus'. From it you can create a full menu, which will include a first course, a second course, an appetizer and sauce. Its combination with vegetables, lean meat and spices will be successful.

When choosing lentil recipes for weight loss, it is better to focus on those that do not involve the use of a large number of ingredients. You should also not add foods that contain a high percentage of “fast” or harmful calories to your dishes.

Thick soup

The dish turns out to be very filling, so one large portion is enough for a full meal. You can cook it for several days at once, since “second day” lentils do not lose their taste. Recipe:

Peel one large onion and finely chop.
Place in a saucepan with a thick bottom and add 2 liters of clean water.
Put on fire.
After boiling, simmer for 5 - 10 minutes until the onion becomes soft and transparent.
Rinse a glass of red or brown lentils in a colander under running water (soak the brown ones for one hour before doing this).
Pour into boiling onion water and cook until soft.
Peel and grate large carrots.
Add to the pan with the onions and lentils.
Boil for 5 - 7 minutes.
Then add a little salt, dried thyme or natural curry mixture.
Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil (can be replaced with butter 82% fat).
Cover with a lid and turn off the heat.
Let it brew for 10 minutes and pour into plates.

The soup turns out soft and boiled, but for homogeneity you can additionally pass it through a sieve or beat it with a submersible blender.

Complex porridge

The combination of buckwheat and lentils will make the porridge very nutritious. Therefore, it is better to eat it in the first half of the day, for example, for breakfast. It is better to prepare the dish in advance:

Soak 3/4 cup black lentils.
Then rinse, boil until tender and drain in a colander.
Grease the bottom of the saucepan with vegetable oil using a cotton pad or brush and put on fire.
Peel one onion and carrot and cut into small cubes.
Wash 100 g of champignons and chop into strips.
Mix all the vegetables and pour into a saucepan.
When they become soft, add lentils to them.
Rinse half a glass of buckwheat under running water.
Pour into a saucepan, stir and add water so that it is one or two centimeters higher than the “thickness”.
Season with salt and cover with a lid.
Cook until the buckwheat is ready over low heat.

Lentil pate

This pasta will be a pleasant addition to whole grain toast. Or as a topping for zucchini rolls or grilled eggplant. The pate can be made like this:

Soak a glass of brown lentils in cold water for several hours.
Drain the liquids.
Place the grains in a saucepan with a thick bottom and add water at a ratio of 1:1.5.
Cook over low heat until the lentils are done.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lentils to a blender jug and blend until smooth.
Add the juice of 1/4 - 1/2 lemon and chopped garlic clove.
Season to taste with cumin and a pinch of black pepper.
Mix again in a blender.
If necessary, dilute the pate with lentil broth.
Store in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container.

Red sauce

Homemade lentil-based seasoning is a great addition to boiled chicken breast or durum wheat spaghetti. You can adjust the taste of the sauce yourself by replacing the spices. The main thing is to avoid adding store-bought mixtures containing flavorings and flavor enhancers. Sauce base:

Grind a glass of any boiled lentils into a puree.
Pour two glasses of tomato juice into a thick-bottomed saucepan.
Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
Add lentil puree and stir.
Add fresh garlic and finely chopped fresh cilantro to taste.
If desired, add salt and balsamic vinegar to the sauce.

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Eating lentils is useful not only during a diet. Its taste and qualities will be appropriate on the daily and holiday table, and the variety of varieties will not make the diet boring. Lentils are suitable for children's and adult food, so there is a place for them on the shelf of every kitchen cabinet.

Warm salad

Cooking time: 35 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 82 kcal.
Purpose: for lunch.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

If you want to treat yourself to a tasty but low-calorie dish, you can make lentil salad. The dietary dish is made using green cereals, because they contain more fiber than red ones. A warm salad can be made with bacon, but it will be healthier and more suitable for weight loss if you add pumpkin and Feta cream cheese.

Ingredients:

oil (olive) – a few drops;
Feta – 200 g;
pumpkin (fresh) – 300 g;
boiled lentils – 200 g;
Provençal herbs – 1 tsp;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Cut the pumpkin into cubes, sprinkle them with Provençal herbs, and fry in oil.
Boil a glass of lentils, soaked in advance (5 hours before cooking), add spices.
Cut Feta cheese into cubes.
Mix all ingredients, season further if desired.

Stewed

Cooking time: 50 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 71 kcal.
Purpose: for lunch/dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

In a diet for weight loss, lentils can be used in any form: boiled, stewed, baked, steamed. For example, stewed lentils will serve as an excellent side dish for meat cutlets or mushroom dishes, and they are so nutritious that they can replace bread. This legume goes best with vegetables. Find out how to prepare such a healthy and flavorful dish.

Ingredients:

lentil cereal – 200 g;
hot red pepper – 1 pc.;
carrots – 1 pc.;
bell pepper – 2 pcs.;
garlic – 2 cloves;
parsley or cilantro - 1 bunch;
olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
tomatoes – 3 pcs.;
onion – 1 pc.;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Rinse a glass of lentil cereal and drain the water until it runs clear. Boil the product until cooked.
Chop the onion and fry.
Chop the garlic cloves, cut the bell pepper and other vegetables into cubes.
Send the vegetable preparations to fry with the onions.
Chop the tomatoes finely, add them to the pan, and fry for another 5 minutes.
Add the prepared cereal to the vegetable mixture, sprinkle with spices and herbs. Simmer the food for another 2 minutes.

Dumplings with lentils and mushrooms

Dumplings with lentils and mushrooms
To make dumplings deliciously, you can replace the usual potato filling with lentil puree. The dish will be very satisfying. To prepare it you will need:

1 cup lentils;
2 handfuls of forest mushrooms, chopped;
60 grams of cheese;
200 g flour;
2 eggs;
1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying;
salt, spices to taste.

Sort the lentils and then boil in salted water for 30-40 minutes. To prepare dumplings, you need a boiled filling, so the cooking time in this case increases slightly.

Peel the mushrooms, chop and fry in vegetable oil, then cool, mix with lentils in a separate bowl, add salt, sprinkle with spices, and mash the mixture with a fork. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, add to the mashed mushrooms and lentils and mix the filling well again.

To prepare the dough, break the egg into a separate bowl, add flour and knead the mass with your hands greased with vegetable oil. The dough should be dense and elastic.

Roll out the dough into a thin layer, cut out circles using a regular glass or a special device. Place the filling in the middle of each circle, fold the dumpling in half and pinch the edges. Pour water into a saucepan, add a little salt, and put on fire. After the water boils, put the prepared dumplings in it and cook for 3-5 minutes, then remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and place in a deep plate. When serving, sprinkle the finished dish with chopped herbs and pour over sour cream.

Diet

Those who want to lose weight with lentil dishes should know that there are two types of diet based on this legume:

The classic lentil diet is when lentil dishes are consumed once or twice a day. The rest of the menu (the same applies to breakfast) can consist of any other products. When following the classic version of the diet, it is recommended to exclude sweets from the diet and limit the consumption of fatty foods.
A strict diet is when lentil dishes replace all others. The duration of a strict diet should not be more than 7 days, and the number of meals should be at least 4 times a day. The result of this diet will be a loss of about 3 kilograms of weight.