New fall favorite

I’m not sure why I love fall so much. The other seasons don’t even come close to comparing. Winter is nice and cozy, and I do enjoy snow, a crackling fire, and of course, the holidays. Spring is pretty, pastel, jelly bean, and birthday fresh. Summer, especially in Colorado, means mountains, camping, wildflowers, and warm evenings on the porch (preferably with a margarita). All of those are nice, of course, but fall is still my favorite by far.

I love the fresh, crisp air, just chilly enough for a cozy sweater, but warm enough to spend hours outside. I love the cold mornings, the rain, the way the sunlight looks different from any other time of year, and the smell of, what? Rotting vegetation, probably. But it smells delicious.

I also love to nest, preparing my house for cozy nights, decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, and baking anything with pumpkin in it.

I also love soup, and fall is the perfect time to bust out the crockpot or dutch oven. Soup is warm and hearty, and it’s so easy to make it healthy. Even the pickiest of veggie eaters won’t bat an eyelash at what you put in soup–it all just cooks down to mush anyway.

I often go for meat-based soups, mostly because it seems easier to give them flavor. But I’m always on the lookout for the perfect veggie soup–something with a lot of flavor, healthy veggies, and a good source of protein to give it staying power. If it includes lentils, all the better.

Last night, I found new favorite veggie lentil soup, and I just had to tell someone about it. Mike does not share my enthusiasm for lentils (which is why I made it on a night he was out). The boys, however, loved it. Two helpings loved it.

It’s another winner from one of my favorite food blogs, Eat, Live, Run.

Forgive the iPhone photo, I was in a rush. But isn’t it pretty? There it is, assembled and ready to slowly simmer all day in my crockpot. Lentils, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, and seasonings all packed together for a low-cal, flavorful, filling stew.

The recipe made a huge amount of soup. I will be eating it for lunch, and we’ll have it again for dinner tonight. If there is any left after that (and I suspect there will be), I’ll freeze it to eat some time when I need a quick shot of healthy.

Do you have a favorite fall soup? How about a favorite season? I can pretty much guarantee that this weekend I’ll be baking pumpkin bread and going for a hike somewhere golden. After we’re through with all the soccer and baseball games that is.

Oh, and Btw, as if you needed another reason to eat your vegetables, I read this article in Wednesday’s Denver Post about vegetables and weight loss. Check it out!