SuperFood: Lentils!

Nutritional Benefits of Lentils for Mind and Body

When I traveled to Turkey, it took me only 20-minutes to convey to the tuk-tuk driver that I was looking for an eatery that served vegetarian food. The success was not due to my ability to speak Turkish or Arabic.
In my garbled talk in English and a mixture of Hindi and Urdu, I blurted the password that made the communication successful. Dal!
A bowl of warm dal with butter and salt was my first meal in two days.

Needless to say that all through the conference, I visited the shop every day. Dal was the only vegetarian dish the cook knew to make. And for the next 4-days, I enjoyed the bowl of dal. On the last day, I thanked the cook and gave him a huge tip. He would not take it! He said it was too bad that I had to come to a place that did not support vegetarians. I reassured him that I did not feel bad about it.
Since then, dal has always provided me with a good meal when I have traveled to different countries.  I am always grateful for people from Indian sub-continent who came before me to spread the news about the goodness of the dal.
All around the world, lentils are considered to be an important part of the diet. For a vegetarian, lentils are a valuable source of both protein and fiber. This short video explains some reasons why in this day and age, lentils are the ideal crop to be grown around the world.


https://youtu.be/PH1O7WzLepQ

Although lentils, beans, pulses, are biologically different, they share similar properties. All over the world, tiny lentils recognized for their powerful nutrient value. They are considered as super-food.


https://youtu.be/n0TiKb9wGOc

If you live by farmlands, the chances are that some form of lentil grows there. Lentils have been eaten since the Neolithic age, about 13,000 years ago. Scientists think that the lentils originated in central Asia. Egyptian tombs dating to 2400 BC have lentils in them. They are popular even today.
When we lived in Saskatchewan, we saw fields of mustard and lentils. This short Prezi presentation takes us through the history of lentils to the present day lentil production in Saskatchewan.
Here are some quick facts about lentils:
https://prezi.com/uqrfaz7u4ljo/lentils/
Now I live in an area that grows several kinds of lentils, including garbanzo beans. Our city also hosts the National Lentil Festival every year. Come and join us in celebrating lentils on August 18-19, 2017! Find out more at http://www.lentilfest.com/.
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