Slow-Cooker Golden Coconut Dal

As the weather gets colder and the days seem shorter, it can be difficult to find the motivation to make healthy dinners. After work, the gym, and other obligations, if I don’t have something that can be made or reheated quickly, I’m probably not going to eat at all.

Sweet coconut milk with cinnamon and savory spices like turmeric, garlic, and cumin come together in this classic Indian dish made for meal prep. It can be made in a crockpot on the low or high setting, and is truly a set it and forget it recipe.

You can even up the nutritional factor by adding more veggies– peppers, edamame, and spinach would all complement the dish. When I make this as part of my #MealPrep, I usually put it on top of a bed of rice with edamame. 40+ grams of vegan protein, what???

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Ingredients

• 1.5 cups dry red lentils, rinsed

• 1 cup carrots, chopped

• 3 cups water

• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 2 teaspoons turmeric

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 2 gloves of garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or 1/2 inch fresh ginger chopped)

• pinch of cinnamon

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (14 oz)

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Directions

• Rinse lentils in a strainer with running water, and set inside crockpot. Clean the carrots and roughly chop, then do the same.
• Add the following ingredients to the crockpot: water, bouillon, coconut oil, spices and seasonings.
• Set crockpot for 6 hours on low, or 2.5 hours on high.
• When there are about 30 minutes left, stir in most of the canned coconut milk– leaving about 1/4 a cup to use as a topping.
• Serve on top of rice or pita bread. If freezing for long-term meal prep, I recommend putting them in glass mason jar, leaving a little less than 2 inches of room at the top. They can last several months in the freezer, and about a week in the fridge.