We’re in full harvest mode. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, basil are everywhere in our house right now. Both fridges and counters are produce packed. I’ve been so busy with the end of summer, that I really need to reign in this harvest!
Making stuffed peppers is a great way to use up some gorgeous produce from the garden or your CSA basket (PS-if you don’t want to make the stuffed peppers, the filling is awesome on its own!). PLUS-small known fact, peppers are packed with Vitamin C! One cup of raw, chopped red bell pepper packs an impressive 190.3 milligrams of vitamin C. The same amount of a green pepper has 119.8 milligrams! Compare that to your standard orange, which provides 82.7 milligrams of vitamin C (Source). Don’t let those oranges take all the credit. Hey-and did you know that a red pepper is one that has ripened longer on the vine that a green pepper. Same plant, just longer ripening, which is why its vitamin content increases. Ripe foods contain higher levels of nutrients than unripened ones. Take a look at this pepper below. It’s in the process of ripening from green to red. 
The NIH recommends that men get 90 mg and women get 75 mg of Vitamin C per day. Because Vitamin C is water soluble, it gets flushed out of the system quickly. Food sources of vitamins provide a much better source of nutrients than do supplements, and are better absorbed by the body. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps with decreasing inflammation, aides in healing, and boosts immunity. Perfect for that germy back to school time! Consuming excessive Vitamin C is unnecessary, as you body will excrete it. For this reason, supplements are often wasted by the body. So skip the expensive pee, and eat your fruits and veggies instead!
This recipe has it all. Protein from quinoa, lentils, & kale, great for repairing tissues in the body. There is a ton of potassium in this (well, not literally a ton), 1242 mg per serving. Potassium is awesome for regulating nervous and kidney function, as well as lowering blood pressure. Fiber is found in all parts of this meal (21 g per serving!!!), and is important for digestive health, helps to lower cholesterol & blood pressure, as well as regulating blood sugar. Fiber rich foods prevent blood sugar spikes, helping your body to slow down the digestion of the food. Tomatoes add in another antioxidant, lycopene. Lycopene is a form of Vitamin A. It helps to regulate blood pressure, as well as being important for bone, dental, eye, and skin health. Nothing like a fresh juicy tomato that when it falls, is so ripe, it breaks. You can’t do that with store bought ones because they’re picked before ripened and gassed to ripen. The firmness doesn’t change in the process however. No thanks! Give me juicy tomatoes please!
The filling is great as a meal on its own! Make as a protein bowl, and serve on top of raw greens or with a side salad. Or serve as a side dish to your next family meal.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rinsed brown lentils
- 2 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 3 cups tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups small diced zucchini
- 1 cup small diced banana peppers (if very spicy, reduce to 1/2 cup)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or water to sauté (we used wine)
- 3 cups chopped kale, or other in-season greens
- 1 cup basil, plus additional for garnish
- 8-10 whole bell peppers
- 2-3 cups tomato sauce
Instructions:
- Cook lentils with thyme, water, 1 tsp salt
- In separate sauté pan, add banana peppers, zucchini, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, wine or water and sauté until tomatoes release juice, about 2 minutes
- Add in greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes, add basil.
- Mix cooked lentils with quinoa and add to cooked veggie mixture. Season with additional salt/pepper.
- Cut peppers in half and fill.
- Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan, like a pyrex, with tomato sauce. Place stuffed peppers into pan and top generously with tomato sauce (about 2 tbsp per pepper).
- Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted goes in smoothly.
- Serve topped with fresh basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, sprouts, and/or nutritional yeast if desired (provides a nutty, cheesy flavor).
Nutritional Benefits:
- Packed with fiber-21 g of fiber in 2 halves!!!is important for digestive health, helps to lower cholesterol & blood pressure, as well as regulating blood sugar. Fiber rich foods prevent blood sugar spikes, helping your body to slow down the digestion of the food.No oils or added fats, cholesterol and saturated fat free; great for heart health
- Packed with potassium! 1242 mg per serving! Awesome for regulating nervous and kidney function, as well as lowering blood pressure
- High in Vitamin C, 225% daily needs-peppers are packed with vitamin C, having 4x’s more than an orange! Great antioxidant for boosting immunity
- High in Vitamin A, 44% daily needs-tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, a type of Vitamin A, an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation, improves bone, skin, eye, and dental health, and lowers blood pressure
- High in plant-based protein, 19 g: kale, lentils, and quinoa are all great for healing and repairing tissues
- Gluten & Grain free, Vegan-reduces inflammation in the body
- Kale provides a good source of plant-based calcium (7%) and iron (36%)-both are better absorbed by the body from plant sources. Calcium is needed for bone strength, and iron for improving oxygenation of the blood
- 2 cups rinsed brown lentils
- 2 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 4½ cups water
- 3 cups tomatoes
- 2½ cups small diced zucchini
- 1 cup small diced banana peppers (if very spicy, reduce to ½ cup)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup dry white wine or water to sauté (we used wine)
- 3 cups chopped kale, or other in-season greens
- 1 cup basil, plus additional for garnish
- 8-10 whole bell peppers
- Tomato sauce
- Cook lentils with thyme, water, 1 tsp salt
- In separate sauté pan, add banana peppers, zucchini, garlic, ½ tsp salt, wine or water and sauté until tomatoes release juice, about 2 minutes
- Add in greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes, add basil.
- Mix cooked lentils with quinoa and add to cooked veggie mixture. Season with additional salt/pepper.
- Cut peppers in half and fill.
- Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan, like a pyrex, with tomato sauce. Place stuffed peppers into pan and top generously with tomato sauce (about 2 tbsp per pepper).
- Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted goes in smoothly.
- Serve topped with fresh basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, sprouts, and/or nutritional yeast if desired (provides a nutty, cheesy flavor).
[…] Recipe from Garden Fresh Foodie […]