Feed Yourself in Five Minutes: Soup for a Week

One of the best time-saving strategies I know of is to make a big pot of yummy soup that will last all week.  This soup is absurdly easy, and the ingredients are cheap. I like to buy the kind of chicken broth and canned tomatoes that don't have added salt, so I can control the flavor, but you can use any kind of broth or canned tomatoes. 

Ingredients: 
5 or 6 carrots
2 zucchini
1 big can of diced tomatoes
1 32 ounce carton of chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
1 onion
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning

Directions:
Chop the carrots, onion, and zucchini and put them in a large soup pot.  Add the lentils.

Add the tomatos, including the juice.

Add the chicken broth. 

Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste.  Bring the soup to a boil, then lower it to a simmer.  Cover, and walk away.  Let this cook for at least an hour, while you study or do your laundry. 

Done!  Taste a few lentils to make sure they're soft.  Add more seasoning if you need to. 

Extra Credit:  Let the soup cool and divide it into individual containers so you'll have "grab & go" lunches all week. 

Make it fancier:  Add frozen chopped spinach, corn, rice, chopped celery, Morningstar Meal Starters veggie crumbles, or leftover cooked chicken.