October 24 is all about food... it’s Food Day! And just what is Food Day? It’s a day to inspire Americans to change their diets and fight for change to our nation’s food policies.

It’s no secret that our grocery stores are filled with too many processed, chemically enhanced and deceptively labeled food products. Food Day is a reminder to pay attention to what you put in your body and to make eating Real Food a priority in your life. This movement also strives to bring awareness of the impact food-production policies have on our environment, our farms and our health.

Think you’re pretty good at choosing healthy meals and reducing environmental impact? Click here to take the Food Literacy Quiz and see how you rate.

The FoodDay.org website is full of great ideas on how to make changes. It can be as simple as incorporating “Meatless Monday” into your life. If you have kids, they have a Kids Cook Monday newsletter to get the kids in on the action, too. They have even partnered with Jamie Oliver to raise awareness about food education in schools (an area that desperately needs changing).

Celebrating Food Day is a great way to get started on making healthy eating a priority or it can be a day where you commit to eating food that comes from plants and to avoiding food that is made in factories. Make Food Day the first day of a yearlong journey into eating REAL FOOD!

Here’s a healthy (and tasty) lentil soup recipe to get you started:

Lentil Soup
(adapted from Giada DiLaurentis’ lentil soup recipe)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 head of broccoli, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 package Trader Joe’s steamed, ready to eat lentils

11 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs

2/3 cup dried brown rice elbow pasta

1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions:

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and broccoli. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and sauté until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat and then drop temperature to simmer. Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.