Lentil Soup and Babies

New moms get fixated on their baby's spitting-up and pooping and if they are breastfeeding they are convinced that whatever it is that they ate is related to whatever it is their baby just did. So here is some factual information.
1. Your baby did not just throw up everythinghe just ate. It just looks like it. The best way to reassure yourself that what I just wrote is true is to measure out one tablespoon of water. Now spill it on one sheet of paper towel and you will see that it completely soaks up that one sheet. (For those of you who are too tired to do this experiment, or don't want to waste water, see photo below.)2. What you ate 30 minutes ago is not in the breast milk. First, you have to digest the food. Then it has to get into your blood stream, travel to the breast and get incorporated into the breast milk. This process can take on average 12-24 hours. So it is always difficult to correlate your milk with your baby's behavior. But generally speaking, if it makes you gassy, it probably will make your baby gassy.
3. Infant's guts are worthless! They are not good at digesting, so they alwayshaving runny bowel movements at first. As they get more efficient, they go less frequently, but they are still on a liquid diet, so still no one wants to change their diapers.

I was thinking about this because lately I've been helping a friend with cancer and I decided to make her lentil soup. Lentils are legumes which are a type of seed and are rich in protein. They were so important in the ancient world that a prominent Roman family, Lentulus, was named after them. They do not produce gas like beans do, so this would be good for a nursing mother to eat. It gives her extra liquid and lots of energy. She doesn't have to worry about what it will do to her infant. And if she has other kids, they should enjoy it, too. Have the significant other pick up a loaf of bread and a salad on the way home and there's dinner!

Ingredients for All Variations of Lentil Soup
1 onion1 stalk of celery
2 carrots
1 lb of lentils (fresh if you can find them; dried if not)
4-5 sprigs of parsley
1 stalk of green garlic (that's fresh garlic if available)

Minimal Spicy
1 parsnip
1-2 cloves garlic

More Spicy
Add 1-2 turnips

Not Vegetarian
Sausages (4-6) or some kind of fatty meat
Meat Broth

Wash the lentils.
Dice the vegetables. If you use a food processor, pulse it.
Brown the meat.
Add the vegetables. (If you did not use meat, put some butter in it.) Wilt the vegetables until they are soft, but not brown.
Add the lentils.
Put in 4-8 cups of water.
Add salt and pepper to taste. (If you used sausage, you will need less of this. If you did not, you will need more.)
Cook for about 2 hours until the lentils are soft. If you want it more soupy, add more water. If you managed to find fresh lentils, you will need only about 1 hour of cooking time.

This should take about 30 minutes to throw together.