I actually like those food poems, WAV--but am surprised to find that you are a vegan, given your other seeming predispositions--at any rate, being ever inclined to make simple things more difficult, I suggest altering your recipe by first chopping your carrots and potatoes into small cubes, dicing the onions, then browning them in olive oil in your pot (call this recipe "the browning version")--then set aside--

Then, rather than canned lentils, simply boil some dried lentils in your pot--they cook very quickly, and add the potatoes and carrots. This will add a lot of flavor--