I know I’ve been whining about the unbearable Texas heat.
But summer is finally winding down & I’m beginning to like this place again. We’re still swimming (swimming in October, I know, so cool right?), but we’ve had cooler, gently & breezy autumn-ish days. We’ve even had some overcast, rainy days.
Which means one thing, at least in the kitchen–soup!
I wonder why more people don’t eat more soup (& not the canned kind).
I know soup is kinda like porridge. Not sexy or flashy. But it’s easy, & really, so hard to mess up. And, perhaps more important, can feed a lot of people for just a few dollars.
I made this soup yesterday–mostly wanting to use up vegetables before they go bad (in our efforts to reduce food waste & push down the grocery budget even further–which is totally working).
There are so many recipes I just don’t share on the blog or save for upcoming ebooks. Either because I think it’s *too* basic, or not delicious enough to share.
Or, because I’m just too lazy to take photos & write down the recipe.
This recipe almost went the way of recipes never shared, but as I took the first bite, then the next, I thought–you know, people need to know it’s okay to just throw a bunch of veggies in a pot, add broth & some seasoning, & know that it’ll turn out pretty good.
This is the perfect FSL food–you can eat several bowls if you want to (though you’d be hard-pressed to do so, since one bowl is quite filling!), without going overboard on calories. It’s packed full of all sorts of vegetables, covering most, if not all your nutrient bases.
So here ’tis:
a low cal, nutrient dense, vegan, glutenfree veggie packed soup
Ingredients
- 1-2 TBS. olive oil (optional)
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or add 1 TBS. garlic powder)
- 2 green bell peppers
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 lb. carrots (about 6-7 medium carrots)
- 2 medium summer squash (I used 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash)
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 c. green split peas
- 10 c. water or vegetable broth
- 1/3 c. nutritional yeast (optional if you're using vegetable broth)
- 1/2 TBS. smoked or regular paprika
- 2 TBS. no-salt seasoning (like Mrs. Dash)
- 1 tsp. salt (omit if using vegetable broth)
- 1 TBS. fresh or dried chopped parsley (plus additional fresh for garnish if desired)
- 1 tsp. ground sage
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- few dashes red pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Before you start--this makes a lot of soup! Make sure your pot is big (at least 2 gallons).
- Heat large soup pot on medium heat.
- Add oil to warm. (If omitting oil, move to next step.)
- Dice onions.
- Add onions & garlic to oil.
- Saute for a few minutes, using a wooden spoon. If omitting oil, add water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed, to prevent sticking.
- Let the onions cook while you wash & cut the remaining vegetables. I used a vegetable chopper (like this one, which makes things super fast & easy--next to my Blendtec it's my most used kitchen gadget) to chop all my veggies. It's important to get nice, uniform pieces of all the vegetables you're cutting.
- Dice the bell peppers & celery. Add to the onion mixture & stir. Add additional oil or water if the vegetables are sticking (which they shouldn't, because of their high water content).
- Peel & slice the carrots into half moons. Add to the cooking mixture & stir.
- Cut the summer squash & cauliflower into small, uniform pieces (I love the vegetable chopper for this!). Add to the mixture & stir.
- Peel & cut the sweet potato into small uniform pieces as well. Rinse the split peas. Add the sweet potatoes, split peas, & water or broth along with all seasonings except for red pepper sauce & parsley garnish.
- Bring to a boil. Turn down to medium low heat & cook for 20-30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes & split peas are cooked, but not mushy.
- Add freshly cracked pepper & a few dashes of red pepper sauce.
- Keeps for 2-3 days in fridge, or freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Additional Nutrition Info Per serving-- 17 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 198 mg sodium, 5 g protein; 2 WWP
→ For more recipes like this, check out my ebook, Fit, Strong, Lean: The Diet, which includes 25+ gluten-free, vegan quick & easy low cal recipes.
And on a final note.
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a {MM} posts because, well, can I be honest?
I spend very little time online these days.
I’m up to my elbows in child rearing & other housekeeping & life responsibilities. I realized recently that I could either 1) spend time reading other people’s blogs or 2) continue to post here on a regular basis. But, I can’t do both. I have too many other priorities swirling around, like my little chubster Tyndale, who is now 9 months & is crawling everywhere!
That said, I still read every single one of your comments (& try to respond when possible &/or appropriate), though forgive me if I’m not always on top of responding to those either.
Hope you have a fab, fab week.
More bring joy posts you might want to check out:
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