When the question of “What Should I Have for Dinner?” comes up, you may not think of vegetable soup, but you will after you make this recipe. And it’s so quick and easy!
Normally I give you 3 recipes from the veggies in my weekly organic box delivery, but this box lent itself so well to a soup, and I had so much already in the freezer from previous recipes.
As you’ll see in the video, this week’s box had gooseneck summer squash, zucchini, chard, lettuce mix, green bean, celery, eggplant, and an onion.
In the video what I thought was giant Chinese parsley was actually immature celery with big leaves that are also edible.
Since last week’s recipes yielded lots of leftovers for the freezer, I decided to take everything in the box this week, except the salad greens, and make a vegetable soup.
There’s nothing as warming to your body as a good bowl of soup. When you eat vegetables shortly after they come out of the ground, the flavor is incredible. I swear I can feel the difference in my body!
Another great thing about soup is once you have a recipe you like you can switch out the veggies and make several different soups from one base recipe.
You can add different types of beans, pasta, grains to make it even more filling and more nutrient dense.
I like to use fresh herbs, but if you use dried, just use about a 3rd less. So instead of 1 tablespoon of fresh, it would be 1 teaspoon dried. I throw in a whole sprig rather than chopping it and let it fall off the stem as it cooks, then I pull out the stems as I portion out the soup.
This soup turned out great, so I wrote down the recipe while I was eating it so I wouldn’t forget.
Now to answer the question, what should I have for dinner?
3 Squash Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 small onion
2-3 large cloves garlic
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 butternut squash dices small
2 small zucchini quartered and chopped
2 yellow squash quartered and chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 pound green beans chopped into 1” pieces
1 eggplant diced
sprigs of thyme, oregano, and rosemary to your taste
large bunch of chard or kale chopped small
2 cups brown rice cooked according to rice directions (optional)
Directions:
Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat.
Chop onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until translucent.
Add diced butternut squash and vegetable stock to cover the vegetables in the pan. Let it cook for a couple minutes while you chop the other veggies.
Then add all the other veggies except chard or kale. add the rest of the stock.
Add the herbs.
Bring soup to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
Add the chard or kale and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve.
Add rice to the soup if you like a heartier soup.
Add vegan cheese of your choice. If you’re not vegan try Asagio cheese.
Nutritional Benefits of these Veggies
Last week we did the nutritional benefits of zucchini and green beans.
Chard
It’s an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and fiber.
It helps regulate blood sugar levels, prevent various types of cancer, improve digestion, boost the immune system, reduce fever and combat inflammation, lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease, increase bone strength and development, detoxify the body, and strengthen the functioning of the brain.
Celery
1 stalk is just 10 calories. It’s a great source of antioxidants and beneficial enzymes, in addition to vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin B6
Celery reduces inflammation, it’s calming, regulates the body’s alkaline balance, high water content and high fiber helps with digestion, reduces bad cholesterol
Eggplant
Eggplant has a good amount of fiber, folate, potassium, and manganese, as well as vitamins C, K, and B6, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium.
It helps build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis, reduce the symptoms of anemia, and increase cognition. It improves cardiovascular health and protects the digestive system. Eggplant is also good for weight loss, managing diabetes, reducing stress, protecting infants from birth defects, and even preventing cancer.
Onion
Onions are excellent sources of vitamin C, sulphuric compounds, flavonoids, and phytochemicals. onions contain fiber and folic acid, a B vitamin that helps the body make healthy new cells.
Quercetin in onions is an antioxidant that may be linked to preventing cancer, reduces the symptoms of bladder infections, promoting prostate health and lowering blood pressure.
Nutritional Information Resources:
https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/swiss-chard-9-healthy-facts
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetables/swiss-chard.html
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-celery/
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-super-health-benefits-in-just-1-celery-stalk.htm
https://foodfacts.mercola.com/eggplant.html
https://www.livescience.com/45293-onion-nutrition.html
Health and nutrition are a big passion of mine because, without your health, all the success you can achieve is meaningless. In 1981 I started seriously studying health, nutrition, and the mind/body connection. I stopped eating meat in 1990 for health reasons and compassion for animals. In 1999 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2005, the day after Christmas, I lost my mother at the age of 69 to lung cancer. Since then, helping others to regain their health by making simple changes has become a driving force in my life.
Until next time, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just comment on this post here or on Facebook.
If you would like private mentoring, go to the contact page above and tell me what you would like help with. As your mentor, whether for your health, your lifestyle or your business, I hold a bigger vision for you than you hold for yourself. When you have faith and a team that believes in you, it gives you courage. When you don’t have to do it all yourself, all things are possible for you. Commit today to go for your dream 100%.
With over 40 years in sales and marketing, along with 45 years studying human behavior, Lynn Pierce, “The Voice of an Ageless Life and Business,” mentors soul-based entrepreneurs to reach your own personal version of success and an ageless lifestyle. Tell Lynn what the life of your dreams looks like, and she’ll create the blueprints to get you there, along with the sales system to fund it. Author of, “Breakthrough to Success; 19 Keys to Mastering Every Area of Your Life”, Lynn Pierce’s personal growth and business acceleration systems help her clients get three times the results in half the time with one-tenth of the effort. Claim your free special report, “What Do You Stand For” here
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