Hearty Veggie Soup

Happy New Year! Have you ever really looked into the ingredients of your favorite outside dish? Au Bon Pain’s 12-veggie soup was a fave of mine until recently. I decided to look up the full ingredient list online and saw how much artificial flavoring and processing goes into my beloved soup. It made me cringe to say the least. I recently made my own healthy version with clean ingredients yesterday and couldn’t wait to share! No need for fancy cookware. Whether you have an Instant-Pot, Crockpot or old-fashioned stew pot you’ll definitely want to add this hearty 11-veggie soup to your quick easy recipe arsenal.

Ingredient Spotlight

The best part about this veggie soup is that you get to play around with the ingredients. You can add as many or as little veggies as you want. I chose to follow a similar ingredient list to Au Bon Pain’s version minus corn and broccoli. I stopped eating corn years ago after learning it’s considered a highly inflammatory grain.

Broccoli in soup is not my fave unless I add it afterwards. Other than that it’ll have a soggy texture which I’m not too fond. I chose to use: peas, tomato, potato, zucchini, yellow squash, celery, carrot, 3 varieties of onion and red bell pepper. You can use vegetable broth if you’d like but I’d recommend a organic low sodium brand like Pacific Foods. I opted to stick to just good ol’ water and organic tomato paste.

Nutrition Spotlight

Now on to the boring but super important stuff. It’s no secret the a diverse diet can help us reach and maintain optimal health. Dietary diversity is extremely important because each plant family has a unique combination of phytonutrients that may bind to specific proteins within our body. This can have a dramatic impact on reducing the risk of various diseases and conditions. Many plant-based foods have already been linked to reversing ailments as well. Bottom line? Eat your veggies and fruits..loads of them!

Here are some of the nutritional/health benefits of a few of the veggies included in this soup:

• Tomato: Major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to a reduced risk of asthma, depression, heart disease and cervical cancer. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K.
• Yukon Gold Potatoes: naturally gluten & fat-free. Contains 45% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin. Antioxidants soak up free radicals which damage cells and play a huge role in cancer and other diseases. Also contains vitamin B6, fiber and various minerals. Most beneficial boiled. When fried in oil nutritional value decreases.
• Celery: rich source of antioxidants, vitamins A & K, folate, potassium and dietary fiber. Studies show that it loses very little nutritional benefit when steamed. Although high in sodium (35 mg per stalk) it’s still considered a low sodium food. The sodium content in celery is very little compared to the daily recommended amount of 1500 mg by the American Heart Association.
• Carrot: good source of beta-carotene, dietary fiber, vitamin K, potassium and antioxidants.
• Zucchini: excellent source of potassium and rich in antioxidants. Zucchini is rich in vitamin A. It also contains moderate levels of thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and minerals like iron, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc.
  
• Yellow Squash: Low fat, low calories, low cholesterol, and immune boosting! Yellow squash is high in vitamins A, B6, and C, folate, magnesium, fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus, and potassium. Rich in manganese, a mineral that helps to boost bone strength and helps the body’s ability to process fats and carbohydrates.
• Green Peas: Very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They are a great source of protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and a very rich source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin and manganese. Green peas are considered one of the best sources of plant-based fiber and protein. FYI: they are not considered a complete source of protein. Be sure to pair green peas with another source of protein to maximize protein absorption.

Recipe

1. Sautee onion and fresh garlic. The amount is up to you.
2. Add vegetable broth or water to pot with vegetables you’ve chosen to stew. If you choose water just add a spoonful of organic tomato paste.
3. Veggies I chose: bell pepper, scallion, carrot, yellow squash, zucchini, yukon potatoes, green peas and celery, tomato. You can add 1tsp of avocado oil but it’s not necessary. Remember, we want to limit or eliminate our oil intake for clean healthy arteries!
4. Bring to a rapid boil for 3 minutes then simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
5. Add Himilayan salt to taste.
6. Serve alone or with brown rice or quinoa.

Easy right? Another great thing about most soups, including this one, is that you can freeze it for later use. All you have to do is cook this soup halfway this way the veggies aren’t completely softened. The reason for this is because when you thaw and reheat the contents, your veggies will basically become mush in the process. That’s what smoothies are for right?

You can keep the contents of this soup frozen from 4-6 months.

Let me know in the comments if you try this soup of make our own version.

Happy Healthy Eating! ❤️