I looked through the Recipes sticky above in the Whole Foods Lifestyle area, and didn't find this exactly (although I'm going to try the blended vegetable soup recipe for sure!!!).
Does anyone happen to have vegetable (with protein too) soup recipes that uses a lot of super foods (or could be easily adapted to add super foods) that they would be willing to share?
I started a new job, and I'm trying to increase my vegetable intake. I love soups, so I thought if I could take a big bowl of soup to work every day, then have a big salad in the evening, that would be 2 great ways to get in more vegetables. I plan to add protein to the soups as well (suggestions for that would be appreciated too.) I like the idea of adding tofu, white chicken meat, and some lean beef. As far as tofu, do you just cut up firm tofu and add it to the cooked vegetables? Does anyone have suggestions for recipes that would be good to add fish to (maybe canned tuna or salmon?).
Thanks so much and I'll be sure to add recipes to this thread as I find any myself. I wasn't sure how recipes were handled here.
This is SO good and so fast and easy to make - makes plenty for several days. Great to make on a Sunday and eat all week.
1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thinly (circles)
1 zuchini, chopped
minced garlic (I use tons)
2 14 oz cans tomatoes
small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
3 3/4 cup veg broth
1 14 oz can chickpeas (gabanzo beans) drained
block of frozen spinach (thawed, drained)
1 tbs oregano
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parm cheese for topping
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add leeks and zucchini and cook briskly for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, vegetable broth, chickpeas and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
Shred the spinach finely, add to the soup and boil for 2 minutes. Season to taste. (the longer it cooks on the stove, the better it is). Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if desired).
I use a dump soup recipe that is 1 can of tomato juice (large or small, depending on whether I'm making soup for one meal or several) equal amount of vegetable or chicken broth (or water and bouillon).
Then I add whatever veggies I want, and some beans and/or meat (usually cooked leftover beef or chicken, but I've used cubed, raw and just simmered longer).
It's never the same soup twice, as I'll add whatever fresh, leftover, frozen, or canned veggies that sound good. I usually include chopped onion, celery, carrot, and cabbage, and then whatever else I have on hand. Frozen stir-fry blends are great when I'm feeling really lazy and don't want to chop or cut veggies. I've used beets, artichokes, asparagus, kohlrabi, turnip, rutebagea, parsnip, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli... even lettuce.
Lettuce!? ... not iceberg, but I had some leftover "spring mix" from Sams. The mix is mostly baby spinache, and dark leafy lettuces and greens. So cooked in the soup, it all cooks down to be very spinache-like.
1 (3.5 to 4 lb) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I am going to use skinless chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, the recipe says you can use a pre-cut fryer)
6 c low-sodium chicken broth
3 carrots, cut into thin rounds
1/2 bunch Swiss chard or spinach, cut into 1" strips
1.5 c quick-cooking barley, uncooked
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 c FF or soy Parmesan
Rinse the chicken pieces and remove the skin. Place the pieces in a large stockpot. Add the broth and 2 c of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. (Note: keep an eye on the stockpot while cooking; only an occasional bubble should break the surface. Cooking meat at a rolling boil will make it tough.) Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Transfer the chicken to a plate; let cool. Shred the meat and discard the bones.
Meanwhile, strain the broth and return it to the stockpot. Bring to a boil. Add the carrots, chard/spinach, barley, salt and pepper. Simmer 10-12 minutes, until barley is cooked through. Add the chicken and heat 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Serves 4-6
Last edited by Cheree; 09-14-2008 at 02:16 PM.
Reason: Thanks to Glory87 too, I misread the poster's name (mental pause).
Superfoods: tomatoes, beans, vegetables (depending on which ones you use), garlic, barley/quinoa/brown rice
Susan's Dirty Little Secret Soup
Some people eschew frozen vegetables, but they are often more nutritious than fresh ones that have been shipped from far away. They're usually flash-frozen at the farm, resulting in more nutrients being preserved; vegetables that are allowed to age before cooking lose some of their nutritional value.
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 16-ounce cans beans, rinsed and drained (for instance, 1 Great Northern and 1 Kidney Bean)
2 1-pound bags of frozen vegetables (for instance, California Blend [cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots] and Italian Blend [zucchini, Italian green beans, broccoli, red pepper])
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
A shake or two of hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
Black pepper and salt to taste
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup small pasta OR 2 cups diced potatoes OR 1 cup frozen corn or other starchy vegetable OR 1/2 cup of quick-cooking grain (pearled barley, millet, or quinoa) or cooked rice
Put 5 cups of vegetable broth and all remaining ingredients into a large pot and cook until vegetables are done, about 20-30 minutes. If the soup seems too thick, add more broth. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
This can also be made with 2 pounds of whatever fresh vegetables you have in the house, such as zucchini, cauliflower, and kale. (I'm thinking I might add some onions too.)
I do exactly the same thing kaplods does; I start with either a can of tomato juice or a can of low sodium v8 juice and then I just throw whatever veggies I have handy into it. Cabbage and kale work well because they don't get mushy in the soup. Mushrooms, carrots, onions, etc. I also sometimes throw in a can of diced tomatoes (juice and all) near the end.
Dump four to six cans of beef broth in a large pan. Add one bag of frozen mixed vegetables, onions, diced summer squash, carrots, celery, cabbage, ( I like to buy the bags of precut coleslaw) one or two cans of diced tomatoes and ground meat if you like. Add bay leaf for lots of flavor, and salt and pepper to taste. Yum, yum!!!
If you don't want to use ground meat, use a can of rinsed black beans instead.
Last edited by InnerChild; 10-04-2008 at 08:45 AM.
one chicken leg
enough water to cover the chicken
3-5 carrots
salt and pepper to taste
It's just me, so i take one chicken leg, toss it in the slow cooker for an hour or 2 until done,
then i remove the chicken and strain the soup through a cheesecloth lined strainer into another large pot.
then return the broth to the slow cooker, add the chopped carrots, salt and pepper, pull the meat off the chicken bones and add back to the slow cooker, discarding the skin and bones.
cook again for another few hours until carrots are cooked. then remove the carrots and purree in a food processor until smooth, adding a little broth to the food processor if needed. then mix back into the chicken soup.
I also have added garlic, onions and/or ginger at the start of cooking and removed at the straining time.
The times arent exact, you could add the carrots at the beginning, and strain a few hours later when the chicken meat is pulled off the bones. the important thing is that the meat is done and the carrots are cooked soft enough to be put in the food processor.
it's one of my favorites along with beef stew for the colder months.
cheree, I didn't see the blended vegetable soup recipe. Can you post it here or tell me where to find it? Thanks
I'm sorry, no wonder you can't find it, I gave it a different name than the original poster (it is called "Veggie-licious Tortilla Bisque"):
Veggie-licious Tortilla Bisque posted by CalypsoZ
3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community > Food > Whole Foods Lifestyle > Recipes! (from original superfoods thread)
This is absolutely delicious and a fantastic way to get your veggies. Even my kids love this. (And I can put in vegetables I don't like -- such as broccoli -- and not taste them.) No exact measurements, you don't need them.
Roasting pan full of veggies: basically, whatever you have in your fridge, but make sure you have some --
Yellow squash/zucchini (for texture)
garlic
onion
carrot (for sweetness)
Mine is usually the above, plus broccoli, cauliflower. Whatever! (Tomatoes are coming later in the process.)
Put your roasting pan in the oven and roast til the veggies are golden. (You can also skip this step and just cook them on the stove top, but I like the taste roasting gives them.)
Dump the roasted veggies in a big stewpot, along with chicken or vegetable broth and a couple of cans of tomatoes. (I like the Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes.) Simmer until veggies are soft.
Working in batches, run the soup through your blender.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you can, wait til the soup cools before blenderizing. You *can* put it in the blender hot, but be very careful. Put a towel over the blender top and "vent" one corner, because the heat creates a vacuum effect and you're liable to explode soup all over you and your kitchen.
Are you still with me? I promise, it's worth it!
I wish I could say you could just use a stick blender in the pot ... and you can, but the texture isn't going to be the same. Running it through the blender, it's just velvety.
In one of the batches you run through the blender, put in a bunch of cumin and oregano. If you're making a giant pot of this soup, then you'll want a lot of spice. Think tablespoons, not teaspoons.
After it's all blended, dump it all back in your stewpot. Stir and heat. Taste for seasoning. You'll probably need a good amount of salt, unless you used a salty broth. If it's not "tomatoey" enough, add in some tomato paste. Lycoprene! If it's not thin enough, add water or more broth. Add in more cumin and oregano if doesn't taste "Mexican" enough.
To serve: Top with some crema, or plain yogurt, a crumbling of queso fresca, or monterrey jack, some crumbled baked tortilla chips and cilantro. You can also top with diced chicken. And avocado. Use your own judgement. My friends call this "The Magic Soup" because even with toppings, they lose weight. But YMMV!
It freezes beautifully and is obviously flexible to your taste. If you like spicy, add a fresh jalapeno to your roasting pan. Yum. Or add a dried pepper like ancho (soaked in water and stems/seeds removed) to your stewpot before you puree.
Vegetable Soup Recipes
