Brr! Winter has officially arrived and it is COLD here in New York! Even News Channel 4 made a joke about how it is only “News 4 Degrees today.” (Not funny.)
In addition to the weather, I’ve just come back from holiday vacation, where I felt the need to stuff my system with imported sausage and puff pastry for days on end. Needless to say, I feel the need to detox and eat healthier.
Vegetable and grain soup is perfect for delicious, healthy meal for lunch or dinner and my father gave me a bag of Bob’s red mill Whole Grains and Beans Soup mix to take back to New York. Phil also bought a new slow cooker recently, so I thought I’d put that to use. Sadly, I made too much soup for the slow cooker and had to transfer it to a large soup pot.
In an effort to eat clean and drop a few El Bees, I’ve decided to meal prep and ladle 1 cup of soup into to-go containers to take to work. It turned out to be fan-freakin’-tastic and is the best way to fend off the inevitable cold this season.
What You’ll Need
- 2 quarts of chicken stock (we used homemade)
- 1 bag of Bob’s red mill Whole Grains and Beans Soup mix
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 5 small carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 pint of small sweet peppers in various colors or 1 green, 1 red, and 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 can of cut string beans (or fresh, but canned is easier!)
- 1/2 cup of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 handful of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Step 1
Start off by sautéing your chopped onion in a 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
Step 2
Add in the 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock. If using store-bought, I would recommend getting the low-sodium organic variety. It’s much healthier! Add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3
Add the chopped carrots, peppers, beans, and tomato sauce. We used left over pizza sauce from Citerella that we had to get rid of. I like the Citerella brand because the only use simple, natural ingredients. There are about 5 on the label and all of which you can easily pronounce. Unless of course you struggle with tom-ate-toe versus tom-ah-toe, but that’s a whole different story.
Step 4
Add Bob’s red mill Whole Grains and Beans to the pot, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and let it brew for 2-3 hours. The longer it sits, the more reduced and delicious the soup will be. So be patient!
Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve with a slice of crusty Italian bread and enjoy!
Click to view slideshow.
