I woke up this morning thinking about soup.
There is something about this time of year, soup is just irresistible to me. It must be the chilly weather that makes me want to cozy up with a big bowl of soup.
Before I get into the recipe, a little background information about me. I am a big advocate of using what you have on hand- so I use what I have in my fridge//pantry to throw dishes together. And 8/10 times it works really well!
With that being said, this vegetable soup was made from vegetables I got from the farmers market. If you decide to make this recipe please use what you have and don’t hesitate to add more//different vegetables
Hearty Vegetable Soup
What you need for it:
3 8-ounce cans of tomato paste, no salt added
1 5-ounce can of tomato sauce
3 quarts water or fill pot ¾ of way
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper
1/8 teaspoon parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
½ yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium zucchini, half moons
1 8-ounce can of black beans, no salt added, rinsed
2 medium creole tomatoes, largely cubed
½ bunch of kale, sliced
½ lb of homemade whole wheat noodles (optional)
How to make it:
- In a large pot, bring your tomato paste, sauce and water to a boil
- Once it is a rolling boil, add sweet potatoes, onion and garlic and spices. Cook for ~30 minutes, until potatoes have soften, stirring as needed
- Add zucchini, black beans to the pot. Cook down for 10 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Add tomatoes and kale to the pot, cook down for 5 minutes, stirring as needed
- Optional: Add cooked whole wheat noodles to the soup
Enjoy and share with your family and friends.
Per serving: (with noodles) 130 calories, 0.5 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 150 mg sodium, 27 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fiber,7 grams sugar, 7 grams protein
Per serving: (without noodles) 80 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 150 mg sodium, 17 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 6 grams sugar, 5 grams protein
Health Benefits you’ll get from it:
*Each ingredient has many vitamin, minerals, flavonoids + phytochemicals not listed.
Tomatoes | Lycopene—a cancer preventing phytonutrient
Sweet potatoes | Unique root storage proteins—exerting significant antioxidant effects
Onions | Organic sulfur compounds—decrease blood lipid levels, prevent clot formation, lower blood pressure, lowers blood sugars
Garlic | Allicin—cancer, atherosclerosis and heart disease preventing mechanisms
Zucchini | Carotenes—protect against damaging effects of the sun
Black beans | Fiber—lowers cholesterol, prevents blood sugars from rising too high after a meal
Kale | Glucosinolates—cancer preventing compounds
Take away from this: Eat your vegetables.