happy soup day.

This is Part 25 of the “31 Days of Healthy Living” series.

Wednesday may as well be the “official soup day” of the week.

I shop for groceries on a weekly basis.  Every Thursday.

So by the time Wednesday rolls around, the fridge is looking a little haphazard.  Like it’s faced some sort of major demolition project, with no hopes of recovering any time soon.

As luck would have it, there are usually still some vegetables that have gone untouched (or, at least, partially so.)

That’s why Wednesday is soup day.

Because I have lots of vegetables that need to be used.

Because I hate throwing things away.

Because simmering vegetables in big pots of steamy broth makes me happy like nothing else can.

Happy Soup Day!

The Easiest Vegetable Soup

This recipe isn’t really a recipe.  It’s more of a guideline.

Use whatever veggies you have on hand and follow this cooking method.  As long as you have a tasty vegetable stock and a variety of vegetables (the root veggies are especially nice!) you can’t go wrong.  Keep in mind that if you use a different green than spinach like kale or chard, you’ll need to prolong the cooking time just a bit.

Happy simmering!

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Combination of various vegetables, chopped (i.e., rutabaga, daikon, sweet potato, celery, carrot, parsnip, zucchini, etc.)
• 5-8 cups unsalted vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• baby spinach
• various canned beans, drained and rinsed (i.e., pinto, garbanzo, kidney, etc.)

1. In a large pot, sautee onion in olive oil until translucent.  Add all of the chopped vegetables and enough broth to cover them with.  Dilute with a little water if you’d like.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.
2. Add in several large handfuls of chopped spinach and beans.  Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes or until spinach is wilted and soup is heated thorough.  Enjoy!

QUESTION: How often do you make trips to the grocery store?  I have one BIG weekly trip, and little things like fruit or eggs or milk require a couple more stops.