Oh yes, we all said we’d get back to healthy, just like we do every year, but one of the best ways to actually do that is with soups.
There Will Be Soups Tonight!
That makes me think of this famous scene in the best movie ever!…The Princess Bride…
Just had to throw that in, but really, soups are low-calorie and extremely healthful food, so why not get on a soup diet, and swing back to your usual weight or goal weight more quickly? So without further adieu…
There Will Be Soups Tonight!
Recipes: Apple Squash Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
6 medium summer squash
1 medium steamed potato
1 large apple
4 cups leftover water from steaming vegetables or plain water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Recipes Soups Instructions:
Chop onion and garlic. Combine oil, cumin, coriander, mustard, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne in soup pot. Sauté onion and garlic until soft, stirring often. Peel ginger. Place in blender with 1 Tbsp. water and blend. Add blended ginger to soup. Cut summer squash into 1″ pieces. Quarter potato and apple, removing core and seeds from the apple. Chop squash in food processor or blender. Add potato and apple to blender. Use small amounts of liquid to keep blade moving. Add remaining liquid, a little at a time, working the machine until a soup-like consistency is achieved. Transfer soup to pot. Warm to just simmering. Stir occasionally. Add lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste by using salt and cayenne. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Recipes: Corn and Sweet Potato Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
7 ½ cups of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 medium sweet potato diced
1 lb corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
Salt and ground black pepper
Lime wedges to serve
Recipes Soups Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large soup pan and gently fry the onion until soft (approximately 5 minutes). Add the garlic and gently fry for another 2 minutes. Add 1/14 cups of vegetable stock to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cumin and diced sweet potato and simmer a further 10 minutes. Season to taste and add the corn and remaining stock. Simmer approximately 10 minutes.
Remove soup from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer half of the soup to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Stir the smooth soups into the pan and mix together with the chunky remaining soups and gently stir together.
Serve food into warm bowls with lime wedges on the side.
Recipes: Creamy Carrot and Orange Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil (you can substitute low-calorie spray for the olive oil)
3 leeks washed and sliced
1 lb carrots, washed, peeled and sliced
5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
Juice of two oranges
Finely grated rind of two oranges
2/3 cup of plain yogurt
Salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro to garnish
Recipes Soups Directions:
Place the olive oil in a pan and add the leeks and carrots, stir well until coated with oil. You can also use low-calorie spray if you prefer. Cover and cook over low heat for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften (don’t let them discolor). Pour the chicken or vegetable stock, orange juice and orange rind over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Simmer for approximately 40 minute or until the vegetables are tender. Let the soup cool a little then transfer to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Return soup to pan and add 2 tablespoons of the yogurt. Reheat gently taking care not to let soup boil.
Serve soups in warm bowls and place a swirl of yogurt food and garnish of cilantro leaves on the center of each bowl.
Recipes: Garlic Lentil Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 onions, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano
7 cups vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
Recipes Soups Instructions:
Place all ingredients except the salt and pepper into a large soup pan. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent lentils from sticking to pan. If soup thickens and lentils are still not tender, add a little extra vegetable stock.
Remove the bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soups into warm bowls and serve soups with a whole wheat or seed roll.
Recipes: Great Northern Bean Scallion Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup vegetable broth (homemade or canned)
1 can (15 oz) navy beans (or equal amount cooked pre-soaked beans)
1 can (15 oz) sweetened tomatoes (or equal amount fresh, simmered, or freshly chopped)
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 – 3 scallions
1 T oregano
1 T butter or olive oil
1 T basil
1/4 t turmeric
Salt (optional)
Recipes Soups Instructions:
Sauté scallions and herbs. Combine tomatoes with sauted scallions and herbs and simmer food approximately 10 min. Add pre-cooked beans, rice and broth. Simmer 30 minutes. Broth may need to be added as soup cooks. Be sure to add broth while soups are hot.
Recipes: Roasted Pepper Soup
You can make this soup without roasting the peppers to save time but the roasting process gives the soup a rich, excellent flavor, and is worth the time.
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
3 red bell peppers, washed and de-seeded
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon plain all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
Diced red and yellow bell pepper pieces to garnish
Plain yogurt or crème fraiche to garnish
Recipes Soups Directions:
Preheat the grill. Wash and cut the peppers in half and remove stalks, core and seeds. Arrange the peppers in a non stick baking tray (skin side up) and place under the hot grill. Grill food for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until skins begin to char.
Transfer the peppers to a plastic or zip lock bag, seal and leave to cool. Once cool (about 15 minutes) peel skins and discard. Roughly chop the remaining pepper flesh and set aside.
Place the onion, crushed garlic and 2/3 of the vegetable stock in a pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until stock begins to reduce. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir to reduce lumping. Add the chopped peppers and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Let soups cool slightly and the transfer to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer soup back to pan and reheat gently, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve soups in warm bowls and sprinkle a few chopped peppers and a little yogurt in the center of each bowl if desired.
Recipes: Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Recipes Soups Food Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
1 large parsnip, peeled and cubed
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
4 thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoons dried thyme
3 rosemary sprigs or 2/3 teaspoons dried rosemary
5 cups vegetable stock
Salt and ground black pepper
Crème fraiche or sour cream to serve
Recipes Soups Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Pour the olive oil into a large bowl and add the vegetables, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss well until coated in oil. Place the vegetables on a non stick tray in a single layer. Roast the vegetables in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until tender. Turn food occasionally to ensure they brown evenly.
Remove from oven, discard herbs and transfer vegetables to a large pan. Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Remove soup from heat and leave to slightly cool. Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Return soup to pan and gently heat through. Serve soups into warm bowls and garnish with a swirl of sour cream or crème fraiche.
Eat more soups, lose more weight and get more healthy…simple. Catch all of our Recipe Help on our CEO of Everything page. We know you’re a busy Mom in Business doing everything, and at least we can help you with recipes and meals.
~Courtney
First image courtesy of ivillage.ca