Healthy Soup Recipes

 It is cold here in Stratford Ontario,Canada today. The temperature is -13.0°C,  Wind Chill: -23°C (8.4°F, Wind Chill: -8°F). I love homemade soup in the winter, so here are a few Healthy recipes to warm you up.

Broccoli Soup

1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, chopped fine
2 carrots, finely diced
1 onion diced
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 cups chicken stock
2 potatoes cut into small cubes
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a large pot. Cook garlic, celery, onions, carrots and rosemary until onions are softened (about 5 minutes). Add stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook with lid on for about 8 minutes to cook potatoes, stirring often.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to mix well. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Whisk flour into milk and stir gradually into the pot (make sure heat is at medium). Add broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes until broccoli is just done. Add spinach and cook until just wilted, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (You will probably not need much salt if you use prepared broth or dried broth cubes so taste it first).

Variations:

• Use low fat milk to lower the fat content of the recipe.
• For a vegetarian broccoli garlic vegetable soup, replace the chicken broth with an equal amount of vegetable stock.
• Replace the rosemary with an equal amount of thyme for a different flavor.
• Use baby spinach leaves for a more delicate appearance and flavor.
• Add grated cheddar cheese on top of soup when ready to serve to turn this into a broccoli cheddar cheese soup recipe.

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Curried Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
4 1/4 cups chicken stock, homemade or canned
2/3 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons mango chutney

Heat the oil, add the onion and cook until it has just softened but not browned. Stir in the curry powder and cook it for 1 minute. Add the squash and stir well. Add the stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes or so.

Blend the soup with a hand blender or put it into a regular blender in small batches. Blend until you reach the consistency you want. then return it to the pot. Mix the yogurt and chutney together. Stir the mixture into the soup and serve.

Serves 6

Tips and Variations:

• Use zucchini instead of squash.
• You can make this soup ahead and just reheat it when needed. If you make it in advance, don't add the yogurt mixture until you reheat it.
• Serve a little shredded coconut with this and additional chutney if desired.

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Cabbage Soup

1 1/2 - 2 pounds beef soup meat, left whole or cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 green cabbage, chopped into fairly small pieces
4 onions, chopped
4 carrots, sliced or diced
4 or 5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 garlic cloves
3 - 28 ounce cans tomatoes
1 bouquet garni (made by tying together 12 sprigs parsley, 2 bay leaves and 2 celery stalks cut into thirds)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
juice of 2 lemons
5 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Trim the fat off the meat and brown well, in batches, over medium high heat, using 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Remove the tough outer leaves of the 1/2 cabbage, then core and shred it. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the cabbage well over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Peel and slice the onions. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the onions well. Return the meat and cabbage to the pot. Peel and dice the garlic and add to the pot. Add the tomatoes, other vegetables, bouquet garni, thyme, lemon juice and sugar.

Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Add salt and pepper part way through the cooking time, then adjust the seasoning at the end if needed. Shred the meat if you have left it whole.

Variations:

• As stated above, simply leave out the beef to make this a delicious vegetarian soup recipe.
• Add other vegetables if you wish. Try peas (add them in the last 10 minutes only), chopped celery or green beans.

 

To your health and the health of your family!

Have a wonderful day and stay warm!

Jen McLennan