Minestrone Soup 

Winter weather is the perfect time to try different soup recipes so today I thought I’d share an easy weeknight meal: minestrone soup.  It’s delicious, packed full of nutrients,  and satisfies our cravings for warm comfort food.  If I have a busy work week ahead, I ‘ll sometimes prepare this over the weekend and then we simply reheat for a hearty winter meal.

Tips for making it easier to prepare healthy meals

1. Mini Food processor:  I use mine all the time.  It’s light weight, chops and dices, and is easy to disassemble and for cleaning.
2. Invest in a dutch oven.  My favorite is Staub .  Mine sits on the stove for most of the winter simmering soup or searing meat for a slow roast.  The smaller Staub works well for soups like my Veggie Curry and the larger pot works best for roasts or chicken soup.
3. Immersion blenders are the quickest way to process a soup.  If you are preparing a winter squash soup for example, simply saute your onion and garlic in coconut, avocado, or olive oil, add roasted winter squash with a vegetable broth and then use your immersion blender to puree the mixture.  So easy and definitely worth the investment.
4. Today’s menu calls for Great Northern Beans and Chicken Broth.  To cut time I use BPA free canned beans and boxed bone broth.  If you want to make you own bone broth, great!  It takes a while and you will need a slow cooker for simmering for about 24 hours.  My favorite broth is Kettle & Fire.
5. If you don’t have fresh herbs, use frozen.  It may not look as pretty but it tastes fine.  Use cooking twine to tie your herbs and remove the bundle when you are ready to serve your soup.
6. ILĀ Salt is my guilty pleasure.  I sprinkle on my avocado toast, over roasted veggies, salads, you name it. This perfect pink salt is hand-harvested in Peru and is packed full of minerals.

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Easy Minestrone Soup

I like to prepare this over the weekend and then reheat it during the week when life gets crazy. The beans, potato, and Parmesan make this a hearty meatless meal.  If you still feel like you need a little extra, serve with turkey or chicken sausage.  Don’t forget the warm, crusty bread!

• 1 bunch rainbow chard
• 2 tsp sea salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 russet potato ((this gives thickness to your soup))
• 1 cup fresh greenbeans
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery
• 14 ounce can of Great Northern Beans
• 1 box Chicken Broth
• 1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp olive or coconut oil
• 1 or 2 Parmesan rinds ((I keep mine in the freezer))

1. Chop onion and garlic in your mini food processor. minute.  

2. Add onion to your soup pot and saute with olive or coconut oil until translucent.

3. Wash and trim your rainbow chard.

4. When the onions are cooked, add the garlic and saute for another minute being careful not to brown your garlic.

5. Peel and chop the potato and add it to your soup pot.

6. Add the chicken broth and canned tomatoes.

7. Wash and cut the green beans, carrot, and celery, and then add to the mix along with 1 or 2 Parmesan cheese rinds and a bunch of herbs. 

8. Simmer gently until all the veggies are cooked.  I like to let this cook and then SIT for a bit so the flavors can become fully incorporated.

9. Serve with crusty, warm bread.

If you need to add extra protein, try turkey, chicken, or vegan sausage.