High Protein Vegetarian Soup

I couldn’t shake a cold after flying east over the holidays. I was really craving some comforting soup, but no restaurant or Pinterest recipe proved to be satisfying. During a trip to Ross, I found a beautiful soup pot and decided to get creative and make my own, using purposeful ingredients that heal. 

Since I don’t eat nightshades or meat, it’s hard for me to find a recipe online that doesn’t require tweaking. I had never made a soup from scratch before, so I used the basics of the ingredients as guidance, but created my own concoction.

And let me tell ya… it was AMAZING!

First, I covered the bottom of my soup pot with some extra virgin olive oil. Once it was heated, I added some onions. While the onions were sizzling, I peeled and chopped seven carrots into 1in circles and minced three cloves of garlic. Once the onions were translucent, I added the carrots, mushrooms, garlic and herbs:  21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joes, thyme, salt and pepper. I stirred everything together, while focusing the mushrooms and garlic to the bottom of the pot, so their juices can run and coat it. In between stirs, I rinsed the pinto beans and a cup of quinoa.

I added both the beans and quinoa to the pot and gave it a good stir. Then I poured in 5 cups of filtered water and two vegetable bouillon cubes. I added a pinch more of each of the seasonings and brought the soup to a boil.

After it was good and boiling, I covered the pot and lowered the heat to simmer for 25 minutes.

When the timer rang, I stirred in 4 cups of organic kale, covered the pot and let it simmer for an additional 5. Viola!

Ingredients & Benefits

2 Tbs of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil – healthy fat

1 Onion – fights inflammation

7 Carrots – vitamin A, In Ayruveda, provides grounding for Kapha doshas because it is a root vegetable

2 cups Crimini Mushrooms – Protein and B-vitamins for nerve health and energy

3 cloves Garlic – natural antibiotic, combats colds

1 Cup Quinoa – protein

1 can Pinto Beans  – protein

2 cups Kale – superfood, antioxidant, prevents aging.