Veggie Soup

I really like soups. I can spend 30 minutes cooking one night and have leftovers for 3-4 days, or freeze it for days I don't feel like cooking. Also, soups are extremely college-budget friendly - most of the ingredients are dirt-cheap at the grocery store! Soup is also a great fate for all those random veggies in the back of the produce bin in your refrigerator. You can pack a whole day's worth of veggie servings into one meal!

In the stir-fry post, I mentioned that fresh veggies are best. Carrots, tomatoes, and a handful of other veggies are exceptions to this rule. Cooking helps to break down the cell walls of the vegetable so more nutrients can be absorbed. One of these nutrients is lycopene. Lycopene is a red pigment found in tomatoes and other rosy fruits such as watermelon, pink guava, red bell pepper and papaya. Several studies conducted in recent years (at Harvard Medical School, among others) have linked high intake of lycopene with a lower risk of cancer and heart attacks. Cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers and many other vegetables also supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw. Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=raw-veggies-are-healthier

You'll need:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2-3 chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, cut into rounds (~2c)
• 3-4 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 pieces (~2c)
• 2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2 -1 inch cubes
• 3 large kale leaves, de-stemmed and cut into1-2 inch pieces.
• 4c low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2-4 c water
• <1TBS pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 cans (~3c) butter beans... kidney beans... chickpeas... whatever you have on hand

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion is translucent and carrots begin to soften.
2. Add potatoes and kale. Cover with a lid and cook until kale reduces in volume by half (about 2-3 minutes).
3. Add paprika, pepper, and chili powder. Mix spices in thoroughly.
   
4. Add vegetable stock and water. You could add 7-8 cups of stock and omit the water... but water is cheaper and with all the vegetables and spices the extra stock isn't needed.
   
5. Cook until potatoes and carrots are soft, stirring occasionally.
   
6. Add butterbeans and cook until they are heated through. Adding them sooner will cause the beans to fall apart.

Nom, nom nom!