A huge part of my Easy Real Food Recipes approach is to prepare food in larger batches, then keep portions in my freezer pantry for quick healthy meals in minutes. This veggie soup base not only cleans out the fridge, but makes a beautiful base for many other soup recipes. It also provides vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and is good for immune support.
My Easy Navy Bean and Lean Ground Beef Soup was created using the real foods veggie soup base, then adding pre-cooked ground beef and a half a can of Eden Navy Beans. I always have portions of pre-cooked ground beef in my freezer pantry and cans of wholesome beans in my regular pantry.
THE HEALTHY VERSATILE SOUP INGREDIENTS
Begin by dicing the well cleaned unpeeled carrots. Then dice the celery ribs, including the leaves. I always use the celery leaves because they have nutrients too. Next, chop the spinach into medium-sized pieces. Feel free to add other veggies you have in your fridge, but depending on how much is added, a little more broth might be needed.
After that, add the prepared raw vegetables to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, along with a 1/2 cup of low sodium chicken broth or use vegetable broth if you prefer. I use the broth to sauté the vegetables instead of oil. Sauté and stir until the veggies just begin to soften. Do not overcook, since the soup base will be reheated later when additional ingredients are added.
Now add the extra virgin olive oil, the chopped dried onions, sea salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the chicken broth and heat to a brisk simmer, stirring occasionally. I used dried onions and garlic powder in this batch because I didn’t have fresh on hand, so having a well-stocked spice cabinet is important too.
Finally, let the soup cool for a few minutes, then divide it into portions. I cook two servings at a time, so I will divide the base into three portions. A portion can be used immediately or stored in the freezer or fridge for future use. Just add additional ingredients, such as a lean protein, barley, rice, pasta or beans, to make your favorite soup recipes.
With another portion of the soup base, I quickly put this wholesome Chicken & Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta Soup together. I simply added some chicken from my freezer pantry and the orzo from my kitchen pantry. Eating healthy can be very time consuming and these tips make it a little easier for me to follow my Embracing A Healthy Immune Boosting Lifestyle program.
What's in the Fridge Veggie Soup Base
This is a great tip for cleaning out your produce drawer while making a soup base that can be used for several recipes. Just add additional ingredients, such as a lean protein, barley, rice, pasta or beans, to make your favorite soup. I try to use organic ingredients whenever possible. Especially, when the vegetables are raw and eaten whole.
Ingredients
- 4 Medium Carrots Diced (Well Cleaned and Unpeeled)
- 8 Ribs of Celery Diced (Including the Leaves)
- 2 Cups of Raw Spinach Chopped
- 2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (I Use Organic Free-Range Broth, Vegetable Broth Can be Used if Preferred)
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Dried Onions (Or a Small Fresh Onion)
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder (Or 4 Cloves of Fresh Garlic)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Preparation
- Dice the well cleaned and unpeeled carrots.
- Dice the celery ribs, including the leaves. I always use the celery leaves because they have nutrients too.
- Chop the raw spinach into medium-sized pieces. Feel free to add other veggies you have in your fridge. A little more broth might be needed though.
- Add the prepared raw vegetables to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, along with a 1/2 cup of low sodium chicken broth. I use the broth to sauté the vegetables instead of oil.
- Sauté and stir until the veggies just begin to soften. Do not overcook, since the soup base will be reheated later when additional ingredients are added.
- Add the olive oil, dried onions, sea salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add the rest of the chicken broth and heat to a brisk simmer, stirring occasionally. I used dried onions and garlic powder because I didn’t have fresh on hand, so having a well-stocked spice cabinet is important too.
- Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then divide it into portions. I cook two servings at a time, so I will divide the base into three portions.
- A portion can be used immediately or stored in the freezer or fridge for future use. Just add additional ingredients, such as a lean protein, barley, rice, pasta or beans, to make your favorite soup recipes. Enjoy!
DIANNA’S EASY REAL FOOD RECIPES – easyrealfoodrecipes.com
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Great recipe! I’m a firm believer in batch cooking.
Thank you!
😎