Lentil Soup

    

     One of the strategies I use to stay on the low fat, low sodium, low glycemic index, vegan eating plan is to always have proper foods on hand.  I make a big pot and freeze portions to serve on the days when I don't cook.  Freezing works very well for soups, cooked beans, and cooked pasta. Simply run warm water over the pasta and it defrosts and is ready to use in seconds.  I've been on a soup-making kick lately. Here's a hearty lentil soup.

Minestrone Soup

      Today is the first day of autumn and I celebrated by making a big pot of minestrone.  And, if I do say so myself, it's really good.  I get excited when a new vegan recipe turns out to be as good, or better than my non-vegan version of a favorite dish.

     I cooked the kidney beans in a big pot of water.  When the beans were nearly done I added the tomato, TVP, seasonings, fresh cut carrots, celery, onion, and yellow squash. I let the vegetables cook with the beans and water.  I kept the bean cooking water to add a little body to the soup.  I was careful to check the veggies so they didn't overcook to mush.

  Then, I added the frozen veggies, cooked chick peas, fresh spinach, and cooked pasta.  The heat already in the soup warmed these ingredients.

   One of the best things about minestrone is that you can vary the ingredients depending on what you have on hand.

• kidney beans
• no salt added diced tomatoes
• no salt added crushed tomatoes
• TVP (texturized vegetable protein)
• garlic
• bay leaf
• basil
• parsley
• oregano
• Spike no salt seasoning
• turmeric
• hot sauce
• celery
• carrots
• onion
• yellow squash
• pasta
• chick peas
• frozen cut green beans
• frozen corn
• fresh spinach