Fitness & Nutrition

Saturday, February 23, 2013

2-on-Tuesday: Minestrone

You know that feeling when you just know? Sure you do! After a first and maybe a second cup of strong caffeine, you get the hankering for...something... veggie... something... savory... something fresh ...Minestrone!

A quick look over the recipe... Perfect! I have most of the necessary ingredients for a plant-based recipe. Let's do this!

My quest since December 1, 2012, has been to reduce my intake of animal protein as we pursue a healthy lifestyle of fitness and nutrition. We've tested many recipes. While this choice has taken our family on a culinary journey, we find most recipes are keepers, but some have been, well, a couple of wrong turns. But, not this fresh stop in Rome!

I adapted a recipe from the now famous documentary-turned-cookbook, Forks Over Knives, from what was already on-hand, not unlike countless Romans from centuries past. So, while the weather is chilly, open your fridge and let your inner-Italiano make a grand presentation with the "Big Soup" (the rough translation of minestrone).

Minestrone (min-eh-strOH-neh)

1 large Onion, peeled and chopped
2 large Carrots (or about 12 Baby Carrots), sliced like nickels
2 Celery Stalks, washed and chopped with leaves
4-5 Cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
8 cups (or 64-ish ozs) Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast (optional, but I've recently been cooking with it!)
2 cans (15.5 ozs) Diced Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Greek Spices (Oops. No Oregano. But my #FoodiePenPals box had a tin of Greek Spices!)
2-3 medium New Potatoes (red skin), scrubbed and diced
4-5 handfuls Chopped Kale (little to no ribs - I buy a big bag to last a week)
1-2 cups of Multigrain Pasta
1 can (15.5 oz) Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
S&P (salt and pepper - to taste) and Red Pepper Flakes

  • Saute the onion, carrots and celery with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Coconut Oil or try a Water Saute (without any oil) in a large pot over medium heat for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in garlic - don't let it burn.
  • Add vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, tomatoes, spices, potatoes, kale, pasta and beans.
  • Simmer for 30-45 minutes.
I'm headed out of town, but this big pot of "Big Soup" will be a big hug for my family until I return! Hope there's some left.


14 comments:

  1. I just made this tonight for dinner and LOVED it!! My husband said it was the best soup I've made yet :) thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome! I'm glad you sparkled in his eyes...by way of his tummy! HA!

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  2. really good soup!thanks for the recipe!!

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    1. You're welcome! I can't really take the credit when it was one of the first Forks Over Knives recipes I tackled. But, I do agree it was good!

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    2. I liked this recipe so much that I thought I should share it with my readers! This one will stay in our rotation for sure!
      http://www.adventuresinmindfulcooking.com/minestrone-soup/

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    3. Looking forward to visiting your site!

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  3. Delicious! I added zucchini and included a bay leaf

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    1. PERFECT! I'll do that, next time! Tonite is LOTSA VEGETABLE CHOWDER! It smells so good cooking!

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Oh, this is good! I used 4 tbsp of nutritional yeast, navy beans, power greens from costco and cayenne instead of red pepper flakes. Other than that, I followed the recipe to a t. My husband and I loved it.

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  6. Angela! Ooohhh! You played with your food! HOORAY! I'm gonna add the Nooch, next time, I make this recipe!

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  7. This soup looks delicious... Thank you for sharing!!!

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  8. This may sound like a dumb question, but do I add the pasta uncooked?

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    1. KRISTINA --Not dumb, at all! You add the UNCOOKED pasta at the time you add the vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, tomatoes, spices, potatoes, kale and beans and, then, simmer for 30-45 mins. Or, you could prepare the pasta ahead and add at time of serving! Totally your preference!

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