New Blog Post: Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup

Ready to start cooking? [View online] Recent Articles: [Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken] | [Chili Garlic Tofu Bowls] | [Sesame Kale] | [No Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream] | [Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars] [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup] I hate using the term “diet”, so lets just say that ever since I got back from vacation I’ve been focusing on healthy lifestyle choices. I’m trying to focus (again) on increasing my vegetable intake and reducing my dependency on simple carbs. Judging by my Pinterest feed, it’s suddenly time for all-things-fall, so I thought a nice basic vegetable soup was in order. I wanted something classic and simple, like the kind you get out of a can, but homemade. Since I’ve also been hitting it hard at the gym lately, I knew I was going to need a little extra protein in the soup, and that’s how this became a Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup. Quinoa can be pricey, so I like to use it in recipes like this soup where it’s balanced with lesser expensive ingredients. Quinoa adds protein, fiber, and a belly filling quality that vegetables don’t usually give me on their own. If you’re not into quinoa, you can try another grain like pearled barley, or even pasta or rice. Just be aware that the cooking time for other grains, pasta, and rice will not be the same as the quinoa. This Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup will freeze great, so don’t be frightened by the 10 cup yield! That just makes it great for your weekly meal prep. Make a huge batch, stash 4-5 portions in the fridge for the week ahead and then freeze the remaining portions for the future when you’re running low on funds or time to cook. P.S. Serve this soup with a couple slices of garlic toast and you’ll be in fall soup heaven! Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup is a low calorie, high fiber, flavor packed meal perfect for your weekend meal prep. BudgetBytes.com] Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup [Save] [Print] Prep time 10 mins Cook time 40 mins Total time 50 mins Total Cost: $6.87 Cost Per Serving: $0.86 Serves: 8 (1.25c each) Ingredients - 1 Tbsp olive oil $0.11 - 1 yellow onion $0.25 - 4 cloves garlic $0.32 - 3 carrots $0.32 - 3 ribs celery $0.44 - 15oz. can kidney beans $0.69 - 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes $1.35 - ½ tsp dried basil $0.05 - 1 tsp dried oregano $0.10 - ½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05 - Freshly cracked pepper $0.05 - 1 cup uncooked quinoa $1.97 - 4 cups vegetable broth* $0.54 - 2 cups water $0.00 - ¼ lb. frozen spinach $0.40 Instructions - Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Add the olive oil, garlic, and onion to a large pot and sauté over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent. - While the garlic and onion are cooking, wash and peel the carrots, then slice into ¼-inch thick rounds. Wash the celery and slice into ¼-inch pieces. Add the carrots and celery to the pot and continue to sauté until they just begin to soften (about 5 minutes). - While the carrots and celery are cooking, rinse the quinoa well with cool running water in a wire mesh sieve. Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Add the quinoa, kidney beans, diced tomatoes (with juices), basil, oregano, smoked paprika, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill) to the pot. - Add the vegetable broth and water to the pot, place a lid on top, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the pot to come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 25 minutes (make sure it's simmering the entire time, turning the heat up just slightly if it stops). - After simmering for 25 minutes the quinoa should be slightly translucent and tender. If not, let simmer a few minutes longer. Stir in ¼ lb. of frozen spinach until heated through. Taste the soup and add salt or adjust the seasonings if necessary. Serve hot. Notes *I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth. If you use a low sodium broth, you may need to add a pinch of salt to the finished soup. 3.5.3208 [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup is a low calorie, high fiber, flavor packed meal perfect for your weekend meal prep. BudgetBytes.com][Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup is a low calorie, high fiber, flavor packed meal perfect for your weekend meal prep. BudgetBytes.com] Step by Step Photos [Sauté Onion and Garlic]Begin by mincing four cloves of garlic and dicing one yellow onion. Add both to a large pot along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium-low heat until the onions are transparent. [Add Carrots and Celery]While the onion and garlic are cooking, wash and peel three carrots. Slice the carrots into 1/4-inch rounds. Wash three ribs of celery and slice into 1/4-inch pieces. Add the carrot and celery to the pot and continue to sauté until just slightly tender (about 5 minutes). [Rinse Quinoa]While the carrots and celery are cooking, rinse 1 cup quinoa really well with cool water. This step is very important because quinoa has a natural substance on the surface that tastes kind of bitter. Since the quinoa are very small, you’ll want to do this in a fine wire mesh sieve. [Add Quinoa Beans Tomatoes and Spices]Add the rinsed quinoa, a 15oz. can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed as well), 15oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (WITH juices), 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and some freshly cracked pepper (maybe 20 cranks of a pepper mill). [Add Broth and Stir]Finally, add four cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine. I use Better Than Bouillon base to make my broth, which usually has enough salt to season my entire soup. If using a low sodium or less flavorful broth, you may want a pinch of salt at the end of the soup. Adding salt at the end of a dish often gives a bigger flavor punch with less salt than salting earlier at the beginning. [Simmered Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup]Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let the pot come up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 25 minutes. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time. After 25 minutes, the quinoa should be tender and slightly translucent. [Add Frozen Spinach]Now pour in about 1/4 lb. of frozen spinach and stir until the spinach has melted. The residual heat from the soup should be plenty to thaw the spinach. I like to add the spinach at the very end like this so that it doesn’t over cook and the color stays vibrant and green (instead of an icky dark olive color). [Finished Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup]And that’s it! Easy vegetable filled goodness right there. As always, you should taste the finished product and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking (everyone’s taste buds are different!). As for me, I liked it just the way it was. [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup is a low calorie, high fiber, flavor packed meal perfect for your weekend meal prep. BudgetBytes.com] It’s just screaming “GARLIC TOAST!” isn’t it? I don’t know how I forgot to pick up a baguette at the store. *sigh* [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup is a low calorie, high fiber, flavor packed meal perfect for your weekend meal prep. BudgetBytes.com]I still have some queso fresco left over in my fridge so I sprinkled a little of that on top of my Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup, but honestly it didn’t add much. The soup had enough flavor going on on its own! #win The post [Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup] appeared first on [Budget Bytes]. [Image] HI! I'M BETH As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. My stomach is full and my wallet is too. [Read More »] [Image] BETH'S COOKBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! 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