As the weather turned cooler this week I decided to make a soup utilizing what was in the fridge on Monday, for several years now Mondays have been my fasting healthy day so a nutritious soup is a great choice. This soup is a Greens and Bean Soup, it would serve 4 and takes 10 mins to prepare and 30 mins to cook.
The winter months can affect our mood too, eating a good health diet is one way of helping but not in isolation, exercise studies have shown that you keen feel the benefits of exercise in as little as 5 minutes especially if you spend time outside so walking, jogging or running or playing outdoor sport is also beneficial. Other proven ways to help lift move are to play with a pet and eat dark chocolate too.
Here is my recipe for Greens & Bean Soup
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 celery sticks, trimmed and sliced
1 courgette, cut in small pieces
200g of button mushrooms
1 tsp of lazy garlic
1 tsp of chilli flakes
400g can of chopped tomatoes
Oxo garden stock pot
2 tsp of Italian mixed herbs
400g of butterbeans (I only had those in but would be good with Cannellini beans)
200g spinach, washed and chopped
1 bag of fresh parsley (basil too if you any)
grated cheese.
Simply heat the oil in a large saucepan, a wok is good, and then add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery, courgette and mushrooms for about 5 mins.
Add the tinned tomatoes, dried herbs, chilli flakes and stock and bring to the boil then simmer for around 20/25 mins, test the vegetables, I like them to be quite crunchy but if would prefer them to be a bit softer leave another 5 mins. Then add the butter beans (if you choose to use Cannellini beans I would add these earlier) , spinach and parsley and cook for a further 5 mins.
Lastly sprinkle on the grated cheese, I had mature cheddar in but grated parmesan would be good too, and leave the heat off and let stand for a few minutes and then serve.
I had this for my main meal on the Monday and then lunch on Tuesday and then froze the rest so I can have it next week too, delicious. A great left over soup packed with vegetables and high in nutrition as well mood boosting vitamins and minerals.
