Springtime Soup

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 4/8/07
Springtime Soup
Adapted from Greek-Flavored Spinach and Orzo Soup by Nava Atlas
Yield: 8 to 10 meal-sized servings

2 cups cleaned & sliced leek
6-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
12 cups water with 4 cubes salt-free vegan bouillon (or equal amount of light flavored veggie broth)
2 14.5oz cans salt-free tomatoes (diced, crushed, whatever), briefly buzzed in blender or food processor
2 9oz boxes frozen artichokes
1 cup pearl barley
2 tsp dill
2 1-lb bags frozen spinach
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cup lemon juice (or less, to taste)

1. Water-sauté leeks, garlic, and red bell pepper until softened; about 5 minutes.

2. Add water, bouillon, tomatoes, barley, dill, and frozen artichokes. Cover and bring to simmer for 30-40 minutes until barley is slightly chewy.

3. When soup is almost done simmering, portion spinach out into containers. (Do this only if making meals ahead, if not stir spinach into soup before serving).

4. Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

Italian-ish Stew

Originally posted to full of veggies on 12/3/06

Italian-Ish Stew
Yeilds 8 to 10 very filling servings

1.5 lb (dry) great northern or cannelini beans
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
3 med white onions, diced
3 - 4 cloves garlic
2 15 oz cans no-salt diced tomatoes
1 small (2 oz?) can tomato paste
2 cups pearl barley
1 pkg Boca Italian Sausage
1 Tbl italian seasoning
1 Tbl basil
1 Tbl fennel seed
2 tsp rosemary
Water - a lot

1. Soak beans overnight, cook them until tender and portion out into 1 cup servings.

2. Partially defrost Boca Italian Sausage and then grind it up in the food processor until it is fine. Set aside.

3. Water-saute carrots, celery and onion in soup pot until they start to soften. Add in the tomatoes, garlic, and spices, simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Add barley and ground up Boca sausages and enough water to cover... I think I added *about* 10 cups and got a very thick stew-like consistency. Once water is added and soup is simmering, stir in tomato paste. Simmer soup until barley is tender but still chewy.

5. Portion soup out over the cooked beans into containers. Freezes very well.

I would also add some greens to this recipe at meal time - fresh spinach or escarole or add in steamed kale at the end of cooking to get those awesome greens in!

The Boca Italian sausage is not really an ETL ingredient but when spread out over 8 to 10 servings is less than 300mg of sodium per serving (within ETL guidelines). It adds a great flavor to the soup!

Crock Pot Veggie Stock

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 10/9/06
Crock Pot Veggie Stock

2 medium onions, quartered
2 large carrots, cut into 1 in chunks (or a bunch of baby carrots)
2 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 garlic cloves, unpeeled & crushed
1 small bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
2-3 bay leafs
½ tsp. black peppercorns or more if you like
8 – 10 C. water
Any other dried herbs you feel like adding (I like basil and rosemary)

1. Place all ingredients in your crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight (8 - 10 hours or more).

2. Allow stock to cool a bit, and strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a pot or bowl, pressing the veggies against the sieve to release all the juices. Store in tightly covered containers for 3-5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. I like to freeze 2 cup portions so I know how much to take out when making a recipe.

I’ll be honest; I really don’t measure anything when I make this. I just toss everything in the crock pot and add water and let it go. I think this time I added 12 cups of water because that’s what looked right to me. I have a fairly big crock pot so I can get a lot of broth out of one batch. I got about 6 portions out of this batch.

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 10/9/06
Spicy Red Lentil Soup
ETL-ized Version of Recipe from October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times
6 (2 cup) servings

I’m posting this recipe the way I made it; I left out the salt and oil that the recipe calls for and didn’t use any Tamarind concentrate/paste. I also doubled the recipe as last time I made a soup from VT I didn’t get as many meal-sized servings out of it as I wanted.

1 lb red lentils
2 15 oz cans no-salt diced tomatoes
4 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz cans light & unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbs. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. turmeric powder
2 small jalapeños, minced (seeded if you want less heat)
chopped cilantro to garnish (optional)

1. Bring lentils and 10 cups of water to a boil in a medium to large pot, simmer partially covered for 20 – 25 minutes; do not drain. If desired; blend lentils with whisk or blend in food processor.
2. While lentils are cooking purée tomatoes and ginger in a food processor or blender until smooth and set aside. Chop garlic and mince jalapeño.
3. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and a few tablespoons of water and cook 30 seconds or until just golden; stirring often. Add tomato/ginger mixture, coconut milk, coriander, cumin, tumeric, and jalapeño. Simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Combine lentils and other ingredients and simmer partially uncovered, 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro when ready to serve.

Nicole’s Notes: At meal time; I add some frozen veggies (I really like broccoli rabe) to the soup and microwave them all together. The soup heats up as the veggies defrost and they don’t get too mushy. Adding the frozen veggies is a great way to get your cooked veggies along with the beans that the soup already supplies.

While Coconut Milk contains saturated fat it is ok to use occasionally. To cut out saturated fat; substitute with combination of soy milk and coconut extract or Bryanna's Mock Coconut Milk.

Shelly E's Blended Green Soup

Originally posted to Full of Veggies 9/11/06

Blended Green Soup
by Shelly E on Dr. Fuhrman's Member Center

6 cups water
1 to 1 1/2 cups of dried beans or green lentils (3 cups when cooked)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping TBS of dried parsley
1 heaping tsp of dried basil
1 heaping tsp of dried sage
1 heaping tsp of dried chervil
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
3-4 zucchinis (chop ends but leave whole)
1 head of cabbage (left mostly whole but cored)
1 bunch of collards (remove thick stem but leave whole)
1 bunch of kale (remove thick stem, leave whole)
1 bunch of broccoli (cut off thick stem again, but leave whole)
1 cup frozen green peas (thawed)
1 cup frozen chopped green beans (thawed)
1 cup frozen corn
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (no salt added) I pulse it in my blender first to "spread out" the tomato taste.
1 package of broccoli sprouts (optional, lends a different flavor)

Cook beans (soaked overnight if necessary) in water till tender. Drain and reserve water. Put beans aside. In a VERY large pot add: water from the cooked beans, onion, garlic, seasonings, carrots, celery. Then add the bigger uncut whole vegetables: Cabbage, broccoli, zucchinis, and collards/ kale (broccoli sprouts if using) on top. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about45-60 minutes. Then ladle some of the water from the bottom and blend all the greens up in small batches in a blender. Use some of the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes if need be. Place all back in the pot and then add diced tomatoes, green peas, green beans, and corn and cook till they are tender, about another 15-20 minutes. Add cooked beans.

Nicole's changes: I cooked a whole 1 pound bag of green lentils for this and portioned them out into 1 cup servings and ladled the cooked soup over the top. I added a little bit of black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and omitted the green peas ('cause I don't like them) and added a whole bag of frozen green beans. I didn't bother to heat the soup after blending the greens and adding in the tomatoes, corn, and green beans.

The blended greens came out very thick and hearty. The taste is very fresh and healthy and tasty! The recipe made 7+ servings for me. Very good!

Smoothie Kits

The make-up of the smoothies has changed over time to incorporate greens into the mix, but the time saving practice of measuring everything out on the weekend hasn't.

Chili

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 7/24/06Every time I make chili it's a bit different but this is essentially it:

Nicole's ETL Chili

5-6 cloves of garlic minced
2 onions grated (I used the food processor)
2 green bell peppers grated (also used the food processor)
4 14.5 oz cans of no salt added whole tomatoes, 2 cans drained and all tomatoes chopped (in the food processor)
1 14.5 oz can no salt added corn (or frozen)
8 oz dry black beans, soaked and cooked
8 oz dry cannelini beans, soaked and cooked
2 14.5 oz cans no salt added red kidney beans
1 lb dry lentils
3 small-medium zucchini, cut into big chunks
water
barley or cooked brown rice (optional)
chili powder
cumin
cayenne
garlic powder
onion powder

In a BIG soup/stew pot, saute the garlic, onion and peppers for a few minutes. Add in the spices and saute for another minute. Add in tomato, corn, beans, zucchini, and barley/rice and add water to just cover. Simmer for 1 hour until lentils and barley are cooked.

I don't have amounts for the spices because it ends up being different every time I make chili. This is the first time I've made chili with no salt added beans and tomatoes so the overall flavor is a little more bland than I used to make (although still good). Next time I will add more spice to liven things up a bit.

This recipe makes A LOT of chili. I got 10 very generous servings out of this batch.

Wrap

Hummus, lettuce, red onion & roma tomatoes on a whole grain wrap.

Green Velour Salad Dressing

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 7/6/06

Green Velour Salad Dressing
Adapted from DrFuhrman.com’s Green Velvet Dressing

Makes 2 to 2 ½ cups, 4 to 6 generous servings.

1 cup water
½ cup fresh lemon or lemon & lime juice
½ cup tahini (raw & unsalted please!)
¼ to ½ cup frozen spinach or mix of green herbs
1 - 2 cloves garlic (more if you are a garlic freak, like me)
2 T no-salt seasoning blend of your choice
2 t Braggs

Place all ingredients in a blender and whiz it up until it is creamy and has a lovely green color, about 1 minute or depending on your blender.

Flavor is tangy, garlicky, and in general not for those who like milder things. Texture should range from a heavy cream consistency to a bit thicker than that depending on how much spinach is put in and how much liquid is added. Definitely tastes better after refrigerating over night. Keeps well in a tightly closed container in the fridge.

Black Bean Salad

Originally posted on Full of Veggies on 6/14/06
Black Bean Salad

2 15 oz cans of black beans (no salt)
1 avocado
1 large red onion
1 pint grape tomatoes
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 T vinegar
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

- Drain and rinse beans, divide into 1 cup portions. (Using separate containers for each portion)

- In a medium bowl; combine lime juice, vinegar, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Pit and dice the avocado and add it to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Slice the grape tomatoes and add to the bowl. Dice the red onion and add to the bowl. Toss all of the fresh veggies together.

- Evenly distribute veggie mixture into the containers holding the beans. (I used my kitchen scale to make sure they are even).

- Mix the beans and the veggie mixture together.

This recipe yielded me 3 portions with an ETL exchange of 1 cup beans and 6-7 oz raw vegetables. I used Red Wine Vinegar and it gave it a very tangy taste. If I were to make this again I might leave the vinegar out and replace it with more lime juice. It was definitely better after sitting in the fridge overnight.