lunch

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

~ nourishyourlife.ca ~ Leave a comment

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

BFCB8F54-2A45-419F-AE45-7D61F6DF548B

This flavorful roasted red pepper soup is a blend of red peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. It’s delicious, healthy and easy to make – just roast all the veggies on one baking sheet, then blend it all together in your Vitamix. Perfect served warm or serve as a chilled gazpacho on a hot summer day!

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 or 9 tomatoes, cored and quartered
  • 3 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
  • 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 5 cups vegetable broth
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • olive oil
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees with two racks placed in the middle of the oven.
  2. Grease two (preferably rimmed) baking sheets. Place tomatoes, skin side down, on one of them.
  3. Toss the onions and red peppers lightly with olive oil. Place on the other baking sheet, with the red peppers skin side down. Place the unpeeled garlic on the sheet, too.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes.
  5. Heat your vegetable broth on medium-high heat. Peel your garlic and toss it in. Add roasted vegetables and simmer for ten minutes.
  6. Purée the soup using an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender, several cups at a time.
  7. Enjoy!

*Yields about 12 cups of soup

xo Chelsea

Roasted Carrot Soup

~ nourishyourlife.ca ~ 3 Comments

Roasted Carrot Soup

IMG_0961

This easy and delicious roasted Carrot Soup is perfect any time of the year.  You can serve this soup warm on a chilly day or chilled in the summer months.  It’s packed full of healthy ingredients, has no added sugar, and is gluten-free.  The roasted carrots, onion, and garlic give it a nice rich flavour that will make you want to go back for a second bowl. This puréed soup is one your whole family will enjoy!

IMG_1026.JPG

YIELD: 6 servings PREP TIME: 20 minutes COOK TIME: 45 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour, 15 minutes

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 6 large carrots)
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus   additional to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus additional to taste
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 cups vegetable broth                                                                                                                                                                      Fresh basil and a 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (optional, for serving)

Instructions:

1. Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Place the carrots, onions, and garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, and pepper. Toss to evenly coat, then spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets, ensuring that the vegetables do not crowd one another.

3. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning twice throughout, until the vegetables are tender and browned. Let cool on the pans for 10 minutes.

4. While the vegetables cool, drain the juice from the tomato cans into a small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.

5. Working in two batches, add half of the roasted vegetables to a food processor fitted with a steel blade or to a blender.

6. Add 1 can of the drained tomatoes. Purée until smooth, then pour the purée into a 4-quart or larger heavy-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and tomatoes, then add to the pot.

6. Stir in the reserved tomato juices, basil, yogurt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

7. Bring to a gentle simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes, until fully heated through. Taste and add additional salt and/or pepper as desired.

8. Serve warm, topped with fresh basil and a dollop of Greek yogurt if you like.

Fresh Beet Soup with Cashew Cream

~ nourishyourlife.ca ~ Leave a comment

Fresh Beet Soup with Cashew Cream

img_9389

I’ve made a lot of beet soups in the past but this purred version won me over.  It is creamy, fresh, super healthy, and satisfying.  It’s also really easy to make, packed full of veggies, and it’s vegan/dairy free.

Beets contain vitamins A, B, C, B2, iron, calcium, potassium and are great for liver and gallbladder detoxification.  I made this version with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and topped it off with a dollop of cashew cream instead of sour cream.  Have you ever tried cashew cream???  Oh my, is it good!!  It was my first attempt at making cashew cream and I found it simple to make and thought it had just the right amount of creaminess.  If you’re not quite into it, feel free to add a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt instead!!

Beet Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

6 small beets peeled and sliced

1 large yellow or sweet onion

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

2 cloves garlic

Fresh basil (for a garnish)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a soup pot or stock pot heat oil and saute celery, onion, and carrot until tender.

2. Add garlic, sliced beets and cook for 2-3 mins on medium heat.

3. Pour in vegetable stock and bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.

4. Cook on low until beets are tender. Approx 20-25 mins.

5. Transfer soup to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.  Please be careful if transferring the hot soup to a blender and wear oven mitts!

6. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with your cream of choice, and add chopped fresh basil just before serving.

Enjoy!

Cashew Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon (juiced)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

1. Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with cold water for 3 hours or overnight.

2. Drain water from cashews and place them in a blender.

3. Add 1/2 cup fresh water, lemon, vinegar, salt, olive oil, and garlic. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

4. If the cream is too thick add a touch more water, blend again until desired consistency is reached!

Note– Cashew cream is better cold and will thicken as it chills.  It is great to use as a dressing (add extra olive oil to thin), in place of sour cream, drizzled on top of pizza, or added to anything you want to make creamy!

xo Chelsea

Spicy Italian Turkey Burger Soup 🌶

~ nourishyourlife.ca ~ 1 Comment

Healthy Spicy Italian Turkey Burger Soup

 

img_8522

I’m a bit of a sucker for Italian food and this soup is one of my favourites.  With the colder weather during this time of the year it always makes me want to curl up on the couch and enjoy a nice hot bowl of soup or chili.  When I feel like something hearty but a bit lighter than chili (without all the beans) I like to make this healthy Italian turkey burger soup.  Don’t get me wrong I love beans and I love chili but sometimes I want something just as satisfying that doesn’t leave me feeling bloated like chili can.

This soup is packed full of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins C, K, A, E, biotin, beta-carotene, potassium, flavonoids, phytonutrients, and protein. The balance of healthy carbs, protein, and fats make it a great option for lunch or dinner.

I am a big fan of spicy food so I kicked this soup up a notch and added an extra 🌶 pepper. We like things spicy around my house (well at least my husband and I do) so I typically add the spicy pepper at the end. That way I can remove a few bowls of the soup beforehand so the kids can eat it too.

I often double the batch so I can freeze the leftovers.  It is always nice having meals frozen in the freezer for those nights you need dinner fast and are scrambling for time. This soup is quick and easy to make and there is nothing I find more satisfying than a hot spicy Italian soup to warm you up on a cold winter evening!!

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lb of ground turkey or ground chicken

5-6 fresh tomatoes diced or 1 large can of diced tomatoes.

2 cups of chopped carrots diced small

5 cups of celery diced

2 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 sweet onion diced fine

1 tbs each of fresh thyme, oregano, basil (fresh tastes way better than dried I find)

2 tbs fresh parsley

1 chopped spicy pepper of your choice or chili pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spice)

4 cups beef broth

4 tbs tomato paste

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan

2. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.

3. Add onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and sauté until meat is browned and onions are translucent.

4. Put ground turkey in a soup pot.

5. In your frying pan, add the carrots and celery and cook until they are slightly tender. Then add them to the soup pot.

6. Put tomatoes in the frying pan along with the beef broth, tomato paste, and the herbs except the parsley and bring to a boil. Then place them in the soup pot.

7. Stir all ingredients together in the soup pot until combined and summer on low heat for 40 mins. Add parsley at the end and mix together (save a little for the garnish on top if you want!)

8. Enjoy!!

Xo Chelsea