This Healing Quinoa Vegetable Soup was necessary on so many levels.
It’s been a daunting month in my tightly-knit circle of friends. Since the beginning of November, we’ve experienced two cancer scares and an auto-immune disorder diagnosis. And behind all of the words of encouragement and support, stress levels were at an all-time high.
Overall, we’re healthy people. We run; we exercise regularly; we eat smart; and we take care in nourishing our bodies. To say that it all felt like a cruel joke would be an understatement.
But shit got real.
Because I’m basically Wolverine, I’m recovering really well from a surgery I had last week, and self-care + taking care of my people is priority. In order to boost my healing and help a gal pal out with her recent RA diagnosis, I wanted to make a mega batch of wholesome soup brimming with nourishment and anti-inflammatory foods.
You know, in a feelgood eat your veggies + build your immune system kind of way.
Not in a hippy hoodoo anti-medicine kind of way.
Just to clarify.
Anti-inflammatory foods taste fabulous together.
A healthy diet is so important. And though I don’t believe anyone should solely rely on natural remedies over science, nourishing our bodies can only help the healing process.
So, I propped my laptop up on my kitchen counter last week and I did some homework. I wanted to create a powerful soup that would not only soothe the soul, but also ease any inflammation happening in our bods. I was a little worried about certain flavors not working well—after all, I typically leave ginger for my East + Southeast Asian soups—but I was over the moon when I added it to this pot and learned that it worked.
Along with ginger, the turmeric, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, rosemary, and quinoa in this soup work as anti-inflammatories to create a healing soup that is appetizing and substantial.
It’s perfect for lunch and dinner!
If you make this recipe, please snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @killing__thyme! I love hearing from you <3
Healing Quinoa Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 medium-sized zucchini, thinly sliced and halved
- 2 cups frozen green beans
- 3 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
- 32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth *see notes
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme or Italian spices
- 1.5 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste if needed
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 heaping cups ribboned or torn baby spinach
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over moderate heat. Add diced onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, carrots, and celery, and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, or until onions are translucent and aromatic. Add the zucchini, green beans, and parsley, and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, water, dried herbs, and sugar. Season with the salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
- Add the dry quinoa and cover; cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked.
- Finally, add the cannellini beans and the spinach. Simmer for another 5 minutes, and serve.
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