Wednesday 5 December 2012

Day 1 of 7 of our Get Healthier Campaign.

Lunch


Given the nasty drop in temperature today here in London, its currently only 3 degrees at 2pm,  we though some hearty soup was definitely on the cards.

A quick time saving cheat we recommend if you don't have time to make soup from scratch, is to start with a basic fresh soup from the shops and ADD in loads of extra veggies. We call it super sizing! The key to note here is not any old soup, make sure you read the labels and it does not contain any preservatives, artificial anythings and if possible, no wheat or gluten and dairy.  It's just healthier that way. We used the mediterranean vegetable soup from the love life range at Waitrose for our lunch, which has no preservatives, wheat or dairy.


The great thing about this is it makes heaps so in keeping with our saving you time theme too, you can reuse for another meal the next day or freeze for later in the week.

Vegetable Soup
(Serves 2+) 
 


To start you will need:

  • 1 x 600g container of Mediterranean vegetable soup (or 1 x 600g container of vegetable or chicken stock)
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped garlic 
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 3 medium size carrots
  • Half a red cabbage
  • 3 baby marrows
  • 1 x 250ml cup of fresh organic peas (organic frozen peas are also fine)
  • 2 x 250 ml cups of organic curly kale (swiss chard or spinach is if you can't get kale)
  • 1 large freshly squeezed lemon
  •  4 tablespoons of organic extra virgin cold pressed or cold extraction olive oil 
  • Add 50-100ml of water to stop soup from getting too thick
Optional: 
  • Add 2 tablespoons of finely grated or chopped ginger (highly recommend)
  • Add 1//2 chopped free range chicken breasts with ground cumin and oregano sprinkled on (cook in separate pan alongside with the herbs face down first then add to soup)
  • Add two chopped mushrooms


Directions:

Empty contains of Mediterranean veggie soup or vegetable or chicken stock into large pot on medium heat. After washing all the veggies, chop them into small cubes and add to the pot excluding the curly kale. Harder veggies should be added first like carrots. Then add the garlic, cumin and cayenne pepper. After 3-5 minutes lower the heat and stir the pot a few times. Then add the freshly squeezed lemon and stir again for one minute and remove from heat.

Before serving add the the raw kale into your 2 soup bowls, then pour the hot soup over and add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin cold pressed or cold extraction olive oil.

Any leftover soup is also great cold for lunch the next day with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil.

Bon appetit! 



Why you should eat it: 
Kale is high in calcium, iron, potassium and vitamins A, C, E and K. It is crammed with fibre, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phyto-chemicals, making it great for cancer prevention and strengthening your immune system



We would love to hear what steps you are taking to live a healthier lifestyle or what you thought of the nutty fruit porridge so please leave a comment below. 

See you for dinner. x



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