Do yourself one huge favor and make this Italian vegetable soup recipe. If you do nothing else to eat clean, just incorporating a bowlful or two of this vegetable soup into your daily diet will do wonders for boosting health and energy.
If you are trying to lose weight, our vegetable soup staple recipes will be your new best friends.
Clean Cuisine’s Italian Vegetable Soup Staple Recipe
Did you know soup is more filling and more slimming than salad? In a study published in the journal Obesity, a group of participants who enjoyed two servings of soup a day lost 50 percent more weight than those who stuck with solid food.
You can enjoy as much soup as you like, anytime you like! Eat it with breakfast or for breakfast. Have it as an afternoon snack, with dinner or along with your lunch. You can also substitute the soup for any soup recipe provided in the Clean Cuisine Challenge Meal Plans.
Although it takes about 45-minutes to make from start to finish, this recipe makes A LOT of vegetable soup, so you will have plenty of leftovers that should last at least most of the week. Store leftovers in a BPA-free container (we like Fridge-X Silicone Storage Containers by Xtrema).
Simple Stir-In Ideas for Your Vegetable Soup Recipe
A lot of times we eat our vegetable soup as-is sort of like a side dish. But sometimes we make it the main event (especially for lunch) simply by stirring in just 1 or 2 of the following ingredients and make it more like a minestrone:
• Frozen organic corn kernels, thawed
• Frozen organic petite peas, thawed
• Cooked quinoa
• Cooked black or brown rice (we like short grain brown rice in my soup)
• Boiled new potatoes
• Cooked barley
• Cooked millet
• Beans (all types, such as garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, black beans, etc.)
• Organic edamame beans
Italian Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale, trimmed and chopped (about 4 cups)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 leeks, white and green part, sliced into thin rounds and rinsed well
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Unrefined sea salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Italian Medley Seasoning
- 3 tablespoons almond flour
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 6 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 zucchini, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Juice from one whole lemon
- 1 large can (28-ounces) whole, peeled tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Pacific Natural Foods)
- 2 cups frozen cut green beans
Instructions
- Steam kale in a steamer basket for 2-3 minutes. Set aside
- Heat the oil in a large heavy non-toxic saucepan (we like 100% green Xtrema Cookware) over medium heat. Add the onion, leeks and garlic; sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until vegetables soften. Season with salt to taste. Stir in the Mrs. Dash Italian Medley Seasoning and almond flour.
- Add the carrots and celery to the saucepan. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until carrots and celery soften.
- Add the zucchini, thyme and crushed red pepper to the saucepan. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until zucchini softens. Season with salt to taste.
- Add the steamed kale and lemon juice and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your clean hands as you go, vegetable broth, lemon juice and frozen green beans. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Serve chunky as-is or use a handheld stick blender, we like this Cuisinart, for example, and process until smooth and creamy. Serve warm.
Carissa says
Hi Ivy,
I am just wondering if your Italian Vegetable Soup is also good for freezing. I enjoy making soups and freezing them in Mason Jars for a quick lunch on the go when time is short. Would this soup work for that?
Thanks!
Ivy Larson says
Hi Carissa! Yes, the soup freezes beautifully. I should have included that in the recipe. And I love your idea of putting them in Mason jars for a work lunch!
Carissa says
Yes. That is exactly the purpose. And the Mason jars are so convenient and cute! I froze what was left of my first batch after week 1 and am looking forward to taste testing it soon :-).
Ivy Larson says
Hi Carissa! oh good =) Please keep me posted on how you like it!!
Melody says
I’m just starting this journey! With three kids I’m trying to cook a huge batch of this soup and take it out as needed. Have you ever canned it in mason jars? Or frozen it and let it thaw? Is that just as good for you?
★★★★
Melody says
I’m just starting this journey! With three kids I’m trying to cook a huge bath of this soup and take it out as needed. Have you ever canned it in mason jars? Or frozen it and let it thaw? Is that just as good for you?
★★★★
Ivy Larson says
Hi Melody, Congratulations on starting the journey!!! I know it can definitely be a challenge in the beginning, but I PROMISE it does get easier. I really think you will find cooking in batches to be a HUGE time saver. I never thought to can it in mason jars, but that is a brilliant idea! You could definitely put individual servings in mason jars and that way just grab one each time you are ready to eat it (I am going to try that myself!!) You could definitely freeze it too if you wanted to make a double batch. However, if you make a single batch you shouldn’t need to freeze it because if you eat it everyday it will keep for a good number of days in the fridge. Please be sure to keep me posted on how things go for you as the weeks unfold. I can’t wait to hear =) Best of luck xoxo
Ivy Larson says
Hi Michele! Thank you SO very much for your comments and feedback. I am thrilled to know you are doing so well. And YES! That is super good news about your fiber intake 😉 I really am so glad you stumbled upon us. I will most definitely want to hear how things progress, so please be sure to keep me posted. I also really do appreciate you telling us about the “sign up in July” issue. We are right in the middle of redoing the entire website (which should be ready in about a week!) and I just sent over a note to the web guys about changing the date on the sign up page ASAP. Thank you so much for letting us know! That just slipped right through the cracks (sigh) Anyway, I really am just so happy to know how well you are doing. Thank you again for taking the time to let us know! –ivy
Susan says
Hi Ivy,
I’m a new subscriber and wonder if you have information/ research about Clean Cuisine as a way to combat persistent guttate psoriasis. I’ve had it for so many years and hope that it helps. Thanks so much for a great website.
Susan
Ivy Larson says
Hi Susan,
I am SO sorry for the lengthy delay getting back to you! We were on a one week cruise and I barely had any access to the internet and then it seriously took me a full week to catch up just from being so behind on everything. Anyway, I do know a bit about psoriasis and I sympathize with your frustration as I know it can be horribly stubborn to treat. However, depending on how severe it is, following the anti-inflammatory program we outline in the Challenge (and in our Clean Cuisine book) might be enough to get rid of it. However, it is important to follow the supplement guidelines! Be sure NOT to skip out on the omega-3 supplements (EPA/ DHA) and evening primrose oil (GLA). These are going to be VERY important for your particular condition. Also, it is super important to really increase your intake of fruits and vegetables (the daily green smoothie is a great way to “drink” your fruits and veggies!) Try to also make it a point to eat yellow/ orange fruits/ veggies that have carotenoids as these are also very important for psoriasis.
Also, I am not sure if you are familiar with the MTHFR gene mutation? This was discovered back in 2003 when they did the human genome project. It is way too much to get into here, but I have a hunch if you were to get tested you would find out you have it. You can’t do anything to change your genes, BUT lifestyle plays a HUGE role in how your genes manifest themselves. The MTHFR gene mutation basically means your body does not methylate—which interferes with how your body detoxifies itself. You can read up more on how MTHFR relates to psoriasis HERE. You could get tested by going to 23andMe.com (it only costs $99 to get tested) —-if you find out you have MTHFR you will want to be very careful to avoid synthetic folic acid (which is in many low-quality vitamins as well as in processed foods). If you follow Clean Cuisine and our supplement guidelines carefully you will be avoiding synthetic folic acid anyway, but in addition to avoiding synthetic folic acid you will need to make sure you get plenty of natural FOLATE (which is what is found in all the fruits and veggies we recommend!) You might also need to supplement with additional FOLATE (always get the ACTIVE form, such as this one) However, you can’t just start supplementing with folate if you don’t have adequate B12, and there is a definite protocol for supplementation for people with MTHFR. I would recommend getting tested first. In the meantime, you can safely start everything we recommend in Clean Cuisine (the book and the nutrition program) whether or not you have MTHFR or not.
Also! Reducing stress, not smoking, getting some sun and exercising are all very important. I hope this helps? Please keep me posted on how things go. I wish you the very best of luck.
Emily says
This was incredibly good! I have had a cold and wasn’t getting enough veggies. This was great!
Ivy Larson says
Awww, thanks so much for letting us know Emily! We SO much appreciate the positive feedback. Hope you are feeling better and that the cold has passed?
Liz Thompson says
Hi Ivy. I’m looking over the 1st week of the 8 week challenge and have a couple of questions. I can’t eat raw kale – what can I substitute for that in the salad? (I am a pro with the Lime Dill Detox Smoothie and I steam the kale and freeze it so I have it available to use in that smoothie.) When you say to use 2 parts fruit to 1 part oatmeal – does that mean before cooking? For example, 1/2 c. uncooked oats and 1 c. blueberries?
Ivy Larson says
hi Liz! I am so glad you will be doing the Challenge—and I LOVE your idea of steaming and freezing the kale for the smoothie btw!) But really, you do not need to use kale if you can’t tolerate it. I do wonder however if you might be ok with it if you switched to a more mild version such as the Dino Tuscan Kale? But, not to worry, if you have tried that and still cannot tolerate the kale then just switch to baby spinach. Baby spinach is a lot easier on your stomach. You might also look for my new all-time favorite green, Mache (also known as lamb’s lettuce) —it is a dark leafy green, but it is super soft and buttery and VERY easy to digest. It is so good I can eat it just raw with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt. Mache is also great for replacing any dark leafy green in smoothies. It can be a bit tricky to find, but I am seeing it pop up more and more lately.
As for the grain to fruit ratio I am talking about COOKED grains—so that would be about 1/2 cup cooked oats to 1 cup blueberries. You don’t need to be exact, just sort of eyeball it and keep it in mind. Mostly we are trying to get people to eat more fruit! So often people make a HUGE bowl of oatmeal and then slice a few strawberries on top and say they had “oatmeal and strawberries” for breakfast when what they REALLY had was oatmeal with a strawberries as a condiment 😉
I hope this all helps? Please keep me posted and let me know how things go. And good luck! =)
anne says
Hi I want to start this challenge but I have a few health issues and find the healthy vegetables and salads will not agree with my colitis any suggestions
Andrea says
Hello! I’m looking forward to making the vegetable soup, but I have to admit green beans aren’t my favorite. What would you recommend for a substitution?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Andrea,
Oh don’t worry about the green beans, you definitely don’t need to include them in the soup if you don’t care for them. The good thing about vegetable soup is that it is so forgiving that just about anything goes! You could try asparagus for a substitute for example, or even frozen artichokes that have been thawed. Or you could just omit them all together! Hope this helps?
Andrea says
Thanks Ivy! ps – I’m making the tomato soup this very moment!