My Go-To 10 Minute Creamy Vegetable Soup

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup is a Good & Filling Staple to Keep On Hand

If you open my refrigerator at any given time one of the standby staples you’ll see is some sort of vegetable soup. My whole family is big into eating vegetables (fruits too!) and I find that having a big pot of vegetable soup that is ready to eat makes eating vegetables so much more convenient. And the more convenient you make your vegetables to eat, the more you’ll actually eat them.

You Need To Eat A Lot More Vegetables Than You Think…

Did you know the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the American Heart Association and the United States Department of Agriculture all recommend adults eat at least 7 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day? That’s a whole lot more than the average person even comes close to eating! In fact, statistics show that excluding potatoes, Americans only consume about 5 percent of their calories from fruits and vegetables. You can change those statistics—and dramatically boost your health in the process—simply by eating a big bowl of vegetable soup every single day. Of course you’ll need a few vegetable soup recipes to start. This vegetable soup recipe below is incredibly easy to make so it’s a good one to start with.

Go-To 10 Minute Creamy Vegetable Soup

Serves: 6-8

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean’s brand)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 or 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• Unrefined sea salt, to taste (such as Real Salt)
• 1 package (10-ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 package (10-ounces) frozen butternut squash, semi-thawed
• 1 package (3.5 ounces) shitake mushrooms
• 3 to 4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Pacific Natural Foods brand)
• Juice and pulp from 1 whole lime
• Dash of coriander (about 1/2 teaspoon), optional

1. Heat the extra virgin coconut oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté briefly, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and carrots. Sauté 2-3 minutes, or until just tender. Season lightly with salt to taste.
2. Add the spinach, butternut squash, shitake mushrooms, vegetable broth, lime and coriander. Simmer 5-6 minutes (or until mushrooms are soft.)
3. Use a hand-held stick blender to process vegetables into a creamy soup (alternatively you can wait until the soup cools and then transfer it in batches to a blender and process until smooth and creamy.) Serve warm.

**Soup will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator stored in a covered container.