{clean} Veggie Soup

It's soup season in Indiana folks, whether we like it or not. Time to heat up the kitchen with some nutrient rich {clean} Minestrone Soup.  This is a great recipe for Meatless Mondays.  Do your health a favor and dump the meat each Monday of the week. It's a great way to jump start your week into making positive food choices.

If you can chop vegetables and operate a can opener you can make this recipe. Yes, it's that simple.

{clean} Veggie Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbps Olive Oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups Organic Vegetable Broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 zucchini, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 med golden potatoes, chopped
• 1 can {all natural} tomato paste
• 1 can {all natural/no salt added} petite tomatoes, with juice.
• 1 tsp ground thyme
• 1 Tbps fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1 can {organic} Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

1) Add oil and garlic to large stove top pot. Saute for 1-2 minutes on medium heat.

2) Add all ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook for 2 hours (the longer the better). Stir occasionally.

3) After vegetables have reached the desired tenderness serve and top with fresh Parmesan cheese if you please.

NOTE: I bet you could just throw this all in the crock pot, put it on low and walk away for 8 hours and it would turn out just fine. (add the pasta uncooked though) I might actually try this next time in the crockpot.

Feel free to add more or less of certain vegetables. I tend to double up on many to make a large quantity of soup to last all week long.

2012 UPDATE: I no longer make this soup with pasta. It is highly processed so I try to limit pasta to times when I feel it's really necessary (like with spaghetti) and even then I use spaghetti squash often for me instead of the pasta or mix 50/50.