You can do it, I promise!!!!!

(This soup should be labeled: “I ate too many homemade cookies and I need a healthy, cleansing meal!”)

Yes, this meal is riding the heels of a good old cookie binge.  Time to make up for the yummy, sugary, gooey, chocolaty, carbs!  Recipe coming your way soon for Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies……

In the mean time, I am on the quest for a meal to reinstate balance: Soup it is!  The reality of eating so much sugary, carby goodness is I need to check in with my intake for the rest of the day.   I am not going to cut out calories I am going to replenish with foods that build muscle, not…….the soft stuff!!

In order to get balance back in my diet I wanted something quick, easy, loaded with nutirents and delicious!!  A fast and easy broth based soup with loads of veggies and protein is the perfect solution to reset my equilibrium.

You say you don’t have time to cook up a satisfying, nutritious meal?  It will take you less time to prepare this soup than it takes me to type up this post!  Please don’t tell me when you are in the mood for soup you grab a can.  A can of over salted, mushy, tastes like metal can of soup.  You can do  much better than that for your body and your taste buds!

The nice thing about soup is as long as you have your veggies and protein prepped (remember Prep Time?) and ready to go, you just need to add handfuls of these ingredients to a bowl of simmering broth and roughly 5 minutes later you have a meal! You can make it as hearty as you want it to be.  You can add more or less protein, veggies, carbs and healthy fats.  Sprinkles of different spices can change up each persons bowl in an instant!

So put away that can opener and make yourself some soup!!!

Seafood Veggie Soup

(This recipe is sized per person)

Water: Depends upon how much soup you want to make, about 8-12 oz is good

A few ounces of your favorite Seafood or any other Lean Protein: Any Fish Fillet, Shrimp, Scallops, etc.

Chopped Veggies: anything you like, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Carrots, Green Beans, Swiss Chard, Brussels Sprouts, Peas, Asparagus, Zucchini, Scallions, Onion, etc.

Carb: Handful of Pasta, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Rice,  Beans

Broth Base: I like Better Than Boullion brand, Pacific Foods and Trader Joe’s have good ones as well.  You can use Veggie, Beef, Chicken, Miso, or Fish Stock as your base. Look for a broth that has no MSG.  Follow directions and add or decrease amount according to preference.

Healthy Fats: Top your soup with Chopped Nuts, Toasted Sesame Seeds, Swirl in some Coconut Milk, Freshly Grated Cheese, etc.

Spice: Each bowl can have it’s own unique flavor.  Garlic powder and Black Pepper are basics.  Some spice additions include: Cumin, Tumeric, Curry Powder, Chinese 5 Spice, Thai Seasoning Blend, Furikake (Japanese Rice Seasoning), Gomashio (Japanese, Sesame/Salt combo,) Hot Red Pepper, Chili Powder, and my favorite Smoked Paprika.  Look for spices with no MSG.

For Asian Spices, click here for an online market:

Pacific Mercantile Company

• Add boullion to boiling water.
• If you are adding Pasta or Rice and you don’t have any made, prepare it now.
• Add Spices and Veggies to boiling broth, if using Shrimp or Scallops you can throw them in too, adjust temperature to medium high.
• Cook until Seafood and Veggies are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• If using a fish fillet you can sear it up really quick.  Click here for my Pan Seared Trout recipe and apply it to whatever fish you are using.
• If you all ready have cooked Pasta, Rice or Beans throw them in to re-heat at the last minute.
• If you are using a Fish fillet lay it over the top of soup.
• Serve all in a large bowl, garnish with Chopped Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Spices, Minced Green Onion, Grated Cheese, etc.

Fresh Variations:

• If you don’t have any Seafood on hand you can use Chopped Organic Sausage, Roasted or Grilled Chicken, Mini-Meatballs, Tofu or Tempeh.
  • If you are using Chicken you have all ready cooked, just shred it and throw it in the soup mid-way through cooking.
  • Same with the other protein sources, cut them in to small pieces and add at towards the middle of cook time.

For the Kids:

• My Kids love their soup if I cut everything up in to really tiny pieces.  A bit of each flavor in each bite.  Make it easy for them to grab stuff on their spoon.
• Try using an Organic Alphabet Pasta, or some kind of fun shape.