Detox Soup

I don't know about you guys, but when someone asks if I'd like to go out to eat for a meal the answer is always yes.

This has become quite a problem as of late, what with traveling every other weekend and business functions sprinkled in between.  I've begun hitting the snooze button more and more each day, feeling sluggish every afternoon and finding every excuse for a quick catnap.  

It. Has. To. Stop.

As much as I love indulging in the finer things {and the utterly ordinary, such as my main squeeze Cracker Barrel - don't ask questions}, it's time for me to come to terms with the fact that eating sodium heavy and fat laden foods at various restaurants daily does not have a positive affect on my health.

In order to redeem myself I made one large batch of Skinny Detox Soup, courtesy of Skinny Mom, which helped get me back on track.

{Note: I cut the recipe in half and added a teaspoon or so of turmeric and a few shakes of cayenne pepper. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't follow recipes!}

Fingers crossed that I can hop right back on the healthy bandwagon. And just in time for the holidays, when we all {or is it just me?} become just a wee bit too indulgent.

Bean and Pasta Soup

I'm usually just not a soup kind of gal. But the first recipe I made during my "week as a vegetarian" was soup... and it was absolutely perfect.

I made this soup on a cold, rainy Sunday. It's not like I had anything else to do anyway in that unfortunate weather.

Disclaimer: Don't let the ingredients intimidate you,

this recipe is super easy and hard to mess up.

Ingredients:

1 onion

5 carrots

4 celery sticks, leafy greens reserved

1 bunch of mustard greens

4-5 tbsp olive oil

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 can great northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup white wine

6 cups vegetable stock

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 lb orecchiette pasta

salt and pepper

What to do:

Chop up onion, carrots and celery into similar sized, small pieces. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add in chopped veggies. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cook until beginning to soften, about 4 or 5 minutes, then add white wine.

Allow white wine to reduce slightly, about 2 minutes, then add beans, stock, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Add tomatoes, pasta and mustard greens to the pot and stir. Cook over medium heat. When pasta is ready, mix in chopped celery greens.

When ready to serve, remove bay leaves, thyme and rosemary sprigs from pot. Top with grated parmesan cheese (this is the most important part!)

It's funny because the week after Thanksgiving I cooked a very similar recipe using all of the leftover turkey, but this one turned out so much better. I promise, you won't miss the meat at all!

Sarah