Green and Red Soup

It’s that time again…a time for not necessarily a cleanse but a lot less calories and large portions of healthy goodness.  It is soup time!  I wanted a different type of soup, instead of my no-hold-barred throw it in a pot soup.  I wanted a cutesy themed soup…so here is my Green and Red soup.

My coworker who doesn’t need to cleanse or lose weight is constantly finding new ones to do.  I just kind of look at her and think, hmmm you don’t eat crappy so what exactly are you cleansing?  I would rather eat low cal / high volume foods then drink something that is just going to leave me hungry later.  You can get the same cleansing effects in a great soup by just tossing everything together and boiling!  Also for me, it is about the hand-to-mouth action so cleanses just do it for me if they are liquid.

Also, this is my first foray into a potluck-normally at family functions I just go and eat, which is so much better than having to think of something that everyone will like or hope to like.  Something that won’t gross most people out (ie tofu) and that I can produce and not feel like I compromised by beliefs for it.  Here I don’t have to worry much about the thought of it.  I joined the Virtual Vegan Potluck where it is all vegan everywhere-how great is that?

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It is all things green and red in this big ole pot of goodness.  All the spices and ingredients are green and red (except the vegetable stock) and I boiled my own beans again, mainly because they were left over in the cupboard and I forgot to by edamame and needed another bean.  *Rolling my eyes at myself* Also,  I used two ingredients I had never had before.  Red Rice and Chard.  The rice I just figured it tasted the same as normal rice but I saw it in the bulk-bin at Whole Foods and wanted to try it and it was also the inspiration for the soup.  The chard…well, I was looking for kale and the store didn’t have any (they had the little sign but the kale) so I grabbed the chard instead.  

This is one of those one pot wonders and only took two hours to cook.  I actually made it on a Friday when I got off early from work.  I started it by 2pm and it was done for dinner by 5ish.  Perfect.  This wasn’t even a hard one to get all in the pot either, not to many ingredients, it is really just a lot of cabbage and chard.  I am not a real cabbage fan, but I love it in soups!  Another great thing about soups?  Big pot of left overs!

Green and Red Soup, 13 servings

1 Container Vegetable Stock
1 C Red Rice
1 C Red Pinto Beans
2 Cans Red Kidney Beans
2 Zucchini, chopped
6 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Can Peas
1 Can Green Beans
2 Can Diced Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Basil
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Oregano
2 Tbsp Parsley
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Rosemary
1 Tsp Marjoram
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Medium Head Cabbage, chopped
1 Bunch Chard, chopped

1. Dump vegetable stock and rice in pot and turn on medium-high.
2. Pour dried pinto beans and enough water to cover by 2-3 inches into small pot and boil.
3. Chop zucchini and celery and drop into rice pot.
4. Open and rinse kidney beans and dump in rice pot.
5. Open and pour peas, green beans and tomatoes into big pot.
6. Measure and dump all spices into pot and stir.
7. Drain pinto beans and rinse; drop into big pot.
8. Cover for 30 minutes on medium-high.
9. Chop cabbage and chard and drop into pot.
10. Cover and stir occasionally for 30 minutes.
11. Take lid off and turn down to low for 1 hour.
12. Serve and enjoy!

Stats:
Calories: 196
Total Fat: .7g
Sodium: 805mg
Total Carbs: 38g
Protein: 10g