I had a yen for soup (my cold day comfort food) this morning, so I hauled whatever came to my hand out of the pantry and fridge onto the kitchen counter in preparation for my creative soup party.
Unfortunately I got curious and read the label of the chicken soup stock I had recently purchased. No names here but I HIGHLY recommend you read the labels of every food you buy that has a label. And if you’ve been buying it for years, read the label anyway. You might be surprised. I was surprised today – in a bad way – when I discovered that there was rice flour, SUGAR, and yeast extract – a substitute name for MSG! ARGH! I mean, chicken stock just has chicken stock in it right? This was organic chicken stock too … sneaky so and so’s! And while rice flour and sugar are not so horrible, I don’t want them in my foods. And so many people are sensitive to MSG; for a listing of other names to look out for click on the link in the Small Print Notes.
Now I’m too practical or miserly to throw out the stock, and instead, surrounded the ingredients I didn’t like with other amazing ingredients and created a scrumptious hearty soup.
After you’ve checked out the brands that have simple ingredient lists, try the recipe below:
Wholehearted Chili Soup (all ingredients are organic)
- 1 L chicken stock *see Small Print Notes
- 1 L vegetable stock
- 2 cups black beans*
- 2-3 yellow banana peppers (the hot kind, maybe Hungarian?), chopped*
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- ½ celery bunch, chopped
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 8-10 Roma tomatoes, chopped, or a can of diced Roma tomatoes
- ½ bunch Lacinato kale thinly sliced
- 1 heaping tbsp Mexican chili powder
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder OR 1-2 tbsp Que Pasa Organic Chipotle Salsa (adjust amounts to your taste)
- 2 tsp cumin
- A sprinkle of dill
- 1 scant Tbsp Himalayan rock salt or sea salt*
Put all of the stock in a big pot then add everything else, basically in the order listed. Bring it all to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or so – until the carrots are al dente. Turn the heat off and let the flavours meld for another 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings if you need to.
Simple, fast, filling and filled with nutritional yumminess. Enjoy.
Small Print Notes:
* I get the low sodium kind (when I don’t make my own) so I can add a higher quality salt when I choose. You can also use only vegetable stock, if that’s your preference.
* I buy dried organic beans then soak, cook and freeze extra for days like today. Why? It’s cheaper and less impact on the environment.
* The chilies are from my garden and I lost the name tag. They are hot but not too hot.
* Use less salt if the stock you’ve chosen is salted!
* An incomplete list of the Nutritional Yumminess:
Black beans: a good source of fibre, protein, B vitamins and trace minerals
Garlic/onion: a good source of fibre, B vitamins and trace minerals
Carrots: a good source of fibre, Vitamins A, C, K
Kale: a good source of Vitamins A, B, C, K, trace minerals
Tomatoes: a good source of Vitamins A, B, C, K, trace minerals
* Alternate names for MSG: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
If you liked this recipe, there are more great soup recipes in my Recipes For Loving the Body You’re In cookbook. Click here to buy or for more info.