Two years ago I began a real soup journey. Much like finding your soulmate and the right career for you, soup has been quite fulfilling in many, many ways. And good news! The journey never ends!! I figured it was time to A. give you an update on where I am with my “soup journey” and B. Reshare the original post because too many of my friends are texting me, asking for recipes that are all clearly written in this post and is just a google search away (hint hint – bookmark this post:)). Here goes, it’s been 2 years since my 2019 JanSTEWary, but it really all started three months prior, in SOUPtember, obviously (you may remember SOUPtember, CROCKtober, STOVEmber, DecemBROTH and yes now we are again in JanSTEWary .. it keeps going). Well, I’m happy to say that two years in I’m just as in love with soup as I was, if not more (rarely do I even buy broth these days, making all my own). Even when I’m not being healthy in other ways I still make 2-3 soups a week because I enjoy the act, the lack of cleanup, and the result – both the taste of it and how my body feels (when I say soup, think Stew – these things are HEARTY and filling – see below). Sometimes I’m more extreme (now) and have a different soup every day and sometimes it’s just a supplement or reset when I’m indulging (over the holidays). If you didn’t read this the first time around and you are rolling your eyes at this (I get it) please keep reading. This isn’t a weird LA thing – it’s a healthy vegetables and protein thing made in the most comforting way possible, easy to digest, with a one pot cleanup under an hour.
“But do your kids like soup?” this is the #1 question I get when I Instastory one of my soups and I totally get it. At first, no, but I found a pretty awesome hack that I’m going to shoot this week and post next weekend. They still won’t eat some of them (and I honestly don’t blame them, some are pureed spinach with beans and broccoli) but the chicken and beef ones (and the mulligatawny, curries, and chilis) they are fine to eat (no not celebrating, but fine). Birdie LOVES helping me make them and it’s become our thing, but even when she doesn’t I put on an apron, listen to a podcast or portal with my friend. It’s so relaxing. At this point, I can make some of my favorites with my eyes closed (maybe that should be the video), but while I’m prolific (I produce A LOT) I still haven’t become a great cook mostly because soups are so forgiving, most other recipes are not. Brian can attest to that, but that’s ok. He’s GREAT at everything else. Me? Just soups (and salads). So here is the original JanSTEWary post and if you guys are into it I’ll show you the soup hack I do that is super easy and gets the kids to eat it as well.
If you are curious about my favorite cookbooks and tools here they are:
Favorite cookbooks: Clean Soups – by Rebecca Katz & Mat Edelson and Eatingwell Soups: 100 Healthy Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food by The Editors of Eatingwell
Favorite New Knife: Five Two Essential Knife
Favorite Cutting Board: Epicurean Nonslip Slate Cutting Board
Favorite Pot: Still on the hunt and would LOVE your recs
Also here are all of the soup related posts I’ve done so you have them in one easy to find place: A Vegan Chickpea and Roasted Cauliflower Curry Soup | Homemade Bone Broth & Chicken Meatball Veggie Soup | Fast & Simple Veggie-Packed Vegan Pho | Roasted Tomatillo Shredded Chicken Soup Recipe | 11 Easy & Healthy Slow Cooker Meals Your Kids Will Love (We Hope)
I’ve changed. I discovered how fun and relaxing it is to cook and at 39, I’m a new woman. For anyone who is about to stop reading and likely never come back, I promise that brand new design content starts all next week, so don’t worry. But it’s the first week of the year, and it’s natural to look inward and try to “be your best self.”
But meanwhile, I have to address how my life has changed for the better since September, or I should say SOUPtember. So, here is the story…
I had hit bottom in terms of how I was feeling on my insides over Labor Day/my birthday so I wanted and needed a reset. We had spent 10 days with friends on vacation and I just felt so unhealthy and my body needed nutrients, vitamins, and less processed foods, sugar, alcohol, etc. So naturally, the answer was ONLY EAT SOUP. Soup in the morning, soup in the evening, soup at supper time. Instead of grabbing crackers and cheese for a snack, I warm up a small bowl of soup. And these soups did not have any grains, starch, dairy or gluten, just vegetables, broth and lean protein.
Before you freak out at how weird and boring it is, you have to hear me out: this is truly the easiest and most satisfying change I’ve ever made in my eating habits, and more effective than ANYTHING I’ve ever tried. I hesitate to call it a “diet” because it truly is more than that, it’s my new lifestyle. Essentially, it’s a way to only eat vegetables and protein without sugar or dairy which we all know is generally what we should be doing in life, but eating it in the form of soup is far EASIER and more satisfying than it sounds. Not sold yet? Hear me out.
Here are the benefits of soup (as per my years/weeks of expertise):
- Soups can be SO hearty. The ones I’ve been making are so loaded with lean proteins and vegetables with richness and depth, and after a huge bowl, I’m FAR more satisfied than I am with a huge salad. I normally add WAY more vegetables than the recipe calls for and my goodness, it’s so filling and these veggies are full of texture and crunch…we aren’t eating a bowl of mush, I promise.
- You can meal prep. I joked that “soup is the salad you don’t have to make again and again.” Unlike the always popular salad, a soup can be made the night before and it stays good for days so it’s SO much easier to bring to work and warm up. I make a big pot of soup and eat it for every meal ’til it’s gone, then I make a new one. It’s not normal, but it’s so easy. I don’t have to think about it. I don’t have to wonder how I’m going to have a healthy lunch. It’s just me and my soup.
- They are easier to digest. Soups have cooked vegetables, therefore, they are so much easier to digest than salads (for me). I was SHOCKED at how my body reacted. No digestive issues AT ALL, if you know what I mean. Raw vegetables can be hard on your tummy and bloat or give you gas, but cooked is at least what my body wants. You get all the nutrition without the side effects.
- Soups are EASY to cook (generally). All you need is a cutting board, knife, pot and spoon. The chopping can take a while, but otherwise it’s all in ONE POT. You aren’t juggling a million sauces on different burners. Just one. August Emily would be SHOCKED at how good of a cook I’ve become and it’s all thanks to soups.
- Soups are naturally lower in calorie. I’m not talking clam chowder, of course. Avoid anything cream-based, but if you make one of the soups we are recommending, they are simply full of vegetables, lean protein, and water. Yes, there might be some avocado oil or olive oil, but it’s just straight up nutrition. My goal was not really to lose weight, just feel better. I cannot stress that enough here. I don’t actually have a scale but all of a sudden all my clothes were fitting differently and what was tight around the tummy was no longer. I’ve always carried weight there but all of a sudden, 10 days in, it was gone (it’s back now, but will be gone soon).
- There’s tons of variety—trust me. There are a million types of soups so while you might think “aren’t you sick of soup yet?” the answer is NOPE. I’ve only started to enter the world of soup recipes.
- You have a ton of control over all the ingredients. Obviously, we aren’t buying canned soup here, it’s just fresh vegetables and lean organic meats. That’s it. No dairy. No grains. No gluten. You feel like a good person when you cook like this.
- Soups are full of water…so A. it fills you up fast and B. you are drinking more water than you usually do. Again, no big cream-based soups and I’ve really stayed away from the chili world. Most of my bases are either chicken broth or tomato-based.
To be fair in September, I also didn’t drink for a month (with the exception of one cheat night for our anniversary) and ran probably 3-4 times a week, so all my friends were like “uh, it’s not a secret why you feel better…you are just super healthy” but I’m telling you, it’s never been this easy or fast. And in CROCKtober when I went back to more normal habits, I kept it off just by keeping up my soup habits.
Now, after taking the last six weeks off from being healthy (not working out, drinking too much over the holidays, eating crackers and chips all day) I’m so excited to get healthier again, but I will say that I normally feel WAY grosser after New Years and I think the reason I don’t feel so unhealthy is that I was still eating more homemade soups than anything else. But yeah, I miss my SOUPtember body (inside and out). Like most vegetable/protein-based diets that eliminate processed foods, carbs, and sugar, of course, it’s going to work, but by making it in the form of soups, I LOOK FORWARD to each meal and I actually ENJOY this life. I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I don’t make eyes at bread as if it’s an ex-boyfriend that I crave to be with. I’m perfectly happy eating my healthy ass soup (I will miss my wine, however).
If you’ve made it this far in this post, thanks for sticking around, but I’m not just talking about the brothier me for the sake of blabbing about soup. Enough of you asked me (like every day, I got so many DMs on Instagram) for recipes when I started storying about my soup journey (or telling me they thought I looked leaner and asking me how I lost weight), so it’s time to start sharing…it all started with SOUPtember. Then CROCKktober, then STOVEember, followed by DecemBROTH and yes, we are finally into JanSTEWary.
I wasn’t the only one on this lifestyle change. Sara and Arlyn at the office also started souping (to feel better inside, but also to prep pre-holiday for what was to come). So we are going to share with you our FAVORITES and then starting next Saturday, we’ll post a new healthy and hearty soup on the blog every Saturday for you to try with us the following week (and of course we are wanting your recommendations, too). For today, I’m going to share my go-to that I’ve literally made again and again and again, followed by a handful of some of Arlyn’s that she made while adopting the souping lifestyle (that she also used while doing a fall Whole30).
30 Minute Turkey Meatball and Kale Soup via Savory Lotus
Okay, so…my #1 favorite soup was inspired by THIS recipe, but I’ve tweaked it and now made it probably 12 times over the last couple of months. I’m so proficient, I don’t even have to look at the recipe anymore.
I do have to mention I’ve tweaked it to my liking, and while the original recipe is great, here is how I doctor mine up:
Add sauteed sliced mushrooms and celery, as well as spinach. For the meatballs, I sometimes chop up extra spinach to sneak in some more veggies (kid-friendly!), add in dill, oregano and thyme to the ground turkey, and use bone broth instead of chicken stock (it gives it a heartier, richer flavor). Arlyn suggests drizzling a little olive oil atop the soup once it’s served with a shake of red pepper flakes, but if you don’t want to add any extra fat, it’s great without it, too.
I’m going to save the rest of my favorites for the weekends like I promised, but to get you started on your soup odyssey, I’m going to hand it over to Arlyn to share six of her dairy-, grain-, sugar- and soy-free soup recipes that she promises she cooks all the time for her and her picky husband (with her notes).
Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup via Eat Yourself Skinny
Hi guys! I’m so excited to be talking about soup…wait…have I been brainwashed?
Anyhow, say hello to my favorite insanely easy and healthy weeknight soup. The first time I made this soup, I really didn’t have high expectations. Like…it’s just chicken and kale and broth and some veggies. But I’m telling you, it’s INSANELY fast to bring together (as long as you use a rotisserie chicken or pre-shredded roasted chicken), really satisfying and somehow feels nearly magical with the combination of turmeric, red pepper flakes and…everything else that comes together. The chickpeas make it filling, the mushrooms give it really nice texture, OH and use bone broth for extra richness. I’ve played around with this (adding nutritional yeast, hot sauce, and other add-ons) but it’s pretty solid as-is.
Simple Lemony Chicken & Spring Veggie Soup via The Cozy Apron
Sometimes, you just want a soup that’s light, fresh and you know won’t make you feel like an overstuffed trash bag of a human. This is that soup. I’m pretty sure I skipped the leek every time I’ve made this and it was still great. Not sure how this would fare with picky kids because there are a lot of green things floating around here, but I bet you can swap out most of these veggies for whatever you/your household prefers and it would still be great. The lemony broth will not be stopped by your decision to ditch the zucchini in place of broccoli. It’s a fighter. The quinoa rounds out the whole thing to make it a full meal and filling.
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili With Sweet Potato via Paleo Running Momma
During my September Whole30, I made this soup about three times (that and slow cooker buffalo chicken dip over sweet potato…life changing), and I have to admit, it turned out differently every time I made it and I can’t figure out why, but overall, it was a solid addition to my go-to list of “what on earth do I cook this week without making my tight pants even tighter or going broke” solutions. Definitely use bone broth if you can (it makes it richer and more complex than regular broth or stock), and if you can’t find a white or Japanese sweet potato, it would be just as good with regular sweet potato. If you make it as-is, a bowl of this yummy goodness (which is less of a chili honestly and more of a soup) is dairy-free, sugar-free, and grain-free (which sounds like a snore-fest but I promise it’s super yummy…once you double the nutritional yeast).
Easy Thai Shrimp Soup via Damn Delicious
I remember when I first made this for myself and DH, he said “this tastes like it could have come from a restaurant”, so I knew it was a winner in his eyes (funny how home-cooked meals are top rated if they could have come from a restaurant, while restaurant food gets a gold star if it taste homemade, oh the ironies of life). I think you could easily swap out the rice for riced cauliflower and butter for ghee (to make it Whole30 approved), but as-is, it’s super simple, comes together in under 30 minutes (if you’re a fast prepper/chopper), and satisfying.
Gluten-Free Zuppa Toscana via Noshtastic
Another Whole 30-approved soup here (i.e. dairy-, sugar-, grain-, and happiness-free). Okay, it’s not happiness-free because this one made the cut for this article. I’m more of a pasta e fagioli girl myself, and I will never deny my love of Olive Garden’s soup, salad, and breadsticks combo, but buttery logs of bread soaking up heavenly, narcotic-like dressing are absolutely off limits during a tortuous totally doable month-long healthy eating stint. This lady freezes really well, so I usually make a big batch and then parse it out into one-serving containers for easy meals when I don’t have the will to even glance over at my knife block. I’ve always used curly kale, but I think dino kale (the darker, bumpier but straight variety that looks like, well, a dino could have noshed on it) might actually be better. FYI for any newbie Whole 30ers, Pederson’s makes a pretty rad sugar-free bacon (I get mine at Whole Foods when I’m feeling rich, obviously, or Sprouts when I’ve brought myself back down to earth).
Heart Vegetable & Beef Soup via I Heart Nap Time
Okay, I really love this soup. This is not a soup that leaves you starving in 20 minutes. This is a soup that pulls its weight as a stand-alone entree. Sometimes, the potatoes go rogue and thicken it up while it sits in the fridge before I eat leftovers the next day (I just add chicken or beef broth before heating up), but overall, it’s pretty low-maintenance. I tend to OD on the balsamic vinegar (I exaggerate all spices and other flavor additions when I cook because I never find what a recipe calls for to be enough), which renders down into a super yummy flavor. And DO NOT SKIP THE BASIL. I did last time and it just fell flat. The basil at the end makes this pot of richness totally sing. I’ve never tried this with anything but ground beef, but I bet it’d still be pretty yummy with ground turkey or chicken. Give it a whirl, because this one is a winner for all (except vegetarians).
UPDATE: So many of you commented this morning that we didn’t provide any vegetarian options, and we happened to be cooking up a vegan Zuppa Toscana for lunch during our editorial retreat. All the vegetarians on staff went back for seconds, so it definitely got the seal of approval. Sara drafted up the recipe to share with you below. Take it away Sara:
There are a LOT of “Zuppa Toscana” recipes out there. But they all kind of have the same base—onions, garlic, red pepper, broth, a leafy green, and an Italian sausage. I’ve been making this soup for years now, and I don’t follow a specific recipe anymore. To be honest, I switch it up a little every time I make it based on what sounds good or what I have in my fridge. Sometimes I use spinach instead of kale, sometimes I make it creamy (traditional style) but sometimes I keep it spicer and broth-y, the list goes on and on…
And this time I’ve made it super hearty and totally VEGAN (vegetarians and vegans, we heard you, and we have a lot more veggie soups coming your way in the upcoming weeks). It’s kind of like a good chicken soup or chili, after you make it once, you can make it again and again, a little different each time.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 bunch green kale (de-stemmed and torn into small pieces)
- 1 can coconut milk (1/2 this to keep it lighter, or sub 1 can light coconut milk)
- Two large carrots, chopped
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup potatoes, chopped
- Two heads chopped garlic (or as much garlic as you want, I will use two tablespoons minced sometimes)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (for sautéing)
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Juice of one lemon
Sauteé onion, garlic, carrot with salt, pepper, garlic powder, red chili pepper, and dried herbs until onions are translucent and soft. Add veggie broth and bring to boil, add potatoes and let simmer until potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes). Add coconut milk, mix in. Add drained cannellini beans and kale, and bring to a boil for 5 minutes (until kale is tender). Finish with lemon juice and garnish with red pepper flakes if you like it spicy. If you’re not vegan, add some cooked spicy Italian sausage. If you prefer a softer green, swap spinach for kale. If you want a lighter soup only use half a can of coconut milk, or use 1 can of light coconut milk. No matter what you do, it will be delicious.
Okay, back to Emily…
Before you do anything else, be sure to pin the above image so you can refer back to this post. It’ll save you on a Sunday morning while you’re meal planning for the week!
So, all I really have left to say for today is…welcome to #JanStewary. Absolutely make sure to follow along on Instagram Stories, use the hashtag to share your favorite recipes (and throw them into the comments, too!) and please come back on Saturdays during January for more of our tested and approved (and modified) soup recipes. Happy souping everyone. xx
My husband just commented that he gained a bu chi of weight over the holidays. Your post inspired me to start trying your soup recipes. I look forward to future soup posts!
So glad you posted about this! I have been so bored of my go to foods lately, and I think some soups would be a game-changer for me. All of these recipes are perfect…thank you for sharing!
Great post! If you added in some healthy grains and starches (potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) and scaled back on animal proteins you’d lower all kinds of health risks and be even more satisfied! After reading lots of long standing science based research I know why people joke about vegans being so vocal, they’ve got it right! I’ve been working towards more whole plant foods and it makes a remarkable difference in weight, blood pressure amd sugar, cuts cravings, even has improved my mood!
Seconding this. Healthy grains are our friends too!
How does swapping butter for ghee suddenly make a recipe dairy free? rofl
Ghee is butter with the dairy solids removed.
It is not 100% dairy free but contains only a low concentration of lactose. You can’t clarify the original butter state to remove all diary from it.
You can’t remove any dairy from butter. Ghee is still 100% dairy. It’s just low in lactose.
So it’s (close to) lactose free. It’s still literally 100% dairy.
I thought the EXACT SAME THING.
Ok so then it should be called LACTOSE free.
Thank you for sharing! Do you have any favorite vegetarian recipes?
I would also love to see some vegetarian recipes! (Melanie, FWIW I really like A House in the Hills’ “Sweet Potato, Kale and Corn Chowder” – it’s really thick and comforting. Also Alison Roman’s “Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric” – spicy but lots of flavor).
forksoverknives.com
Cookie and Kaye (blog and cookbook) has a ton of vegetarian, whole foods recipes. I’ve never had a bad recipe from her!
I second the call for vegetarian soups!
Just remove the meat. Voila……
forksoverknives.com
+1. Where are my vegetarian soups!
Deborah Madison has many great vegetarian soup recipes. She has quite a few cookbooks that are delicious and vegetarian
This is best soup! It is vegetarian, healthy and freezes well: https://www.101cookbooks.com/instant-pot-minestrone-soup-recipe/
This carrot soup is one of my faves and freezes SO well – https://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2013/09/carrot-soup.html
Emily will be posting a great veggie recipe today on Instagram stories, and come back next Saturday for one!
Cook’s Illustrated has a Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup (2008) recipe that is vegetarian. It uses a few slices of bread as the thickening agent, so as long as the bread doesn’t have any animal products, it’s potentially vegan as well. It’s also the best tomato soup I’ve ever had! It’s very fast and easy to make. Use a stick blender and it’s even easier.
Look at forksoverknives.com They have hundreds of plant-based recipes! And I have made quite a few of them. They are good!
Such a fun idea! I sometimes struggle to find enough variety in vegetarian soups to keep it interesting, but this is inspiring. One of my favorites is the “Lemony Lentil Soup” from Gimme Some Oven.
Rachel | http://www.rachelstriving.com
I am sooo here for this. Thank you!!
Ruffage causes me stomach problems too and I definitely need ways to sneak more vegetables into my diet so this is great, thanks!
This is fabulous and so timely! We are doing a soup January or now adopted Janstewary starting this Sunday. This will make it even easier. Thank you!
It’s a bummer your recommendations are so meaty. Would love to see at least one veg soup.
I was hoping for a vegan one. 🙁 maybe you could take one of these and just leave out the meat. or replace the meat with beans/chickpeas.
check out forksoverknives.com
Well maybe she’s not vegetarian. Why do the soups on HER blog have to conform to YOUR dietary preferences? That would be like Emily going on a veggie blog and demanding a soup recipe with meat in it. Sheesh, she doesn’t have to tick every box here.
A friend once told me, while I was complaining about ground turkey being dry, to substitute ground chicken and it’s true!!! Everything is more delicious! Going to try out these for lunches— notbsure i’m On the soup fro breakfast train— but never say never!!
Another thing you could try is dark meat ground turkey. Can be harder to find but much more flavorful and less dry than ground turkey breast!
Totally agree, we started using ground chicken rather than ground turkey (or ground beef, except for burgers or meat loaf) and it makes a huge difference flavor and texture wise. Never been able to find dark meat ground turkey.
Curious if you make your own bone broth or buy it? If store bought, any brand recommendations? Thank you!
Trader Joe’s has great organic broth in shelf stable boxes.
If you get it at the store, it may be labeled as “stock”. Stock and bone broth are the exact same thing. I don’t know how it ended up with 2 names, maybe different culinary traditions?
Also, I can’t do anything hard in the kitchen, but I did once make my own poultry stock (I didn’t have enough of either turkey or chicken bones, so I put them all in). Is was actually easy, just had to put it on low on the back of the stove and leave it alone. Make sure you have some large containers ahead of time. I had some ice cream buckets from berry picking, but today I would use my Cambro vertical storage containers. It turned out great even though I didn’t know what I was doing. And made great soups for me until I ran out. I should do it again, but I keep forgetting to tell my mother in law not to trash the bones when I roast chicken.
I’m in love with this! So glad you finally shared!! You had me at Souptember but now I’m very excited for JanStewAry. Because I live with a carnivore, I am most interested in the recipes that involve meat, like the one at the top of this post. I know this is not a food and fitness blog, but I’m also curious how you started running since I haven’t in many moons and would like to start running again (I guess that would make a good weekend post?).
I go through spurts of loving to run and usually get back into it by using the C25K app! It’s so easy to use with headphone use during running and takes a plan of three 30 minute workouts a week for two months to get to 5K distance!
Ok. A few thoughts 1) I’m so glad you posted this because the past few months i’ve been wondering why you look so darn….good. Your face and legs look so thin (thin before…but now just…tight? God tell me i’m not sounding weird). Also just glowy, yup you’ve got that soup glow. 2) soup is awesome. I live in MN and it is cold most of the year so soup is a staple for me. However….it’s usually just as an addition to a meal or for random meals. I too over imbibed over the holidays after clean eating and yoga-ing my heart out for 6 months losing 10 pounds i’ve put on 4! in 3 weeks?! Ugh. Doing soup January as soon as I get back from a work trip next week. Thanks for the inspiration!
sidenote: never took the survey because it was glitchy and I forgot to go back to it. While I LOVE all your design stuff, posts like this speak to me too.
Would love to know store bought recommended bone broths.
There’s a recommendation here from a blog about bone broth/soups that I like https://fearlesseating.net/store-bought-broth/
Just received this cookbook for Christmas and your post has encouraged me to get started on my own souping journey to a healthier lifestyle. Thanks!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114104-the-soup-cleanse-cookbook
I’m a huge soup lover!! That first one looks so good!
This is great!! Wish you guys had posted some more vegetarian options but very inspiring nonetheless; thank you! Also btw ghee is made from butter and isn’t dairy-free.
Do you have to prepare separate meals for the kids?
This is my question too. Are Brian and the kids eating all soup too or are you making them something else?
Yes I was wondering the exact same thing! Some insight into how you incorporated this into family meal prep- maybe juggling soup prep & separate meals for kids? Would love to hear about that!
Looks great, thanks for these recipes. On an aside, ghee is just clarified butter, so it’s not diary-free.
Does your entire family eat the soup or are you cooking a separate meal for the kids?
I am curious about this too! My husband and kids are less than thrilled with most soup, but I could easily eat it several times a week.
I’m so excited about this! Can’t wait for Saturdays.
Haha Crock-tober! Please visit that one as well! Nothing can match the joy I feel all day when I know I’ve loaded up the crock pot that morning. Arriving home at the end of the day to that delicious aroma, knowing that a healthy, delicious meal my family will love is just sitting there waiting for us…ahhh! We can usually get two or more meals out of one recipe. And on evenings we’re all going a dozen different directions it’s warming there for people to eat as available. I vote crock-pot cookery as MVP!
Thank you for this roundup! I too have been craving soup because it makes me feel better, and I think I’ve convinced my family they’re actually good too! Another one we really like is the healthy cheeseburger soup from IowaGirlEats. It’s a creamy based soup, but the “cream” is provided by cauliflower. My family had NO clue it was good for them.
For a kid-friendly soup, here is one that I use often: https://www.skinnytaste.com/cauliflower-leek-soup/print/
Thank you! Our youngest maaay be finally inching her way out of an anti-veg phase, but I still have to be careful. Always looking for dishes someone else already experimented with!
I just made this lentil stew to kick off the new year and it was delicious! I didn’t use potatoes and used my hand immersion blender right in my instant pot to simplify steps.
https://pinchofyum.com/the-best-detox-crockpot-lentil-soup
I made this also over the holidays. It’s hearty, delicious and great if you have a vegetarian in the crowd.
Veggie soup week please!
I love this! Looking forward to soup Saturdays – am exited that this both is NOT replacing design content during the week, and that we now get a weekend post to look forward to!! Since I meal plan on Saturdays and cook on Sundays, it’s like this was meant to be 🙂
Sensational, thanks for sharing!
Very clever after yesterday’s post of seeing you look so great and healthy………getting us thinking, wow whatever Emily is doing, I want to try.
They look great, doing the turkey meatball soup tonight.
Thanks for expanding my view on soup!
Ps Excited about the sat extra soup posts!
Regular rotation soups…tomatoes, leeks, fennel, potatoes, saffron, chickpea, cod, mussels.
Or puy lentils, celery, carrots, spinach, broth and herbs.
Yum.
Very very excited about this. Glad you’re recommending bone broth too – so nourishing, flavorful, and healthy for the gut. This is TRULY healthy advice, not just fad diet-y. Can’t wait to see the other soups you recommend!
I’m so excited to try these recipes!! I too am a devoted soup eater during the cooler months. It warms you up from the inside out and I find that it improves my health overall with all that brothy vegetabley goodness.
The only problem is that after a while it feels like i make all my recipes taste the same, so I am so glad to have some new recipes.
Thanks!
How do you manage feeding the kids? Are they eating soup too or doing separate meals for them? That’s what always trips me up when I try to eat cleaner – I just can’t count on my kids eating what I’m eating, and I don’t have time to make two dinners!
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this! I just moved to a cold climate from Texas and all I want to eat is soups. Then I noticed your metamorPHOsis (see what I did there?) and have now jumped on board the soup train. You are radiant! You look amazing and it’s clear you feel good, too! Now, if only I was making these soups in a gorgeous mountain cabin… what’s the latest on the vacation giveaway…? Asking for a friend.
That lemony chicken soup looks fab!
Here is my absolute favorite go-to soup/stew that only has a handful of ingredients, but still is filling and healthy! I saw it on Earnest Home Co blog a few years ago and have been making it consistently ever since. Comes together very quickly.
http://www.earnesthomeco.com/kale-sausage-white-bean-stew/#more-13310
Will you please share the recipe for slow cooker buffalo chicken dip?! Need that over a sweet potato immediately.
Here you go: https://www.realfoodwithdana.com/slow-cooker-buffalo-chicken-dip-whole30-paleo/
Honestly, over a roasted sweet potato with a little drizzle of paleo ranch and more Frank’s red hot is INSANELY delicious. Mind-blowingly good.
yes! I want that recipe as well.
This is all very inspiring. I’ve been longing for a way to easily lose the 5 lbs I’ve put on…. Question for Emily – so do Brian and the kids eat this too? My 3 year old is a good eater but still won’t touch anything with sauce or complex textures. I’m wondering if you’re now offering two meals per night?
I’m making this one tonight: https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/01/lentil-soup-with-sausage-chard-and-garlic/. If you skip the pecorino (which I won’t) it would fit your parameters. I’ll let you know how it turns out, but her blog is awesome and rarely lets me down!
YOU WILL LOVE THIS SOUP. We make it all the time. The sizzling garlic oil is a must! Do not skip it. Use the lesser amount of sausage called for in the recipe. Kale is a nice sub for the chard or a way to add some variety if this soup gets added to your rotation.
Kale in soup is the best!! I love buying it fresh when I remember to for a specific recipe, but having a bag of chopped frozen kale in the freezer saves the day ALOT!
Thanks for this post! Combined with the comments it’s a gold … Platinum! … Mine!
Any recommendations on best bone broth with the best health benefits? Are all bone broths created equal?
I am SOUPer excited to try these recipes! My family hates when I make soup…and always complain that a little bacon would make it so much better, but too bad. These look delicious!
Argh, still no design. Real question: is this meant to be a transition to a lifestyle blog? Because it’s not what I loved about the blog before and came here for. Find myself checking less and less often. Totally appreciate the writing and thoughtfulness, but feel like this blog doesn’t know who it wants to be anymore. Or maybe I am just too rigid in my desire for design (design defined broadly, but does not include water and soup) 🙂 I might just no longer be in your desired reader base.
It’s still technically a holiday week, relax!
She said at the end of the post that this was a New Years kind of post…that in future, soup posts would be on Saturdays, and that next week begins new design content posts. I’m with you in not wanting the blog to go lifestyle-ish, but it sounds like this was just an introduction to a weekends-only thing.
I could live on soup, though.
Ha, interesting! I’ll probably check out a few of these recipes so thanks. I have a bunch of food restrictions because of health issues so I cook virtually all my food from scratch and I do love a good soup/stew in winter. My 2 year old who is not a picky eater as far as veggies or anything, hates one pot meals for some reason unfortunately! She will basically not eat dinner whenever there is a one pot meal but doesn’t seem to mind going to bed empty so I still make them ;-P I live in the San Diego area and so I’m super curious to see how you like cooking soup come summer… For me it is so much less pleasant to turn on the stove or eat hearty stews for half the year.
Love this post and the recipe links/descriptions. Printing a few for my meal planning this month!
I’m typically not a hot beverage person (which translates to soup as well) but some of these look delicious enough to reconsider my soup-ban.
Like pretty much most people in the world for the New Year, I’ve vowed once again to eat healthier and loose weight to feel better. Maybe adding in some veggie/protein heavy soups will help add some variety to the potential boredom of non-carb laden foods 🙂
Thanks for some great recipes!
Yes! I love soup for the exact reasons you mentioned. I already bought the ingredients for two pots of soup this week but I’m going to check out some of these new recipes. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the soup fans.
Thank you EHD team! Exactly what I was looking for to get aboard the soup tureen. Chew-chew!
The Garlic Broth recipe (ie simmer some garlic in water) from Bon Appetite is an AMAZING soup base and stand alone broth https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/garlic-broth. You’d think it’d be too garlicky but browning the cloves and simmering it for 40-60 mins mellows out the flavor. Love adding in a ton of hearty veggies and some braised chicken thighs for a sick day chicken soup.
OMG!! This is everything but not a balanced diet…. Folks, it’s crazy!!! Soup is good. Vegs are good. But ONLY SOUP?? It is def one-sided so not normal/healthy….. and everyone is euphoric about this silly diet…. can’t believe…..
Only soup is great… when you are in prison.. or sick as a dog….
I’m w/ ya on this. 🙁
Agree – I love making and eating soup and it is definitely a lunch staple for me, but when you are eating the same soup 3x a day for several days, we are talking about something different. Better to get variety in your diet and spice in your life! Even if you were to to make a nice roast chicken and veggie side for dinner. I know essentially it’s the same ingredients, but eating soup 3x a day for an extended period of time sounds unhealthy for the soul.
YES! And its not sustainable long term. In 100 degree July this is really the ONLY thing you’ll eat. I find this really silly as well.
Oh, thank you for saying this! I like the look of a lot of these recipes, and winter is a wonderful time for soup! But, um, eating soup three meals a day, esp. as a way of managing your weight, is not a great long-term plan. Yikes. There is lots of science to support the notion that diets of any kind do not work in the long term (and anything that restricts you to one kind of eating–just soup! no carbs! all carbs! whatever! is really a diet). Just maintain a fairly balanced diet and get in some cardio/weight training more days of the week than you don’t.
Recipes you love are great to share, but faddish diets really aren’t. (And, not for nothing, but if women spent 1/10 the time they spend obsessing over their bodies and food on anything else, we would change the world.)
Was waiting for someone to bring this up. While I’m definitely on board for these recipes, living on soup only is not healthy and is bordering or disordered eating. I legit had friends with eating disorders that did stuff like this.
Yeah – this soup diet is bizarre. It’s even weirder on a blog that I thought was about design.
Haha well i’m Interested in the recipes to add to our repertoire of foods we make or for easy work lunch but lol no, I would not do soup for every meal 🙂
I agree and am so glad that people are raising this issue. I am a soup fan too – I love lots of different foods. But soup for every meal is definitely a fad diet/not sustainable or healthy. Sharing recipes is fine but promoting this diet is very irresponsible. Anyone who gets excited about eating the same meal 3 times a day, forever, really needs to question their relationship with food. Disappointing, and I reiterate -irresponsible-move from Emily here.
Also, not only the nutrition side… but the whole digestion starts with the movement of the jaws… if we do not use our jaws for what they were created (bite, crush etc.) it influences our whole digestive system – in a bad way…. People! Use your common sense!
Digestion starts with our brain first, and then our jaws 😉 If we were to use our common sense, we wouldn’t eat soup all day and then take pictures of it and posting online 😉 I can’t wait for the Fish Eye soup recipe.. yummy!
Thanks for saying something. I was just scrolling through, wondering if I’m crazy or is this a crazy restrictive diet. While eating soup can be healthy, ONLY eating soup is going down a path toward disordered eating tenancies. I love this blog but it makes me uncomfortable that dieting is going to be a major focus here now. Because this is a diet. Restrictions on what you are eating = diet.
I too have been wondering, and debating whether to say something. Look, everyone has the right to their own bodies. But publishing photos of extremely slender women, combined with enthusiasm about soup and soup and soup, does make me think of disordered eating. I suffered from an eating disorder when I was in my 20s, I know people who would eat this way as part of trying to diet themselves into extreme skinniness. Also, for context, I am slender now myself, but, I eat a LOT of solid food. Carefully. So I’m in no way against people trying to find ways to eat for health, ways that help them inhabit their bodies happily, but consuming nothing but hot liquid in order to avoid eating is a real thing.
I do not of course have any certainty that that’s what is happening here, but, it’s a concern.
Thanks for saying this. I actually emailed Emily about it on Friday because I just felt like I needed to say something. I’ve been thinking about it more and more and this blog post does a really good job of distilling what I find particularly concerning about this whole promotion of “souping” thing:
https://christyharrison.com/blog/the-wellness-diet
Totally agree, and I stopped myself from commenting last week but I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds this post troubling. I worry that Emily seems to be unhealthily fixated on her appearance/weight and this type of post reminds me of the messaging that I see all over instagram about diet teas, meal replacements etc. Cutting out grains, dairy and only eating brothy soups for months on end sounds disordered. At the very least, it does not sound healthy for the mental state.
I love this! I just commented to my husband last night that our bowls are always in the DW because I make so many soups. In fact, I went to pin this page and decided to create a new board devoted to soups. Excited to see your recipe recommendations. And this may be the inspiration I need to start a new habit… thank you for sharing your journey.
Hot tip for soup experimenters: (for non-chili type soups) squeeze lemon juice in at the very end for a nice flavor boost. It makes the soup brighter and adds a great depth of flavor.
Yes! That is one of my favorite tricks, too! Thanks for mentioning.
I’m excited for this! I already have a few new soups I am trying this week.
One of my favorite healthy soups (vegan too) is zucchini basil….
Cut up a pack of zucchini (about 4)
Cut up 4-5 garlic cloves
Saute with a little olive oil
Add preferred carton of broth
Simmer untill veggies are cooked thru
Add in a large package (trader Joe’s sized) of basil
Wait till basil is cooked thru and use an immersion blender
Add salt and pepper as needed
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this post! I love this whole concept and am so excited to hear more about the recipes you and the team have been cooking up!!
Also, this is my go-to soup/stew! IT’S SO GOOD!
https://domesticate-me.com/smoky-chicken-stew-butternut-squash-kale/
Love this post! I lost a lot of weight over the last few years and I definitely think eating a lot of soup helped. My husband loves it and I love it, and you’re correct — it’s the easiest way to get lean protein and vegetables and just feel cozy! Most of my soup recipes come from SkinnyTaste.com, but I’ll definitely try some of the ones above.
My favorite soup discovery of all time:
https://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/
I love this blogger’s recipes in general – they are almost always awesome!
750 5-star reviews for a lentil soup, you know it’s gotta be good!
Thanks for sharing!! This was perfectly timed for me and I think is an inspiring way to start the blog for the new year.
What about beans/lentils? Was the plan mostly paleo (no legumes)? I love this idea.
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. I am inspired and also really look forward to more vegetarian options. Guess what’s drastically improved my eating habits since October? An air fryer! I’ve only used it for veggies so far, and it does not give them a traditional fried finish. It’s more like roasting them in the oven. It’s just easier because it turns on with a touch of a button, takes abt 10 min, and turns itself off. No waiting for something to pre-heat, and nothing gets burned/ruined if you don’t take it out right away. I just toss veggies (pre-washed green beans, broccoli, etc – I’m not chopping first) in some avocado oil and salt and they are delicious. As I’m starting to get hungry for dinner at night I now have a snack of air fried veggies while I’m trying to figure out what to make. Game changer and it’s working well for my kids too. We get our veggies first and get to delay dinner a bit. Win win.
That sounds brilliant! Out of curiosity, which one did you get? Thx!
I’m so excited for this post and look forward to trying all of these recipes. Thank you for this exciting change of EH scenery and keeping things real and interesting. I’ve commented this before, that I’m not in sync with your design posts but when you post personal things (relationship, mom issues, and now food!) then I’m all ears!
I love a good soup! I need to add more to my regular routine!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Love this. “SOUPtember. Then CROCKktober, then STOVEember, followed by DecemBROTH and yes, we are finally into JanSTEWary.” So good!
This is an awesome post! Thank you for sharing!
This is awesome. My boyfriend and I are doing our second Whole30 and he literally just said last night that we should make a soup/stew every week. We practically make the “Whole 30 meatball/tomato soup” that is in one of their books every week so switching it up to some of these tried favorites is something I’m totally pumped for! Thanks Emily!
Love me some soup but I cringe at any comments about limiting fat in all of them. I feel like it’s slowly but finally starting to get mainstream that fat is very good for you. I learned this the hard way when I was getting my degree in dietetics in the early 2000’s when everything we learned and preached involved low fat and calorie counting. That is strictly how I ate for over a decade(would even eat toast dry when someone offered it to me) and yes I was thin and looked great but now I am 39 and that “healthy” low fat diet has caught up to me and I feel like my skin has aged way more than it should have and I have health issue after health issue. People you need fat to absorb nutrients and protect your cells! I’m not talking about processed fats here. But yes that means many oils are good for you and yes butter is good for you and yes that means even heavy cream is good for you too. So if soup is going to become your go-to for meals(which I think is fantastic) just please don’t be afraid to add fat to some of them, learn from my mistakes and your body will thank you down the road!
These are my favorites!
-Creamy Crockpot Lemon & Chicken Kale Soup – I prefer this on the stovetop, (I like my kale with a bit more life to it.) https://aiplifestyle.com/creamy-crockpot-lemon-chicken-kale-soup/
-Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup – I’ve used milk in it to cut the fat, and gluten free flour
https://damndelicious.net/2015/01/10/creamy-chicken-mushroom-soup/
-Black Bean Soup – this is great if you hate beans, you puree them! I add spicy italian sausage & can of spicy tomatoes too. I drink more water when my food is spicy! https://www.honeyandbirch.com/3-ingredient-black-bean-soup/
-Golden Soup – not for everyone but it’s good and tastes so healthy. https://pinchofyum.com/golden-soup
-Sausage Potato & Spinach Soup – https://damndelicious.net/2014/10/29/sausage-potato-spinach-soup/
-And a tip, if you have picky eaters or have texture issues (hello celery & onions), I puree the onions & grate carrots in my food processor in bulk and then freeze. Really makes soup prep go smoothly.
UGH. If I wanted to read about food, I’ll go to the food channel.
These all look so good but just wondering if you still eat them in summer, asking for we southern hemisphereians ?
You read my mind Emily! I was just telling my husband we needed to do more healthy soup dinners and I needed to search for new recipes. I need search no further! We want to reset after the holidays for sure and I want meals I prep ahead of time so we can eat family dinners with my 15-month-old daughter when we get home from work but before her early bedtime. Can’t wait for the weekly recipe!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!! ignore the soup haters/designONLYdesign people. I so appreciate this post, and have been waiting for it. Actually coming back every ding dong day waiting for a soup post. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Can we have a recipe tab or a recipe “room” up in here?
I triple love you guys!
We were all invited to comment on this site. Can we not label others with differing opinions haters? Just a thought.
This Tuscan bean soup is crazy good and easy! I’m not sure I can eat soup for every meal but I do love the convenience of it! Such a great way to eat healthy at work. https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/easy-tuscan-bean-soup/
This is awesome. My boyfriend and I are doing our second Whole30 and he literally just said last night that we should make a soup/stew every week
طراحی سایت
This soup is a favorite. It has a flavor profile similar to thai coconut milk soups.
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2015/sep-oct/recipes/almond-butter-chicken-soup.html?utm_source=forecast-enews-092518&utm_medium=emailm&utm_content=chicken-soup&utm_campaign=DF&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURsbU16VXdOemc0T1RaaSIsInQiOiJBZmNxSnVnTGxxRUk3T2NnXC8wY0Ntbj
You eat a bowl of soup for breakfast? I get the lunch and dinner part, would be easy and tasty, but just not sure I can jump on a hot bowl of soup bandwagon first thing in the morning.
I used to find cooking relaxing and then I had kids…
Anyone looking for vegetarian soups should check out soupruary.blogspot.com (yes it’s an ol’ blogspot site but still one of my go-tos!)
I’d also like to nominate the name Soupruary for next month 😉
I wish my husband agreed that soup is a worthy dinner option. I’d be up for soup a couple of times a week if that were the case.
I lost a ton of weight freshman year by eating mostly soup!
Just made the turkey meatball and kale soup following Emily’s recommendation of adding spinach, celery and mushrooms and OMG–divine!!! The only change I made is I only used 1T total of coconut oil for both browning the meatballs and sautéing the vegetables just to keep the fat/calories down. Also, just used chicken stock (not bone broth) since that’s what I had on hand. YUM. Can’t wait to try the other recipes!
Great post! Can’t wait to try some.
Love your shoes…what brand are they?
These sound delicious! I can’t wait to try them! Thank you, I look forward to another year of enjoying your blog.
I’ve never been much of a fan of broth and veggie soups. I kinda hate soggy veggies. But that Thai soup looks awesome!
This feels like disordered eating disguised as soup love.
I love soup as much as the next girl, so to each their own, but dang. I’m surprised an entire post was dedicated to this.
I agree. This made me sad. Many of these recipes sound delicious, but soup for every meal is disordered eating. I’ve struggled with food issues since I was 11 and this isn’t sustainable, unless one becomes obsessive. I don’t like being negative, but I want to provide honest feedback.
+1
Arlyn, that Thai soup looked so delish I had to go get the stuff to make it tonight for dinner. Yum yum yum. I slurped the last drops out of my bowl… and my second bowl. Oh and yes my kids ate every last spoonful too (or POSSIBLY they had Totino’s Party Pizza instead, I can’t remember).
Thank you for sharing!! You seriously saved me a ton of time searching Pinterest for new soup recipe ideas, because like you, I too am tired of the sugar/processed food/grains make me feel.
So this is perfect timing as my doctor literally told me yesterday that I should try some slow cooked foods because they are easier on your gut. (I have some food sensitivities that I’m trying to work out, speaking of happiness-free eating!!!) As I was reading this though, I wanted to add my recommendation for you to try:
https://cookieandkate.com/2014/redeeming-green-soup-with-lemon-and-cayenne/
I add more lemon and cayenne than it calls for, and sea salt, but it’s really yummy and really healthy!
I have been waiting for this post!!! Thank you I’m ready to get soupy!
Wanted to share, I made this yesterday and myself, my husband and my 4 year old kid all loved it. I think I could eat it every week. The turmeric, the apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes….so good.
Chicken Detox Soup
https://www.aspicyperspective.com/chicken-detox-soup/
Thank you EHD team for your post on soups…Soups and stews are the best!
I also loved reading all the comments, they are hilarious.
But, all that aside, lets get to the most important part…..I want your shoes Emily (the black ones you have on in the picture )
Please share where you purchased them. Please and thank you!
I was thinking of doing VB6 – Vegan Before 6 – (based on the book by Mark Bittman the former NYTimes food writer). The idea is that you eat a plant based diet for breakfast and lunch, then incorporate meat into dinner. But, I’ve also been craving soup. And, I love the idea of the EHD team sharing their favorites.
Perfect timing! I start my new “job” next week taking care of my new granddaughter. I’ve committed 6 months to help out and decided I will make soup every Monday to help everyone start off the work week. Then I see this post!
The vegan Zuppa toscana – is that 1 can of coconut milk.? It isn’t listed in the ingredients.
This is great, but what are you going to do in summer? Is your family eating them for dinner, or are you making 2 meals?
Hi Em, I love this idea and would like to try it! I’m wondering if I can use my instant pot for these or any other recipes you have? It’s a much easier way to make soup, but you need settings- are you familiar?
Thanks!!
Thank you for sharing!! You seriously saved me a ton of time searching Pinterest for new soup recipe ideas, because like you, I too am tired of the sugar/processed food/grains make me feel.
طراحی دکوراسیون داخلی
No joke, I’m genuinely very excited about this and am going to hop aboard the soup train!
Remove the animal products and oil and you will eliminate inflammation-causing constituents. See NutritionFacts.org.
I recently had my life changed by 2 things: the instant pot (a spectacular Christmas gift), and soup recipes. This recipe wasn’t included, but I’m not kidding, it will change your life (also dairy/grain free):
https://40aprons.com/whole30-instant-pot-chicken-tortilla-less-soup-paleo/
I made it for a girlfriends rom-com movie night, since one of my friends is on Whole 30, and every person asked for the recipe (including all the ones who weren’t on whole30).
I could not agree more! I have been on the Noom program for several weeks, and they encourage eating soup, so I have been, and it has helped me, too! So I look forward to trying your recipes!
Your soups look so delicious. I love soups because they are very rich in nutrients.
I should try some of your recipes.
Ngumabi xxo | ngumabisglam.blogspot.com
Love this post – thx! Do you literally eat only soup throughout the month or is it just a lunch thing?
Can’t wait to try them all do you have a cookbook for soup recipes
I am so excited to see this! I’ve been hoping for a recipe Roundup! Yay!
Thanks for all these recipes. I’ve always loved soups and stews, but needing to add to my go too soups, as I kick in gear on a modified auto- immune diet due to a recent GI flare and “finally” formal dx of Celiac. I personally find I have two make two batches of soup at a time to rotate, or I get bored. Although I usually try to use similar veggies for each to reduce the prep time. I haven’t yet been able to stomach soup at breakfast. Not sure how you do it! I’m eating it for lunches and dinner and drink bone broth between meals for a pick me up.
I love the detox chicken soup recipe as well and have been making it for a couple winters now. I swap the chickpeas for enoki mushrooms sometimes and I swear they taste like noodles but better.
Just made the thai soup and it was sooo good! Thanks for the recipe!
That Thai soup recipe was, indeed, “damn delicious”. The hubs went right for it, and I reserved a bit of it before adding more curry paste to it so my three year old would gulp it on own. Delish! Thank you for sharing!
Emily! I love your posts and your blog. I’ve been reading for months. But I honestly have to avoid checking it as often as I want to because the sheer number of videos on the site make the pages so slow and laggy that it’s a struggle to even scroll down! I’m not sure what it is about your site in specific as I do fine with facebook and other social media, but I have to let your site sit for a solid minute before I can even try to read anything and then close out all the ads and autoplay videos. I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem, but it’s a drag because I love reading your content!
I sometimes struggle to find enough variety in vegetarian soups to keep it interesting, but this is inspiring. One of my favorites is the “Lemony Lentil Soup” from Gimme Some Oven.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love soup and I always feel good when I eat it. I also make huge pots of soup and eat it until it’s gone. I usually make a chicken and vegetable soup or beef and veggie. I am so thrilled with these recipes. I plan to try every single one. Looking forward to future posts please keep the recipes coming.
Are you making a separate meal for the kids? If so, what? Or, do they enjoy the healthy ass soups?
Soups great, please tell me about the shoes you’re wearing in the by the stove pic 😉
Thank you so much for this post and being so much more of a full human than just showing us the designer aspect!
I am lucky my daughter loves soup so making big pots of it is easy and really comes in handy during our busy week schedule. Thanks for the inspiration to make some new ones!
I love all your posts, and when I am not interested, which has only been a few time, I just skip it, easy enough!
Hey! I am a long time (like, Design Star long) reader and enjoyer of your work. I am so pumped to try some of these soup recipes!
One piece of feedback – your website has started taking SO long to load. With the ads all over (bottom, side, etc.), videos on the side, moving images throughout the post, huge photos – it’s just become SO much to look at, process, and load. I must say I miss the simpler days of a post, an ad (I get it! this is a business!), and that’s it. It’s almost too much to even come to the website anymore.
Thanks for all you do!
Soup for the win! Love this approach. I’m going to try.
This is one of my favorite soups, so easy and good. Search AllRecipes for: Slow Cooker Chicken Pozole Blanco
That turkey meatball soup
Is insanely good. We’ll definitely be trying the others. Thanks for sharing these!
I’m so excited about this series! My husband loves soup, so I have been collecting recipes over the years and I’m looking forward to checking out your favorite recipes. Not only is soup great for leftovers, it often tastes even better the next day after the flavors have melded and deepened overnight.
For a vegan option, please check out Cookie and Kate’s Best Lentil Soup – https://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/ I am not vegan, but I LOVE this soup – it’s so tasty but also very nutritious.
Like Emily, I always throw in extra kale to anything I make.
Oh my word, that meatball soup is SO GOOD!! Whipped it up for dinner tonight with your recommendations and may have a hard time not making it every week for the rest of eternity.
Hello everyone! I really really recommend the book “Soup for Syria”. Chefs and cookbook authors around the world share awesome recipes. It’s easy to make, the book is absolutely gorgeous and it’s for a good cause <3
https://www.amazon.com/Soup-Syria-Recipes-Celebrate-Humanity/dp/1566560896
Yum!! I’ve been doing the soup thing (mostly) all through the holidays and I’m feeling great. Thanks very much for the new soup idea and links to recipes! I was running out of ideas.
This is great, thank you! For all you veggies/vegans, I left out the meat and replaced it with tempeh, and substituted with our butter options for the shrimp thai soup and it was delicious! Don’t be afraid to deviate, and create your own variation!
This is a great grain free chicken soup. My teenager says it tastes like chicken pot pie, without the crust or cream, of course. I use a chicken carcass instead of a fresh chicken. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/poached-chicken-and-vegetable-soup/#
made the Detox Immune soup last night and it was AWESOME. don’t know if high quality chicken stock was the key, or was it the turmeric and red pepper flakes? but it was so flavorful and now i have lunch for 2 days. the 10 year old even ate it [minus the “green stuff”].
Thank you for this! It was just what I needed to motivate me to try & kick my holiday-induced sugar addiction & to eat better. I also do better with warm, cooked foods (rather than salads & smoothies) in the winter. So far I’ve made the Easy Thai Shrimp & the Slow Cooker Chicken Chili – love them both & my 10 & 13 yr olds did too.
For those asking for vegan/vegetarian options, this tomato soup is vegan and so so good: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/15-minute-creamy-tomato-soup-vegan-recipe.html (we make it with grilled cheese but still vegetarian!).
Also, a local vegan soup store does soup cleanses. Four soups a day for a week, and it really helps you lose weight and kick the sugar cravings. My husband and I have done it a few times when we were feeling sluggish and I’d totally be doing it now if I weren’t nursing. They just started shipping nationwide if you’d rather have your soup delivered than make them yourselves! (I’m not a shill, I just really love them I swear.) https://thesoupergirl.com/soupermeals/
I make all my own broths and it is a. super easy; b. insanely tastier than store-bought; c. super cheap. I throw whatever I have saved up (usually in the freezer unless I just made a roast chicken) in a crockpot until I decide it’s ready. I’ve heard pressure cookers and insta pots do a great job as well. You can distinguish veggie/chicken/beef broth if you like but I just mix it all together. Also, this is the same thing as bone broth. 😉
Also, a “whole chicken” soup works really well– just dump a chicken in a pot, cover with water, and cook till tender. you can then pull off the meat and add your other ingredients.
Excited for this new content! Does anyone else find that cooking meatballs in oil requires much more oil/fat than called for?
I was really disappointed and dismayed by this post. It seems utterly shaped and fueled by diet culture, disordered eating, and false assumptions about what being healthy actually means. It also seems to totally accept and champion a cultural narrative that women should take up as little space as possible. I’ll also add that I didn’t feel the same way about yesterday’s exercise post, probably because it seemed to focus more on listening to our bodies and using movement in ways that feel good (not punishing our bodies or necessarily trying to lose weight, although there were some undertones of the thin ideal there, too).
I encourage the EHD team to do some internal reflection on (and deconstruction of) the values and assumptions that are propping up this post. Maybe also do some reading on the intuitive eating and health at every size (HAES) movements for some new perspectives and sources of information on food, bodies, and health. There is freedom and empowerment on the other side of dieting, food rules/morality (this food is “good,” this food is “evil”), and the thin ideal. We can learn to trust our bodies again, rather than using this kind of restrictive, rule-based approach to food. I believe in you, EHD team.
Totally agree. Eating soups only reminds me of what a lot of us used to do in highschool/university when we were considered disordered. This is just so not in line with the amazing cultural shift I’ve been noticing – the healthy at every size movement, enjoying food and eating to feel good, and alleviating the pressure on women to be smaller even if it means rigid, joyless restrictions. This post just seems so dated – like something my mom would be trying when I was growing up. I also can’t believe you’re regurgitating the assumption that grains and dairy are bad for everyone – this is regurgitating harmful, sexist diet culture, NOT science.
If this is a popular post, it is unfortunately because women are always looking for ways to ‘fix’ themselves, and like other media, this post is capitalizing off of these socialized insecurities. What a disappointing example, especially for a 40 year old woman with a daughter. Don’t get me wrong – I fall prey to feeling like I need to be smaller ALL the time. But I would never promote the idea that that feeling is warranted, especially when this isn’t based on science or research you have done. Just that you have liked the feeling of being skinnier for a few months.
Yesss! How good is soup?! Also I’m loving all these punny names you’re coming up with! Can’t wait to see what February etc. are!
I’m loving this idea. Just bought a vegetarian cookbook “Love Soup” with some high hopes! Also feel like I might to be anxious with the question of WHAT CAN I EAT all the time. Thanks for the ideas. Also, thank you in advance for veg soups!
I’ve been saving this post and finally got to it. I’m in love with this. You don’t need to revamp/think about content. Just blog about soup. I’ll be here. <3
I made the Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup tonight, and it was soooo good! Best part: I have a lot left over to keep eating from in the coming week. And last week I also re-organized my closet using all your Target recommendations, so thanks from a fellow 39-year-old working mom of a boy and girl about the same ages as yours!
Hi,
Follower from Indonesia here 👋🏼
If you maybe want to try Indonesian soup, Soto : turmeric based Soup. I found an easy to follow recipe here : https://littlegreendot.com/reseteatclean-indonesian-chicken-soup-recipe/
I hope you’ll like it
Cheers
I like soup, too! And, bonus, it usually lasts more than a day, so I can cook fewer days per week! Here are 2 thoughts: 1. Noom, the weight-loss site, says that people who eat soup every day will weigh less than if they didn’t, no matter what kind of soup it is. 2. The site Forks Over Knives has great recipes for everything, including soups. They have a free searchable database of recipes.
I don’t need a fancy pan to cook soup. Never had an issue with any soup using my old (and not fancy) stainless steel pan with an aluminum base. I have made a few of the soups (and other recipes) you’ve shared over the past couple of years. Thanks for sharing again!
So lucky you’ve found your cooking niche! I wish I liked soup more. It’s good every once in a while and I have a few recipes I LOVE but I’m not that into all-the-flavors-in-one-pot dishes. I’m not big on casseroles or smoothies either. 🤷♀️
The only problem with soup dieting for me is that bread exists. It is a delicious monster that begs to be dipped in. I will inevitably eat half a baguette with a bowl of otherwise healthy soup.
I love this vegetarian slow-cooker butternut squash soup. My husband (who doesn’t believe that it’s a “real dinner” without a meat dish) and my 2 and 4 year old also love it- I serve it to them with some crunchy bread to dip (kids love to dip and that opens them up to a new flavor). I’ve shared it with so many friends we now just call it “The Soup.” It’s SO easy and the flavors are so layered and rich. I feel like a Nancy Meyers character when cozied up with a bowl and a piece of sourdough.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/slow-cooker-butternut-squash-soup-recipe/
Do you still soup for breakfast and lunch? I feel like you mentioned you were doing soup for all meals in your first post
I love this post! I hate to cook, but I love soup. I could eat it everyday. I going to make a concerted effort to make some these…and maybe even lose some of this quarantine weight. Ugh. I don’t know about homemade broth 😬, but anything possible! ❤️
I love soups as well and always try to cook at least one on Sundays so we can heat up for lunch throughout the week.
I make this one on a monthly basis, and everyone who I’ve shared it with has loved it too. I use a big can of crushed toms (the whole don’t break down as much and I am lazy), baby spinach instead of kale, and sometimes if I want to feel a little healthier I use chicken or turkey italian sausage (which is available at the meat counter at Whole Foods). https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sausage-lentil-kale-soup
I have been singing the praises of soup for my entire adult life. We are soup bosom buddies.