Looking for a delicious, nutritious meal? Then look no further than soups. They come in all types and flavors and are quick and easy to make from scratch in your Vitamix! As always, we’ve got some great tips to ensure your soup-making experience is the best it can be.
Prep Time
Prepping your food is a great way to cut down on time in the kitchen (and the grocery store). Before you shop, look at recipes you’d like to try and notice which ingredients are repeated, and buy those in bulk. After shopping, clean and chop the ingredients per the recipe, then roast or sauté them to bring out a more complex flavor.
Once they’re thoroughly cooked, put everything on a sheet pan and place it in your freezer, stirring the food every 10-15 minutes until frozen. Then divide everything into freezer bags and label them by recipe name, so you can find them quickly. When you’re ready to make the soup, just take the packet out of the freezer and and allow it to thaw. Add the ingredients to the Vitamix container with some stock and blend for about 6 minutes. Most Vitamix blenders can heat soup using just the friction of the blades.
Spice it Up
If it’s money you want to save, consider making your own spice blends—it’s cheaper in the long run than buying store-bought jars. An added bonus is that you can create blends that suit your taste with no artificial chemicals, additives, or excess sodium. Just like the prep work above, consider buying and creating your spices in bulk so you’ll always have them on hand.
Make it Yours
Another nice thing about making your own soup is that you can ensure the ingredients fit your lifestyle. For example, if you’re looking to lower your fat and calories, replace some of your heavy cream with skim milk. For dairy-free diets, simply use non-dairy milk or cream, including nut, soy, or oat. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, substitute vegetable stock for chicken or beef.
To Your Health
One of the best things about soups is their great nutrition profile. Some of our favorite soup ingredients are packed with nutrients including:
- brown rice:dietary fiber, magnesium, manganese, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, and selenium
- buckwheat:copper, dietary fiber, magnesium, niacin, potassium, phytonutrients, and protein
- dashi(Japanese broth made with dried edible kelp called kombu, bonito fish flakes, and water): iodine, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C
- kale:calcium, carotenoids, copper, dietary fiber, flavonoids, folate, iron, manganese, phytonutrients, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin K
- legumes (beans, peas, lentils):varies but generally dietary fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and protein
- quinoa:copper, dietary fiber, folate protein, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc
- spinach:calcium, dietary fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin E
- sweet potato:beta-carotene (converts to vitamin A), copper, dietary fiber, and manganese, niacin, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin C
Regardless of which soups you choose, making them from scratch with your Vitamix definitely beats store-bought! If you want more ideas, please check out ouronline soup recipesandSimply Soups cookbook.
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