Keeping the balance in life and in cooking is a crazy job

This vegetable soup with lentils and wild rice is going to make your balance game a little stronger!

Vegetable Soup with and Lentils and Wild Rice Soup

I looove soup! Soup is so versatile, it can be anything you want it to be. Soup can be cold, soup can be hot. It can be brothy or creamy, chunky or smooth. Whatever you are in the mood for you can find a soup to satisfy your craving!

When you’re busy it’s really important to find food that you can fit in and stretch throughout the week. I have become a master weekend food prepper, and soup is a huge part of my menu. I try to make one soup every week, and this one is great for eating on busy weeknights and for lunches. It is packed full of healthy vegetables, with a few grains and legumes for extra protein and heartiness.

Food Prep Zen – Find It!

To master the art of food prep you have to always be on top of what you have left in your fridge and freezer, and soups are a great way to use up extra veggies that you bought for other recipes. There are a few staples that I always have on hand, like onions, carrots and celery. These are the classic base for a soup, roast beef, or even chicken. In classic cooking circles it is referred to as a mirepoix, and almost every type of cuisine has some version of this – think of it as the basic flavor punch that you need to get a dish started. (Check out a great article on this essential flavor building step here.) This is a basic skill that you need to know if you want to make food tasty – and I know you want to make your food tasty!

I hope you enjoy this soup and the freedom that it will bring you this week. It can free you up at least one night in the kitchen and of course a few packed lunches… DONE!

Vegetable Soup with Lentils and Wild Rice

Servings: 8

Author: Laura

This hearty vegetable soup is fast, easy, delicious and chock full of healthy vegetables. Great as leftovers.

Ingredients

3 stalks of celery diced
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 medium to large zucchini chopped
2 cups lacinato kale (approx 1 bunch) stems removed and torn into bite size pieces
28 oz canned chopped tomatoes
1 oz container of vegetable broth
1 ½ cups wild rice and legume blend from whole foods (or sub ¾ cup wild rice and ¾ up lentils)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 dried bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme

Instructions

Add olive oil to a large soup pot.
Add diced onion, carrot, and celery to pot over medium high heat. Add a little salt and sauce until onions are clear.
Add diced zucchini, sauce for a few minutes.
Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, wild rice mixture, and kale.
Bring to a boil, then reduce soup to a simmer and simmer until the rice and lentils are tender. About 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Up your protein game. If you have some leftover meat this week you can easily add it to this soup. Some lean ground beef or turkey would be great. Or some chopped up chicken. Just brown the meat before you saute the mirepoix. If there isn't too much excess fat in the pan from the meat you can just leave it in the pan. If it seems like a lot remove some of the fat before adding the mirepoix. If you want to use fish, add the fish after the rice is cooked and simmer medium high for a few minutes or until the fish is done.

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