The Equation of My Soup — Packing it with Plant-based Power

Vegetable soups help me stay healthy in many ways, and I eat them year round. Sometimes, eating soup is harder when the weather is hot. But, I am never sorry I ate soup. Relegating soup to a winter-only food is one of the many unquestioned ideas that I have uprooted in myself.

This is an in-progress picture of the soup that I made. Now, the weather is in the lower 90s as I get ready to post this blog. Clearly, I do not have a sense of timing. Oh well, nothing new there for people who know me. Lol.

I recently ate a similar soup cold for 5 days when I did not have a microwave in my hotel room. I liked eating cold soup better than I thought I would. Of course, there are soups meant to be eaten cold. Still, I may have to repost this when the weather is cooler to show I can have a sense of timing. Ha!

Making and eating healthy soups have been a significant part of my success in my health, wellness, and weight loss journey.

I recently wrote a short post for Instagram / Facebook where I referenced making a large pot of soup to freeze into individual containers. And, in this post, I mentioned that I had used more than 25 different kinds of plants in it, and I was asked for the recipe.

I do not follow recipes. There are benefits and drawbacks to my approach. But, recipes cause me stress, and adapting what I have on hand suits me.  Instead, I use concepts to guide my cooking. And, I have gotten better at using the concepts over time.

Overall, I find plant-based cooking to be a forgiving form of cooking. Keep in mind that I am several years into this lifestyle. So, if you are just getting going, consider taking a concept and experimenting with it in small steps rather than trying to do too much at once. 

A significant part of my journey has been a deep dive into understanding my hunger drive and how I feel my best. Eating a soup like this is not something I would have done early in my transition into the plant-based world – for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, I am not sure it would have tasted good to me. But, my tastes have changed over time, and now soups like this taste great.

Still, seeing what others do helped me find my way, and seeing what I do may help you find your way.

Nutritional Diversity

There is powerful research that shows that eating a wide range of plants can change our health trajectories. Truly, when I changed my food, I changed my life. Most potently, I feel the results in my body and mind in every aspect of my life, all day, every day.

When I cook and prepare food, I use the idea that the more types of healthy plants that I can eat, the better off I will be. It turns out that this is a good principle not only for my weight, but also for my health and for satiating hunger. These are all connected.

Over time, I have learned that I feel my best when I have 20-40 different types of plants in my daily foods. This is a high number, but reaching that has happened more frequently over time – one small step at a time. And, getting that many plants in my diet does not require a high volume of each type of plant.

I should add that I often fall short of 20-40, but over time, I have hit that number more and more frequently. Lapsing for a few days doesn’t bother me. But, sometimes, I lapse for longer periods of times. When that happens, I start to feel out of balance, and the best thing I can do is find a way to add this nutritional diversity back in.

When I get off course, my action plan is always the same: eat plants and avoid processed foods. This is the self-talk that gets me back on track if I veer away from what works best for me.

Making Soup with Nutritional Diversity

Consider a vegetable soup and how many types of vegetables can go into a big pot of soup. Realizing this was a personal epiphany and led to my purchase of a big stock pot. That gave me the capacity to make bigger pots of soup and freeze more individual servings for myself. Stir fries offer the same possibilities – although I do not find them as satiating as soups. 

Each one of these containers yields 1-2 individual servings of soup for me. This is one way that I make my own convenience food.

I will be traveling for work next week, and I will take 2-3 of these containers with me to make staying on track easier.

I have also found it helpful to fly with frozen soups packed in a checked bag. The weight of food can add up quickly, so I am careful about how much food I pack.

A plant-based journey is as individual as the person undergoing it. I am not a person who enjoys cooking, so I am always looking for the easiest way to do what I need for my health. I like being able to make a pot of soup that yields 30-40 individual servings of convenience food.

I might as well make the most of my work and get as many kinds of vegetables into those servings.

To do that, here is what I do when I make soup.

• Add Frozen Vegetables:  I add as many frozen vegetables as I can because they are easy. To make this even easier, I keep the following bags of frozen vegetables on hand. Mixed vegetables of peas, carrots, beans, and corn work well. So do bags with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots as well as bags of mixed mushrooms (I typically use a mix of 4 types). Including a bag of each of these is 10 different types of vegetables and a quick win. +10 vegetables.

• Other frozen vegetables that I use in small amounts:  butternut squash, asparagus, okra, Brussels sprouts, spinach, and edamame: Add 6 to the 10 vegetables = 16. 16 kinds of vegetables and all I have done is open bags and pour them into my pot. Another quick win.

Note:  There are other types of frozen greens that I could use, such as kale and mustard greens. If I can find frozen kale, I use that. Otherwise, fresh kale is a staple for me, so I will cut it up and add it fresh. This time, I added fresh kale. +1 = 17 vegetables.

I can usually find frozen mustard greens, but when I first started this journey, I didn’t like them as much as other types of greens, so I have stayed away from mustard greens. I should try them again to add variety and to see if my tastes have changed. If my tastes have not changed, I should eat mustard greens regularly, and I will start to like them.

• Add Tomatoes in Some Form: I like tomato-based soups, so tomatoes fall into their own category:  Because I avoid salt, oil, and sugar, I typically use a variety of no-salt added tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste – whatever I have on hand. I love adding fresh tomatoes during harvest season but usually stick with canned tomatoes during other parts of the year. +1 = 18 vegetables.

• Add Onions and Garlic: From my perspective, these are both a must-add for both health and taste. If I have more than one kind of onion, I will add them. But, I usually just have one kind of onion, like I did last week. +2 = 20 vegetables.

Health Notes for Cutting Onions and Garlic:  I actually run my onions through my Vitamix with ice water, so they don’t get warm. I let them sit for 10-15 minutes before adding them into my soup. You can accomplish the same effect with chopping. 

The reason behind this is powerful. The chopping activates and increases nutritional compounds in onions, garlic, and other allium foods by breaking cell walls. These nutritional compounds are good for fighting and preventing illnesses, diseases, and tumors.

If you wait 10 minutes after chopping and before heating, the increased nutritional compounds will stay more stable in the cooking process and not be destroyed by heat.

• Add Peppers: I love peppers. Since processed seasonings bother me, I rely on peppers in my soup. In the soup I made last week, I used jalapeño, Poblano, and red peppers.  +3 = 23 vegetables.

• Add Fresh Vegetables:  I love purple cabbage, so I almost always add that to soup. I may also add other fresh veggies, such as Swiss chard, leeks, zucchini, and other kinds of squashes. Last week, I added purple cabbage and zucchini. +2 = 25 vegetables.

• Add Sauce or “Base” for Soup (I add this at the end instead of the beginning): I make a soup sauce to add to the flavor and to increase my likelihood of eating the soup :-).

  I typically blend a sauce in my Vitamix and then add it at the end of my cooking process rather than the beginning, partly because the sauce thickens the soup too much. The simmering of the soup becomes more challenging and I am more likely to burn it. Plus, I don’t want to worry about nuts at higher temperatures.

I usually save a can of tomato sauce or two for this part of the process, so I use less plain water that would dilute the flavor.

• Add a Few Nuts (and/or Seeds): I typically blend in a small amount of nuts to enhance the flavor subtly. Some people struggle with nuts and seeds as trigger foods and can’t have them, but I feel best if I have a few at each meal.

I typically use cashews because I like their taste in soups, but I was out of cashews. In my most recent pot, I used a combination of almonds and pumpkin seeds because they sounded good (and have been).

• Add a Few Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Since processed spices generally bother me, I look for other foods that add flavor. I like the flavor sun-dried tomatoes add when I blend them (getting these without added salt, oil, and sugar was challenging).

• Add A Few Dates: Similarly, I like sweetness in a tomato based soup.  I added approximately 6 dates for what will turn out to be about 30-40 servings. Like with everything, you could add more or less to taste.

I like to add frozen or fresh mango to my soup sauce to give it a subtle sweet flavor.

• Add Some Mango or Other Fruit: I also have discovered that I like a little fruit in my soups for sweetness and flavor. Mango is one of my favorites fruits to include. I usually use about 1-2 servings of frozen mango in my sauce blend.

Add to the plant count: almonds, pumpkin seeds, date, and mango. +4 for a grand total of 29 different types of plants in one soup.

Seasoning:  Use the seasonings that make the most sense for you. Because seasonings bother me and work as triggers, I generally stay on the plain side. But, many of my friends in the plant-based world have more fun with seasonings than I do.

Flavored Vinegars:  These work well for me, and I can get carried away adding them to my foods, so I stay focused on small amounts. In last week’s soup,  I used small amounts of several, including fire cider; jalapeño and lime; pear; basil; tarragon; and aged white vinegar, which is my personal favorite. I use what I have on hand and what sounds good at the time.

Fresh Herbs:  I would have added fresh herbs if I had them, especially basil. But, I didn’t. And, I was worried that if I went to the store, I would procrastinate making the soup. So, I used what I had. I probably should grow my own herbs, but I haven’t tackled that. I cannot handle one more thing right now, so that will wait.

Other Possible Additions

• Beans:  Adding in a few or several kinds of beans is also a way to get more plants in soup. Personally, I like having most of my beans separate from my soup, so I usually do not add any beans, or I stick with a small amount. Like any cooking endeavor, choosing what to add or omit is a personal preference. 

• Rice, Potatoes, Whole Grains, and Root Vegetables:  These are also personal preferences. Rice and potatoes are mild triggers for me, so I don’t have them on a daily basis. But, these could go into a soup, too. Another personal preference of mine is to eat most of my whole grains separate from my soup, so I generally do not add them either.

• Note:  Some people have to be careful about starchy vegetables and whole grains, especially if they are working to lose weight. For me, I have found that the addition of starchy vegetables is helpful in satiating hunger and that I eat less over time because I have whole grains / wet starches regularly.

  I should also note that I do not eat soup like this in large quantities because it is so dense. I often have a denser soup with steamed broccoli or another kind of vegetable. I have also taken soup like this to family gatherings or special occasions to have with baked or steamed potatoes, which I do eat on special occasions.

Adapting These Ideas

If you are just starting out in the plant-based world or are looking to increase vegetables in your eating, think about adapting the ideas on a small scale. Personally, I have been more successful when I try to make smaller changes over time.

There may be less risk and frustration in taking small steps to see what works for you (delving into a 29-plant soup was not something I personally could have done the first year or even longer into my journey). Small steps can be a great way to learn and then use that learning to build positive changes for yourself.

A great starting point may be to add a small number of vegetables to a recipe / food that you already like (even just 1-2 would feel good, and I know that from personal experience).

Or, consider experimenting with alternative ways of preparing or seasoning your foods, replacing a less healthy option with a more healthy option, such as adding a small amount of nut butter in place of dairy or cheese.

I Am Not A Cook (or a Crook)

I have to add that I am NOT a natural cook, and I hesitate to share what I do because there are others who cook in far more appealing and approachable ways. Yet, what I do works for me, and that could be helpful for someone else.

There are people who make beautiful plant-based foods and showcase both their foods and their recipes. Personally, I love the idea of cooking far more than the actual reality of cooking. 

This is one of my many messes in the kitchen. In this situation, my cover was not on tight when I started the blending process. Luckily, the bowl caught most of flying food, and none of it landed on the floor.

If I need to, I can make beautiful plant-based foods. But, that is deceptive and happens only because the plants themselves are beautiful, so it’s really only an accidental beauty that happens when I work with the plants.

Behind the beauty of these foods, what I really excel at is making “beautiful” and “spectacular" messes in the kitchen (note picture). And, I really do have to work hard not to cut my fingers when I am using a knife. Even so, I still cut myself all too often. (I won’t share pictures of that.)

I make plant-based cooking work in utilitarian ways that satiate my hunger and in ways that keep me trending on the side of success, in spite of my inevitable failures.

Making soup is one way I have transformed my shadows to find the healthiest version of myself that I have ever known. Others have found different pathways to similar results in the plant-based world.

Learning from the journeys of others and adapting ideas has helped me find my own pathway to transform shadows in my health, wellness, and weight loss journey.