Quinoa Vegetable Stew
I have definitely been on a soup kick lately. I want to say, “tis the season,” but I live in Orange County and we don’t have an ounce of winter weather. I think it has rained once this year, that is scary…I don’t know people still think that Global warming is fake. Soups are a hug in a cup, they fill you up with something warm and comforting. Makes you want to curl up on the couch with a bowl, and light up the fire place. They are also one of the easiest things that you can make. Throw it into a pot on the stove, throw your stocks, vegetables, and proteins and call it a day. If you have a crockpot it’s even easier too.
Making soups from scratch can be intimating sometimes, you never know what to add in it, how much of it, or even if the outcome is going to taste good. Honestly it is one of the easiest things after you find out what you like. You can make a whole pot of it and have meals for a whole week; or even meals to feed your family twice. I can’t say enough how easy it is to make, and even how convenient it is. You can freeze your soups and reheat them up whenever you want to eat it again. I swear to you, once you find your perfect way of making soup, it will be a breeze.
Even though I made a chili last week, I still wanted to make a soup again. I knew I wanted to add in beans, but I knew with too many it starts to come off as a chili, a chili 2.0. So, I picked cannellini and light red kidney beans, two neutral beans that would add color to the soup. If you don’t eat meat, beans are going to be your best friend. They are awesome sources of protein and are full of nutrients. Side note, I have always disliked when people give me a hard time for not eat meat, any vegetarian/vegans out there that feel the same? I can’t even remember how many times that I get asked that. A word of the wise for anyone reading this out there, don’t judge someone for their eating choice; hell don’t judge anyone at all. Our world is full of hate, why would you want to contribute to it. Why bring more hate in, hating everything in life?
Anyways, major side not. Let’s get back to talking about this incredible soup shall we. I ended up making more a stew, a nice thick and comforting quinoa veggie stew. It was probably one of the easiest things that I have actually made, and probably the best thing I’ve made too. I added in tri-color quinoa for extra color, and because for some reason I liked it a lot better. I started off with a typical stew base of onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sautéed that down until nice and caramelized and then started adding in the good stuff. Meatless crumbles, because I wanted to add in more protein, more kale and spinach for added nutrients. Tossed in a can of tomatoes, because is it really a soup without tomatoes? I added in a small jalapeno, so some extra spice. This stew could easily be a base if you wanted to add in other sources of protein. You could use beef stock and add in steak; chicken stock and added in shredded chicken. You can tailor this soup to how you usually enjoy meals.
Alright, enough of me talking.
Let’s get cookin’!
Serves: 5
Vegan and Gluten Free
Category: Meal Prep
Prep time: 15 minutes Total Cooking Time: Roughly 2 hours
Ingredients:
o 1 ½ cartons low-sodium vegetable stock
o 2 cups water
o 1 can cannellini beans, no salt added
o 1 can light kidney beans, no salt added
o 1 can diced tomatoes, low sodium
o 1 package Gardein meatless crumbles
o 1 ½ cup tri-colored quinoa
o 2 celery stocks
o 3 carrots
o 1 white onion
o 3 garlic cloves
o 3 cups kale
o 2 cups spinach
o 1 jalapeno
o 1 tbsp chili powder
o ½ tbsp cayenne powder
o ½ tbsp turmeric
o 1 tsp coriander
o 1 tsp garlic powder
o 1 ½ tsp black pepper
o 1-2 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
o Place a large pot on the stove the medium heat
o Start prepping all vegetables
o Mince garlic
o Chop up onion to small pieces
o Peel carrots, cut into small disks, then cut disks into quarters or halves depending on their size
o Cut celery longwise into 3 even pieces, then cut into small pieces
o Core, jalapeno and cut into small pieces
o Remove stem from kale leaves and cut into 1-inch pieces
o Rough chop spinach
o Add olive oil to pot add in onions, carrots, and celery and start to sauté, once onions are translucent add in garlic, jalapeno and meatless crumbles, sauté until almost cooked through
o Pour in vegetable stock and beans, stir and let cook for a couple minutes
o Add in quinoa, kale, and spinach, let cook for 10 minutes
o Pour in all seasonings, stir, cover and let cook for an hour
o Make sure to stir occasionally, and taste to see if any other seasoning is needed
o Once reduced and rich, take off burner and let cool before putting into containers
This stew is an amazing meal, that you can eat on its own or add some nice toast on the side. It’s comforting and makes me feel good. This would also be great with some sliced avocado on top to add another creamy element to this. Feel free to add shredded chicken or maybe even some Tapito on top.
Enjoy!
Let me know what you think!
Macro and Micro Breakdown
o Calories: 309
o Protein: 17 g
o Carbs: 54 g
o Fiber: 8 g
o Fat: 3 g
o Saturated Fat: 1 g
o Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
o Sodium: 212 g
o Cholesterol: 0
o Potassium: 540
I use #lifesum to track all my macros and to make sure that I am staying on track. This is not an add, I've been using this app for over a year now. It really has kept me on check to make sure I'm getting the right nutrients every day.
Hope you enjoy!
Let me know what you think :)
#vegan #glutenfree #stew #mealprep