In these tough economic times when food prices are soaring and health levels are dropping it may be time to start growing your own food. We all might agree that vegetables are a good thing, The nutrients in the veggies are only as good as the soil they are grown in. What if we were to get the soil really healthy – using cover crops and various forms of compost to add organic material to create a fantastic soil? What next?

If there was a simple formula to increase healthy eating I would include this simple soup suggestion. First, grow a group of vegetables you know you love. Next, prepare to make the simplest soup in the world.

Start with a little water in the bottom of a pot – about the same amount, maybe a little more, that you might use if you were cooking with an oil. We use water instead of oil to “saute” the vegetables. The reason for the water vs. the oil is that fats are better for us when they are not heated or cooked. Heat can make oils go rancid and can damage them. It is the damaged fat that are not good for health. There are fats that tolerate up to 400 degrees. These would include coconut oil and ghee.

Now you can use one or two veggies or more if you like. As soon as you finish chopping one veggie, you add it to the pot. Once you have added as many veggies as you like, you let them saute for about 5 minutes. Then add water to cover all the veggies, add salt and pepper and whatever herbs would compliment them. (I prefer Celtic Salt because of all the natural minerals in it.)

Bring the pot to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables are soft enough to puree. The time can vary from 15 minutes to 1 hour. Once you have the desired softness, puree and serve into bowls adding your favorite butter, or olive oil or cream to taste. The result will be a creamy delicious satisfying healthy soup.

Here’s how I made this soup last night.
Chopped one onion, put it in the pot with a little water on low medium and covered it.
Chopped 1 stalk of celery. placed in pot, covered.
Chopped 2 carrots, added as above.
Then did the same with 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, adding one vegetable at a time.
Let them saute for 5 minutes covered.
Added salt and pepper, 2 bay leaves and approximately 2 quarts of stock to cover the veggies.

You can cover with water if you don’t have stock. I added Unsalted Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillion Cubes to the water but homemade stock is great if you have it. If not just go with the water because all those vegetables cooking together are making stock of their own. Plus, if you are cooking veggies from your own garden they will have so much flavor you won’t need much else.

Then I brought it to a boil, put it down to a simmer for 1 hour, pureed with my handheld blender, served into bowls, added butter to each individual bowl (did not cook the butter – just let it melt in the hot soup).

Even the vegetable hater loved it – had two servings!!! And the best is – you can’t help but feel a little healthier (or a lot) after this soup…Enjoy!!!