Veggie Soup Base
This adaptable vegetable soup base is perfect for accommodating dietary restrictions and preferences.
By starting with a simple, flavoursome foundation, you can create a variety of soups that are both nutritious and satisfying.
Ingredients
Veggie Soup Base:
- Start with a base of chopped vegetables, fresh herbs, and stock or broth.
- Can be easily varied according to what is in your pantry/ fridge/ seasonal.
- Omit what you are intolerant to.
- This veggie soup base is onion and garlic free (easy to add if you can tolerate them or wish to use).
- Quantities: vary according to your household requirements – a larger batch can be frozen in serving size portions.
Choose from a variety of:
- Seasonal vegetables:
celery, zucchini, carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, cauliflower to provide a richness of flavour and variety of nutrients.
- Herbs:
parsley, oregano, thyme, coriander, lemongrass, ginger, bay leaf – all add depth of flavour, aroma and have nutritional medicine properties.
- Broths and stock:
Homemade or store bought (check the ingredients list to avoid your intolerances and allergens: onion, garlic, gluten, MSG)
Optional additional ingredients:
Protein:
- Vegetarian: lentils, beans, peas, quinoa, amaranth (your choice can be added to the pot and cooked with the vegetables until soft)
- Animal: chicken, beef, ham (lightly cook protein of choice before adding)
Noodles: rice noodles, mungbean vermicelli
Method
1: Wash, peel (or not) and chop veggies and herbs.
2: Lightly season your soup pot with olive oil, add chopped celery and saute to soften and release flavour.
3: Add remaining vegetables to the pot and continue to braise, stir to avoid sticking and burning.
4: Pour in stock to cover vegetables, bring to boil over high heat.
5: Reduce heat and cover to simmer until vegetables are soft (approximately 30 mins).
6: Add chopped herbs of choice, season with salt and pepper (example herb combinations: 1. Ginger, lemongrass and coriander; 2. Parsley and oregano)
7: Remove from heat.
8: Serve chunky or blend to a smooth texture. (If used, remove bay leaf before blending).
Enjoy your hearty, warming and nourishing soup.
Storage:
- Keep up to 3 days refrigerated
- Freeze in serving size portions for up to 3 months.
About the Author
Polly is a wholistic health professional with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is passionate about women’s health and paediatrics and has a multi-level approach, working on physical, biochemical and emotional aspects of health. Polly enjoys being part of family healthcare, seeing people for a myriad of reasons to improve their health and wellbeing.
Polly is a practitioner at Care Clinic in Bondi Junction, a family-friendly clinic, combining gentle personalised techniques to provide care tailored to individual requirements for all members of the family.
Qualifications:
BSc.(Anatomy), Masters Chiropractic, Grad. Dip. Exercise and Sports Sciences, Advanced Diploma Nutritonal Medicine, Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics, Certificate of Acupuncture
Practitioner Modalities:
Registered Chiropractor and Osteopath, Acupuncture, Applied Kinesiology (Certified), Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Sacro-Occipital Technique, Activator Methods, Neuro Emotional Technique (NET), Neurolink (NIS), Retained Reflexes Technique, Webster Technique, Integrative Neuroimmunology.