One of my all-time favorite things to eat is a hearty vegetable soup. Soups are a great way to get in a ton of veggies and since they are cooked, they are much easier to digest making them a great option if you have digestive issues, or just struggle with getting in as many veggies as you should be eating.

This is also a great batch cooking option and, once cooled, can be frozen in glass mason jars and zip lock bags.

VARIATIONS

• Add ground meat, beans, rice or quinoa to make it more filling
  
• Mix in other vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower or squash
  
• Use sweet potatoes instead of red potatoes, or leave them out for a low-carb option
  
• Switch up the herbs
  

INGREDIENTS

• 10 large garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 1 medium onion, cut in chunks
  
• 1⁄3 cup fresh basil
  
• 1⁄4 cup fresh Italian parsley
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
  
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil divided into ¼ cup portions
  
• ¼ cup  dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water
  
• 1  cup chopped celery
  
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
  
• 2 cups chopped carrots
  
• 2 cups chopped fresh ripe tomatoes.
  
• 2 cups peeled diced red potatoes (can sub sweet potatoes or leave out for low-carb)
  
• 5 ounces fresh spinach
  
• 2 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)
  
• 4 cups bone broth (can sub in veggie broth or water)
  
• 2 cups water
  
• kosher salt to taste (use 2 tablespoons if using water instead of broth)
  
• extra virgin olive oil, best quality for serving
  

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine garlic, onion chunks, basil, parsley, oregano and 1/4 cup olive oil in the food processor and chop until it turns into a pesto consistency
  
• Warm 1/4 cup olive oil in a large soup pot, set over med-high heat
  
• Add in the mixture; stirring as the moisture cooks out (about 7 minutes)
  
• While this is cooking, take the porcini from the soaking liquid and dice into small pieces. Save the liquid to add to the soup.
  
• Once mixture starts to stick to the soup pot, add in the zucchini, celery, tomatoes, carrots, and diced potatoes and porcini mushrooms. Stir well, fully combining the pesto and veggies.
  
• Cook over high heat for 15 minutes.
  
• Pour in the broth, water and porcini soaking water
  
• Stir in the salt and heat soup to a full boil for about 2 minutes.
  
• Adjust heat to maintain a steady bubbling.
  
• Cook 45 minutes.
  
• Add in spinach, and peas.
  
• Cook 30 minutes longer, with the lid off until the liquid volume had decreased by about a quarter. The broth should be thick and flavorful.
  
• Ladle into bowls; sprinkle on a few pinches of nutritional yeast if desired and drizzle on olive oil.

Makes 4 quarts.