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A Simple Vegetable Soup to Clean Out the Fridge.

by Stephanie

A Simple Vegetable Soup to Clean Out the Fridge.

It’s that time again: soup time!

If you’re like me, you crave soup when the weather is cooler.

Did you know you can make a pretty decent soup with whatever food you have in the fridge? I like to go through the fridge to hunt for random veggies in the crisper that are on their last legs and that would make a delicious and nourishing soup.

Enjoy this soup in the spring, winter or fall. Basically anytime there’s a bit of coolness in the air is a great time for soup. Especially if you have a few bits you have to use up in the fridge. It’s a fantastic ‘Sunday-Clean-Out-The-Fridge Meal!’ Which means less food waste!

Tips for making soup:

  • Don’t feel you need to have vegetable or chicken broth on hand. Water will do! Water takes on the flavours of the vegetables (and chicken if you use it) to make a flavourful soup. You’ll likely need to add more salt, however; I find 1-2 tsp adds the right amount of saltiness.
  • It’s easy to add chicken to this soup! Just drop in a few chicken thighs or small chicken breasts into the water and let it ‘poach’ for at least 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, pull out the chicken, shred with two forks and add back into the pot for another 5-10 minutes.
  • Add dried herbs to the pot with the onions and carrots and fresh herbs once the soup is almost done. This allows for full flavour.

Here is the super simple recipe for Simple Vegetable Soup:

bowl of vegetable soup
Print Recipe

Simple Veggie Soup.

A great soup recipe to use up the veggies in your fridge!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Course: dinner, lunch, Soup
Keyword: easy soup, fallsoup, soup
Servings: 4 people
Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1-2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 cauliflower chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 1 carrot diced
  • 1 sweet potato diced
  • 2 cups chickpeas
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 3-4 leaves fresh basil

Instructions

  • Heat a pot and add olive oil.
  • Add onion and saute until translucent. About three minutes.
  • Add garlic, sweet potatoes, carrot and cauliflower and cook to soften. About five minutes
  • Add chickpeas, broth, spices, and salt. Simmer for about 15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
  • Serve topped with sliced basil

This simple vegetable soup would also be fantastic with leftover shredded chicken.

Let me know if you make it!


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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for brunch. I bought a few quiches to eat for brunch mixed with bacon, croissants, and fruit.⁠
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No need to make everything from scratch friends!⁠
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According to the quiche reheat instructions, the internal temperature was to be 165° so after I baked it for about 18 minutes I checked the temp with my digital meat thermometre.⁠
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My mom’s husband looked over at me and said to her: “Look honey, she uses a thermometre too!” My mom laughed and said that her husband uses one for everything and uses a timer for all of his cooking.⁠
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When we were growing up my mom simply smelled and looked at the food to tell if it was done. ⁠
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“Mom, how do you know the turkey’s done?"⁠
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“Oh, I just know.”⁠
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My mom would smell it first in the kitchen and then she would peek at the food in the oven and decide it was done by how it looked.⁠
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It’s interesting how those experiences help us to establish what we do in our own kitchens when we start to cook for ourselves.⁠
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I use a thermometre and timer for many things, but I still use the smell and look method to help me decide if it’s done.⁠
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A balance of both of these approaches while cooking is important.⁠
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If you’re new to cooking, you might simply use a timer for a recipe, but once the timer is done, it might not be cooked all the way through. ⁠
⁠
A more experienced cook would observe that the dish is not quite browned enough and that it needs more time in the oven.⁠
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Every oven has a different temperature, so it’s important to balance that with the time. This is why I find using a thermometre really helpful. It can also prevent overcooking and drying out the food.⁠
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Chicken is notoriously overcooked because people are afraid to undercook it. ⁠
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A thermometre will tell you exactly when the chicken is finished at 165°. It stays somewhat moist and juicy at that temperature.⁠
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If you wait until it’s browned on the outside, it might be too dry to eat. Alternatively, just using a timer could result in either a dry or under-cooked chicken breast.⁠
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I made this nifty graphic you can keep handy the next time you’re cooking. Use it to cook moist meat, not dry!⁠
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xo
Happy Friday 13th!⁠ ⁠ Do you find eating salad Happy Friday 13th!⁠
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Do you find eating salads scary??? 😱⁠
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According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:⁠
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1️⃣Those who think eating salad is boring.⁠
2️⃣Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough to be a full meal.⁠
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Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!⁠
⁠
If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.⁠
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I know... People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.⁠
⁠
On the blog, I have all the tips on how to make the perfect salad just for you: ⁠
⁠
>>https://lealoucooks.com/howtobuildasalad/⁠
>>or get the link in my profile here: @lealoucooks
I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and c I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and creating something from what seems like nothing.⁠
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I do this to use up the food I have before bringing more food into the house.⁠
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I'm not sure about you, but when I don't use up the food I have, it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and then lands right into the compost bin. ⁠
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This is one of the ways groceries can get expensive.⁠
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So before you make your next grocery list, look in the cupboards and fridge first. What do you have in there that can be used up?⁠
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Then search for a recipe that uses those ingredients.⁠
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Shop your kitchen first, then make a list.⁠
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If you have food in your house you're not sure what to do with, comment below and I'll think of what to make with it!⁠
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#mealplanning #mealplanningtips #mealhelp #dinnertime #supper #eatleftovers #fridgefood #recipes #savemoney #foodwaste⁠
This weekend is a bit of a doozy - a fun doozy!!⁠
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💛My street is hosting a giant street sale (if you're in Etobicoke you can DM me for the address).⁠
💛It's my anniversary (14 years!)⁠
💛AND it's Mother's Day (on the same day as my anniversary! Sorry hunny).⁠
⁠
I'm hosting my sisters and mom for a brunch and I asked them what their most favourite brunch meal is to eat... I'll make the menu a combination of everything for them!⁠
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My sister asked me the question back and I, of course, thought of eggs.🥚⁠
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(Why are all of my posts about eggs??)⁠
⁠
This photo is of a breakfast I had last week and it was so good!⁠
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💛Sourdough GF bread from @thebreadessentials⁠
💛Topped with hummus⁠
💛Topped with a yellow heirloom tomato (fun!)⁠
💛Topped with eggs (duh)⁠
💛Topped with jalapeno sheep cheese from @blythfarmcheese⁠
💛Topped with Broccoli sprouts from @livingearthtoronto⁠
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That brekky was a favourite hands-down.⁠
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Eat what you love friends! 🌱⁠

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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