How to Make Soup That Actually Fills You Up | Peruvian Vegetable Soup

Sure, you can lose a few pounds on a fad soup diet, but you might also lose your sanity—and once the lightheadedness and weakness set it—you may even lose your will to go on. Your soup bowl is full—but the ingredients are water, blandness, hunger pains, and a touch of irritability. (We’re looking at you, diet cabbage soup.)

If you’re tired—or just plain bored—of this watery, go-to diet staple, we’re here to tell you that you deserve better. You long for stronger flavor, more heartiness. And, fortunately, it is possible for soup to offer up flavor, satisfaction, and help with weight loss.

Say hello to you new friend—the best weight-loss soup around: Peruvian Vegetable Soup.

It’s packed with foods that help you lose weight--including carrots, tomatoes, black beans, kale, and quinoa. High in fiber, water, and protein, this amazing soup ensures you feel satisfied when you leave the table. And with a hefty serving size of 3 cups, you will never feel like you’re on a diet.

But, most importantly, the strong South American flavor is like hosting a party for your taste buds. No more bland, tasteless boiled veggies.

We promise, this Peruvian Vegetable Soup will not disappoint.

Peruvian Vegetable Soup Recipe

Directions

In large pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Mix in red peppers and carrots and cook for 10 additional minutes. Pour in tomatoes, and cook until mixture thickens, at least 10 minutes. Add beans, kale and seasonings, and cook for two minutes, or until kale is tender. Mix in zucchini, quinoa and water. Bring to boil and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Nutritional data:

Yield: 12 cups | 4 - 3-cup servings 360 calories, 7g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 740mg sodium, 62g carbohydrate, 17g fiber, 16g sugar, 16g protein

How to Make Peruvian Vegetable Soup – Step-By-Step

No need to fret over getting the recipe just right. We’ve provided this step-by-step guide to ensure your time in the kitchen pays off.

Step 1: Add these ingredients to your grocery list

Ingredients for Peruvian Vegetable Soup.

Check your pantry to know which of these items to add to your shopping list.

Shopping list:

• olive oil
• 1 bag green onions (or a bunch of 10 green onions)
• 2 sweet red peppers
• 6 carrots
• 2 zucchini
• 1 bunch kale
• 2 (15-ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium black beans
• quinoa
• ground cumin
• dry cilantro
• garlic salt
• onion powder
• salt

Step 2: Prep your ingredients

Prep your ingredients ahead of time so you don’t have to scramble to get things chopped while the soup is cooking.

Slice green onions. Use both the stems and bulb.

Finely dice red bell peppers.

Peel carrots, rinse and slice into small pieces.

If you don’t have a stem remover for the kale, cut the stems off and chop up the green leaves. Discard stems.

Chopping the kale ahead of time ensures that you’re getting it’s full anti-cancer benefits. Set aside until Step 4.

Slice and dice zucchinis.

Drain black beans and place in colander. Turn on faucet and rinse until runoff water is almost clear.

Step 3: Sauté the soup base

Bump up the flavor in your soup recipe by cooking a “base” first. Sautéing the vegetables in a specific order gives each flavor a chance to mature and infuse the soup with a stronger taste.

Sauté the onions in one tablespoon olive oil.

In a large pot, sauté the green onions and olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. The onions should be tender, and a hearty smell should permeate the kitchen.

Toss in the red peppers and carrots.

Add the red peppers and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes. If you want an even stronger South American flair in this soup, use Mexican-style tomatoes or Rotel.

Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture is very thick.

In this recipe, we’re “cooking down” or “reducing the volume” of the mixture. This heightens the flavor of the soup, so make sure it cooks until most of the liquid is gone.

Step 4: Add more fiber for a hearty, filling soup

Add beans, kale, and seasonings, and mix well. Cook a few minutes until the kale is tender.

Add the can of beans. Beans are king in the high-fiber foods world. Not only are they packed with water and fiber (which means they’ll help you fill up faster), they’re also a good source of protein. If you’re not a fan of black beans, choose a variety you like better. Pinto beans, cranberry beans and even great northern beans would taste wonderful in this soup.

Stir in the kale. Kale is a powerhouse of nutrients. Like beans, it’s high in fiber and water, but its claim to fame is the amazing anti-cancer properties packed in its leaves. (If you’d rather skip the kale in this soup, use green cabbage or spinach instead.)

Mix in zucchini, quinoa and water.

Add zucchini to the pot. You can use zucchini or yellow summer squash, or a mixture of both if you prefer.

Stir in the quinoa. White quinoa is the most common variety, but if you find them, red or black quinoa are excellent options, because they hold their shape better as they cook and have a sweeter, earthier flavor.

By adding quinoa to the soup, you’re making the soup even more filling and satisfying, because quinoa is a good source of protein--much better than other grains, such as rice or barley. Though considered a grain, quinoa is actually a seed. This is great news for anyone who has problems with gluten--because seeds are naturally gluten-free. Lastly, quinoa is a lower glycemic “grain,” which makes it gentler on your blood sugars--and stable blood sugars help you lose weight faster.

Bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-heat for 20 minutes.

After you stir the ingredients, bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook over medium-heat for 20 minutes.

Periodically taste the soup, and adjust seasonings to taste, if desired. If you want a stronger South American flare, add more cumin, cilantro, and onion powder before you turn off the stovetop.

Step 5: Eat up!

Let soup cool off before serving

Your soup is ready!

You can…

• Serve it in deep bowls garnished with diced avocado.
• Pack some up in a thermos for lunch tomorrow.
• Freeze what’s left after your meal in individual-sized containers for healthy lunches when you’re too rushed to cook.

Don’t blow off the idea of enjoying this soup as leftovers. The flavor is even richer the next day.

Transform this recipe into a casserole—with one easy tweak

This recipe can be modified to make an amazing filling for slimming enchiladas--or a Mexican casserole.

For this modification, use 2 cups of water instead of 6 cups, and cook until the quinoa is done, about 20 minutes. The mixture will be thick and moist.

To make enchiladas, fill corn tortillas with the mixture, add enchilada sauce, sprinkle with low fat cheese, and bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes.

To make Mexican casserole, pour the mixture in a casserole dish, sprinkle with low fat cheese, and bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes.