veggie quinoa soup

Well, it's the second day of Spring here in Missouri, and this is what it looks like in my backyard:

I know, it's kind of depressing. Missouri, I moved south so I wouldn't have more Winter. Lame.

So this day called for some soup. It's packed with good for you veggies, and a touch of quinoa for some protein and goodness. I just kind of threw this together, so no real recipe, and I'm sadly lacking in pictures, but here goes.

I started with a small onion in a big pot with some olive oil. I added a giant sweet potato all diced up (and I do mean giant. If you can't find a giant sweet potato, I suggest using two smaller ones).

To this I added 3 carrots and 4 stalks of celery that I sliced. I put in one container of veggie broth (4 cups?). Then I threw in a head of broccoli florets. I added some cayenne, turmeric, curry powder, cumin, ground ginger (I was going to use fresh, but sadly mine had gone bad), cinnamon, crushed red pepper flakes, dried basil, and chili powder.

I added a large can of diced tomatoes and about half of a small can of tomato paste. Then I filled the diced tomato can with water and added that. Then I put in 1 cup of quinoa.

I let this boil and then simmer for a while, letting the quinoa cook and the veggies get softer. After letting this cook for a while, I tore up a bunch of kale and added it in. Let it cook a little longer and voila! Dinner!

I would serve this with biscuits or cornbread, but sadly I am out of milk, so I had to settle for some saltines instead. Enjoy!

Oh, and I was featured over at my friend Hannah Cole's blog because back in September I did the cupcakes for her wedding with a little help from my cupcake Elves: me mum and the lovely Stephanie Grace over at Gracie's Bakes.  

Veggie Chili

You know how much I love good food that is good for you. . .well, I decided a couple months ago to do a cleanse/detox for four weeks this month. No this has nothing to do with a New Year's Resolution (I don't believe in making them) nor does it have to do with a desire to lose weight (I like my curves, thank you very much). What this does have to do with is a great desire to be healthy and treat my body well because I only get one and this one is on loan to me from God. So I've been feeling a bit sluggish, and I thought that this would be good for me. I did something similar to this about three years ago, and I loved how I felt when I finished.

Basically, I'm just eating a lot of fruits and veggies, some whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans. Just easy to digest foods, so my body doesn't have to work as hard and can get rid of the extra junk in my tissue. It's actually quite easy to cook foods to go along with this, and I've been enjoying some old favorites as well as trying some new recipes to go along with it. I made this last night for dinner, and it was delicious!!


Start with about a tablespoon of coconut oil and add in a couple of cloves of minced garlic and a medium sized diced onion. Let cook for just a moment and add in about 3 stalks of sliced celery. Continue cooking over medium low heat until onions are slightly translucent.


Add in a large can of chunky tomato sauce and a large can of diced tomatoes. I think my diced tomatoes had garlic in them as well. Stir and allow to simmer.


Add in one can each: black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. Stir and season with chili powder, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg, basil, turmeric, and pepper.


Allow to simmer until heated through and if you can let it simmer for a while to allow the flavors to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste. I like my chili a little spicier, so I add extra chili powder and cayenne pepper to just my bowl.


You can serve this with fresh sliced avocado on top. You could also add diced red bell pepper and zucchini to this recipe and it would be good as well. Super delicious and super nutritious. Enjoy!!