Zesty Spinach Soup

My sister turned me onto this cookbook. Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Burn Fat and Re-Shape Your Body! Heard of it?

Pretty incredible recipes. My sister has tried a whole bunch of them but me being the slacker that I am lately have only tried one. But it was good. Really, really good. To the point of being so good that when I told the girls that we were having it again for dinner tonight (slacker and eating up leftovers) they were pretty happy about it again!!! Perfect soup for the cold weather and totally healthy too…

Of course I had to make some changes based on what I had available but I stayed true to the real recipe. It was fast and came together perfectly. I made it in the afternoon but left out the pasta and the spinach. When we got home later on I had the girls shower and get ready for bed while I finished it up. This was a perfect make ahead soup for me…I also figured out that it was 5 Weight Watcher points based on a 1 1/2 cup serving.

Zesty Spinach Soup Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Burn Fat and Re-Shape Your Body!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp best quality extra virgin olive oil
1 purple onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 thick carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped celery, including leaves
3 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press
1 tsp sea salt
Pinch of fresh ground black pepper
6 cups of low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (I used 4 cups of stock and 2 cups of water)
2 vegetable or chicken vegetable bouillon cubes (I used 2 tsp of Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken)
2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used one can of diced and drained some of the juice out, tomato hater in the family)
1/2 cup of well rinsed quinoa (I used 1 cup of uncooked orzo pasta because I couldn’t find quinoa!)
2 cups of white kidney beans, well rinsed and drained
1 tsp curry powder
pinch of ground nutmeg
3 cups of baby spinach leaves

Directions:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent.
• Add carrots, celery, garlic and salt. Sauté until vegetables are golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add stock or water. Add bouillon cubes and add to liquid. Add tomatoes, quinoa, beans and spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender.
• Add the spinach and cover. Cook briefly, just until leaves are wilted.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with crusty bread.